Students Tackle Climate Change Using STEM Skills

Climate change can pose significant challenges to mobility as people struggle to cope with extreme weather, including record-breaking heat, widespread wildfires, and catastrophic flooding. In the third year of the Made to Move Communities challenge, Otis (NYSE: OTIS) volunteers will mentor more than 250 students from schools across 20 countries and territories as they consider alternative ways to move around communities affected by natural disasters brought on by a changing climate.

“We believe using STEM to develop mobility solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change is a meaningful and timely challenge,” says Otis Chair, CEO, and President Judy Marks. “Today’s students will be among those most impacted by the worsening effects of climate change, so it is critical that we listen to their concerns and ideas while working alongside these young adults to explore what is possible for the benefit of generations to come.”

Made to Move Communities is a global student challenge inspiring creative, STEM-based solutions to real-world mobility issues. This year, participating students from around the world will partner with Otis mentors and volunteers to develop creative, technology-based mobility solutions to help lessen the effects of climate change, one of the world’s most pressing, yet unsolved, issues. At the conclusion of the eight-week program, teams will present their ideas to a panel of Otis judges who will award varying levels of STEM grants to the schools of participating teams. These grants will be used locally by schools to further STEM learning.

Otis mentors aim to help close the STEM skills gap by nurturing a life-long interest in science, technology, engineering, and math and inspiring the pursuit of future, related careers – some of which may one day contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change. At Otis, reducing the environmental impacts of our operations and developing mobility solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change are paramount. Now, we’re also empowering the next generation of innovators to be part of the solution.

About Otis
Otis gives people freedom to connect and thrive in a taller, faster, smarter world. The global leader in the manufacture, installation and servicing of elevators and escalators, we move 2 billion people a day and maintain more than 2.1 million customer units worldwide – the industry's largest Service portfolio. You'll find us in the world's most iconic structures, as well as residential and commercial buildings, transportation hubs and everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is approximately 68,000 people strong, including 41,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OtisElevatorCo.