‍At LabXchange, we believe in engaging students, scholars, and educators to strengthen the design of our platform and learning resources. Our internship program for students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is one example of our co-development model. During the fall 2019 semester, HGSE intern Maryam Farooq worked with us. Her role included cataloguing online learning content, pursuing partnership opportunities, reviewing our interactive simulations, and parsing user feedback. If you are a student interested in combining your interests in science and education with LabXchange, please let us know!

During college, I studied biology, and then came to the Harvard Graduate School of Education in fall 2019 to learn more about the field of international education policy. One of the reasons I wanted to come to HGSE was so that I could learn to bridge my interests in science and education. When I first learned about LabXchange, I knew it would be the perfect place for me to intern and bring my interests together. In addition, I also wanted to learn more about the role technology can play in increasing access to quality education.

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Drawing on Diverse Skill Sets

I realized early on in my internship how complex it is to manage LabXchange. And the diverse skill sets I would draw on to work on this project. There are many aspects of the platform that are being developed. So it was a great chance to contribute to the platform and also acknowledge that I have a lot more to learn. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to review potential content. And to engage in  outreach to spread the word about LabXchange.Besides collaborating with the team, LabXchange reminded me of the potential that innovation and creativity have in increasing access to education. And how there can be intersectionality between education and the sciences. It was fun engaging with content that I personally find fascinating, and knowing that one day it will reach thousands of students worldwide. Education is evolving. And it was incredible to see how people and projects like LabXchange are contributing to innovation in the field.