About Us

 

Reimaging Pittsburgh’s Future — Together

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STEMup™ tackles the region’s most pressing workforce challenges—demographic decline, mid-career talent shortages, underrepresentation, and fragmented STEM resources—by turning theory into action.

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Through its integrated framework, STEMup unites domain-specific education, apprenticeships, and venture-focused pathways to bridge the gap between learning and real-world impact.

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At the heart of this approach is the Coop Model™—a breakthrough solution to the long-standing “chicken-and-egg dilemma” of whether to build companies or train workers first. STEMup does both - advancing workforce and venture growth in tandem:

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• STEM Employment – preparing future-ready professionals for high-demand roles.
   

• Venture Creation – empowering entrepreneurs to launch and sustain new enterprises.
   

• Venture Development – enabling existing companies to scale and create new opportunities.
   

Core Components:
 

• Domain-Specific Education™ (DSE™): Expert-led, industry-aligned modules co-developed with universities and companies in biotechnology, AI, robotics, biomanufacturing, and more.
   

• Pittsburgh Innovators Apprenticeship Program™ (PIAP™): A dual-tier master/mentor model linking STEMup Masters™—leaders from academia and industry—with STEMup Mentors™ who deliver targeted coaching and hands-on skill development.
   

Vision for Pittsburgh and Beyond
 

By connecting people, ideas, and enterprises in a shared ecosystem, STEMup™ is cultivating Pittsburgh as a 21st-century STEM capital—a place where:
 

• Talent and opportunity grow together.
   

• Underrepresented communities gain equitable access to thriving careers.
   

• Innovation fuels job creation, company formation, and sustainable regional prosperity.
   

The result: a replicable model of inclusive growth—the “Pittsburgh Model”—where workforce and venture innovation move forward as one.