The acronym STEM refers to the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The idea of STEM education is to teach students in these four disciplines with an interdisciplinary and applied approach. The acronym was coined by the United States National Science Foundation in 2001 to encourage schools to teach these subjects in an integrated way. The purpose of STEM education is to prepare students for the jobs of the future. STEM education has been implemented in schools across the United States and around the world.