Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) STEMworks program has announced that its 17th Annual Hawaiʻi STEM Conference will be taking place at the Sheraton Waikīkī on April 15-16, 2026. The education and professional development event serves hundreds of middle and high school students and K-12 teachers each year from all across the state, providing participants with a fun and immersive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning environment and opportunities to connect with Hawaiʻi-based STEM experts and industry leaders.
Like paddlers in a waʻa (canoe) navigating uncertain waters, this year’s conference theme, “Navigating Change,” encourages students to look inward to discover their unique strengths and passions to contribute meaningfully to their communities. In times of change, each student’s talents become essential pieces for a larger collective journey, requiring both self-reflection and collaborative action. STEMworks seeks to help students understand their own role and work in unison with others so that they can steer toward a brighter future for Hawaiʻi. Through hands-on sessions led by professionals in fields including healthcare, engineering, computer science, entrepreneurship, and agriculture, the conference is STEMworks’ largest career awareness and professional development event of the year.
Middle and high school students interested in growing their STEM skills and learning more about STEM career pathways are encouraged to collaborate with a teacher from their school to register and attend as part of a student group or to register individually. K-12 teachers are also invited to register; it is not required that teachers attend with students, and a variety of teachers-only breakout sessions will be offered throughout the event.
STEMworks is also seeking STEM industry professionals and academics to lead one-hour breakout sessions for small groups of students during the conference. Designed to provide students with hands-on experience and skill-building, breakout sessions are a space for industry experts to share their enthusiasm and knowledge about their chosen education and career pathways. These sessions also give industry guest speakers a chance to recruit more advanced students for employment and educational opportunities, like internships and academic programs.
This year’s Hawaiʻi STEM Conference was so fun…I got to meet and talk to new people. I hope I can go to the conference next year and meet more new people and go to sessions I haven’t been to yet to learn more about other people and what their job is or what they did in college.
Molokai Middle School Student, 2025 Hawaiʻi STEM Conference Participant
Whether people are just getting started in business or looking to scale up, the recent Entrepreneur Bootcamp was designed to equip them with the tools, strategies, and connections needed to succeed. Presented by the UH Maui College Maui Food Innovation Center and the YWCA Maui Women’s Business Center in partnership with agencies, organizations, and sponsors from across Hawaiʻi, the all-day event included Maui residents of all ages and levels of business experience, including a 13-year-old entrepreneur. The event was free for participants, including breakfast, lunch, and a pau hana mixer. Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) sponsored the travel of Maui County’s islands in the spirit of collaboration.
“It’s a valuable and important collaboration between the non-profits of Maui,” said Annette Lynch, Director of Communications for MEDB who attended the bootcamp and consulted with attendees. “It’s fantastic to come together in one place so that small business owners and entrepreneurs know that there are resources and support to help them thrive on Maui. They don’t have to do it alone.”
“This year’s theme, Kūlia I Ka Nuʻu (Rising to the Summit), calls us to pursue excellence with determination and resilience,” said Angela Gannon, the event coordinator for the bootcamp. “It reminds us that the entrepreneurial path, like the climb to a mountain peak, requires vision, effort, and perseverance.”
Stacey Moniz, Director of the Maui Women’s Business Center, YWCA, noted, “The goals of this bootcamp are simple yet powerful: to meet the real needs of our local entrepreneurs, to deliver training and mentorship that build lasting business success, and to expand access across Maui Nui.”
Andra Tejero-Gaspar, business advisor from the Veterans Business Outreach Center, one of the bootcamp resource partners, shared, “We give assistance to those who are transitioning out of the military and to veterans who want to further their education, join the workforce, and become entrepreneurs. We do one-on-one consultations, provide resources, and connect veterans with business owners. All those in the military community are welcome.”
Bootcamp participant Monika Jost added, “This is a fabulous event! I found so many connections, ideas, and people willing to help me grow my business. I gained insights on business formation, planning, funding, marketing, accounting, and ecommerce, plus priceless networking.”
The keynote speakers, workshop presenters, and success story panelists provided a day of collaboration and growth while celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship together.
McKenna Lickle, Program Manager, Maui Food Innovation Center, UHMC
During the recent AMOS (Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance) Conference, presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) in Wailea, over 1,000 local and visiting industry professionals were joined by 150 Maui County middle school students and their teachers for a special Space Exploration Day student event. The students met Scott “Scooter” Altman, who shared about his long career as a pilot and astronaut, and they visited exhibit booths for hands-on aerospace activities led by STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) experts.
One of the exhibitors, longtime Maui resident Dr. Shadi Naderi of KBR, led the students through an interactive engineering session featuring the popular “Space Lander Challenge,” a creative activity that introduces students to the engineering design process while connecting them to real-world space exploration. Naderi explained, “In this challenge, students took on the role of NASA engineers tasked with designing a lander to keep their ‘astronauts’ (represented by ping-pong balls) safe during a landing on Mars. Participants used a 9-ounce cup and cardstock to build a landing system that protects the ping-pong ball from bouncing out when dropped from three feet. For an added level of difficulty, teams were challenged to protect two ping-pong balls at once. The great thing about the engineering design process is that it encourages students to brainstorm, test, and refine their ideas.”
Judah, a 5th grader from Kaunakakai School on Molokai, shared, “I enjoyed this challenge, hearing stories from the astronaut, and learning how to build strong satellites using marshmallows!” Kawika Gonzales, an educator from Kaunakakai, also commented, “My students are really interested in space, and I believe if we give them an opportunity, they are going to exceed our expectations. I am so grateful to MEDB’s STEMworks program for giving Molokai students the opportunity to experience STEM activities, such as robotics and computer science, which they would not otherwise have.”
Paul, an 8th grader from Maui Waena Intermediate School, added, “My favorite activity was at the COMSPOC Corporation booth. We learned there is so much man-made debris floating around that can cause problems for astronauts, satellites, and other important pieces of equipment circling Earth, and how this company tracks it. Thank you, MEDB, for inviting us!”
Leslie Wilkins, MEDB’s president and CEO, noted, “Each year we see students’ creativity blossom during Space Exploration Day. They learn about the very wide variety of careers and technologies in the space field.”
I enjoyed learning about telescopes and how they track satellites, as well as the importance of getting rid of space debris. Plus, meeting an astronaut made me really think about being one!
Tyzen, 5th Grader, Kaunakakai Elementary School
Native Hawaiian astrophysicist Dr. Brittany Kamai brought a wealth of information and wonder to the participants of the 8th annual 2025 EMER-GEN program at the Wailea Beach Resort-Marriott on September 14-16. EMER-GEN, a joint initiative of the AMOS Conference (presented by Maui Economic Development Board) and the Space Generation Advisory Council, launched in 2018 to foster innovation and entrepreneurship for young professionals and college-level students enthusiastic about careers in space.
Kamai shared her perspective on how traditional voyaging connects ancestral wisdom to the present-day space industry, especially in Hawaiʻi. “We, as Pacific voyagers, are on a journey, sailing to islands and around the world, or going back to the Moon, while navigating by the ideals of our ancestral past. When we truly acknowledge this insight, when we are aware of the extensive threats to our planet, and to outer space, the next logical step is to create a new vision, a sustainable plan based on values of interconnectedness, respect and stewardship.”
Kamai explained that the purpose of the world-famous Hōkūleʻa project was to build a performance-accurate deep-sea voyaging canoe and sail it without external instruments between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti. “It’s been a cultural revitalization initiative by the Polynesian Voyaging Society centered around the Hōkūleʻa, a traditional double-hulled sailing canoe launched in 1975 to revive ancient Polynesian wayfinding traditions, language, and culture. The project, and its numerous other voyages, aims to connect people, educate on environmental stewardship, and inspire a sustainable future for the planet. We need to be globally minded and locally focused.”
Matthew Lugo, a local aerospace engineer with Privateer Space, said, “Our Hawaiian ancestors got to Hawaiʻi by way of star navigation. Currently, space observations from Hawaiʻi are also unlocking the key to the universe’s mapping and offer scientists the ability to calculate distances between celestial bodies in the galaxy. Hawaiian telescopes have allowed scientists to make some of humanity’s most important space discoveries in the last 50 years, pertaining to dark matter, black holes, asteroids, exoplanets, and more.”
Katherine Stevens, an engineer for Maui High Performance Computing Center and member of this year’s EMER-GEN program committee, added, “Kamai portrayed respect for the culture by going back to its roots and being one with the community. She has successfully woven the importance of our past cultural achievements with her career as an astrophysicist.”
I have a Ph.D. in astrophysics, but that didn’t teach me how to get between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti using the stars. It’s a totally different knowledge system. We need both!
Dr. Brittany Kamai, Astrophysicist, Founder of Mana Moana Institute
Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) recent Ke Alahele Education Benefit event welcomed over 300 guests and successfully raised funds for local STEM education programs. During the event, the Daniel K. Inouye Innovation (DKII) Award student winners were recognized for community service-focused science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) projects. Tiare Martin, executive director of the Vanguard Maui High Performance Computing Center and MEDB’s board chair, Curtis Tom, senior vice president and commercial banking officer of the Bank of Hawaiʻi and MEDB’s board vice chair and chair of the education committee, and Leslie Wilkins, MEDB’s president and CEO, presented the award.
Winners were Baldwin High School seniors Aileen Kim and Jeremiah Jacinto for their project, “Kūlia Scholarships Connect.” Recognizing the difficulties that local students and their families face in finding college scholarships, they created an AI chatbot that simplifies and personalizes the search process. “Our team is driven by a shared passion for equity in education and aims to remove barriers to financial aid through technology that empowers every student to reach their full potential,” they explained.
A Maui High School team of Toby Naumov, Sarah Fehnestock, Ciana Cooper, Sophie Kato, and Joshua Mori also received a prize for their “Stop the Bleed Tourniquet Simulator” project. The team used their computer science and mechanical engineering skills to create an artificial human arm that can help students learn the critical first-aid skills needed to control severe bleeding. They successfully created a prototype for only $200, showing that it is possible to create low-cost versions of essential medical teaching tools.
Dominick Philippe Guiwa of Maui High School was honored for his research project, “From Tragedy to Innovation: Lahaina Fire Recovery Through Native Hawaiian Fire Retardant Solutions.” Combining his interest in chemistry with a desire to serve the Lahaina community, he tested plant samples to demonstrate a correlation between pH levels and fire resistance, showing that native plants are often more fire resistant than invasives.
All the winners will receive monetary prizes to honor their hard work. Funds raised during the event will also support the Ke Alahele Education Fund grant program. More information can be found online at https://www.medbpathways.org/.
It is deeply meaningful to us that our work in some way reflects Senator Inouye’s vision of Maui as an innovation center where the latest scientific and technological advances can take root and flourish.
Aileen Kim and Jeremiah Jacinto, 2025 Daniel K. Inouye Innovation Award Winners
