Bengaluru :  Sixteen Indian teachers joined close to 200 teachers from around the world for the trip of a lifetime to Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy (HESA), the game-changing experience that inspires teachers to encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers.

Created in partnership with U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC), Honeywell (NYSE:HON) developed the award-winning scholarship program to help middle school math and science teachers become more effective educators in STEM. Over the past 11 years, Honeywell has awarded scholarships to 2,381 teachers from 55 countries, including 57 teachers from India.

Joyeeta Adhikari, Aparupa Ghosh, Seema Sharma, Kiran Jadhav, Anubha Ramgopal and Neha Teredesai from Pune; Vishnupriya Balusulapalem, Shylaja Jayaram, Subhashree Seetharamaier and Bhagyam Shekar Ram from Bengaluru; Prakash Chandra Sahoo, Pooja Sharma and Manisha Malhotra from Gurgaon; Anitha Anoop and Shobha Devi Rajendran from Calicut, and Sindhu A. from Ernakulam attended this year’s program.

Since 2004, educators have shared their experiences and knowledge with more than two million students, inspiring many to pursue STEM education and careers. From winning grants from governments, to entering students in international and NASA educational projects, to creating STEM-focused after school programs, the impact of the program is continuing beyond the classroom.

“Inspiring students begins with inspiring our teachers and this program is all about re-igniting passion in our teachers,” said Michael A. Bennett, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative. “This experience helps teachers learn new techniques for cultivating a curiosity for math and science in the next generation of engineers, programmers, mathematicians and astronauts.”

This year 205 teachers from 24 countries attended one of two five-day programs offered over consecutive weeks from June 10-23. Teachers were given rigorous training focused on science and space exploration including astronaut-style exercises like high-performance jet simulation, scenario-based space mission, land and water survival training, and interactive flight dynamics programs.

“Today teachers need to play a dual role of educating and inspiring their students. My experiences at HESA will help me make classroom teachings more exciting and interactive for my students,” said Seema Sharma from Vidya Valley School, Pune.

“The exercises and simulations at HESA have given me a different perspective of how math and science can be taught to students,” said Bhagyam Shekar Ram, Vice Principal, National Public School HSR layout, Bangalore.

To attend HESA, candidates must complete a thorough application process to ensure the most qualified teachers are selected. Once chosen, teachers are awarded scholarships, roundtrip airfare, tuition, meals and accommodations sponsored by Honeywell and its employees.