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48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 Feature Interview by Barry Matties I-CONNECT007 In this interview we hear from Charlene Gunter du Plessis, senior director of the IPC Education Foundation, on the state of the STEM program started by IPC a few years ago. e program has been well received and con- tinues to grow. IPC APEX EXPO 2022 will fea- ture the live event with some exciting changes to reach even more students. Barry Matties: e STEM program is an excit- ing and important component to IPC APEX EXPO. Of course, the 2021 event was virtual with nearly 1,000 participants, and some les- sons were learned. Charlene Gunter du Plessis: Yes, it made us re- alize we can do something else to provide the STEM Program on the Grow necessary awareness of the industry and ex- pand it virtually by hosting a career paths discussion in the form of a panel. We host- ed another career panel on November 11 and reached more than 3,000 students. For IPC APEX EXPO 2022, in addition to the live pro- gram, we will be streaming and broadcasting live parts of the STEM event. We will use In- stagram Live, YouTube, and the career panels that take place on Zoom. is will allow us to have more students learn about the industry because that's our goal; we want to continue with our efforts to create awareness and access of careers in the industry. Matties: So, you will have students at the event and stream it as well? Gunter du Plessis: Exactly. It will be a hybrid event. We will have about 200 students at the