About

The Summer STEM Institute (SSI) was founded with the mission of making research and mentorship accessible to high school students. The program was initially started by a team of graduates, students, and educators from Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and other leading universities.

The program believes that conducting research in high school is an incredibly valuable and rewarding educational experience. By wrangling through unstructured and creative tasks in the scientific method and learning how to present and communicate findings, students develop invaluable technical and communication skills that will serve them throughout their careers in any field. It is no coincidence that those that excel in high school research go on to achieve much in college and beyond. The mission of SSI is to make this learning experience accessible to talented students around the world.

A founding belief of the program is that with modern technology tools, a virtual educational experience can not just match but rather exceed an in-person program in both quality and educational value. Every staff member of the program deeply values educating and mentoring students to reach their full potentials, and the program hopes to support students after the end of the program and throughout their careers.
‍
Another core goal of SSI is to form a strong community and network of talented and hardworking students from around the world. Nothing makes staff members happier than hearing updates from students about initiatives they are working on with other students and how SSI has affected their life trajectories. You can read more about alumni experiences here.