Science, mathematics, and technology education are confronted with a difficult task to educate young minds to meet the demands of an increasingly globalised world. Many countries face challenges in building citizens who are able to address and solve local, national, and global problems, and function equally well in these environments. In this regard, scientific, mathematical, and technological knowledge are essential to empower people to solve problems. Hence, there is a need to educate the young generation to acquire as well as to apply the knowledge and skills embodied in science, mathematics, and technology and at the same time take advantage of the available technologies. Children are naturally interested in the physical world and in using numbers, however, as they grow older in our schools they seem to lose their inquisitiveness. Science, mathematics, and technology educators need to reverse this trend by looking closely at the ways we teach science, mathematics, and technology in our schools.

Following eight successful international conferences in different parts of the world, STEM Research Group (formerly SMEC), Curtin University announces 9^th International Conference on Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education to be held in collaboration with the Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. This conference intended to bring science, mathematics, and technology educators and researchers together to discuss and address issues in improving science, mathematics, and technology education for the 21^st century. The question of how we develop children's ability to think scientifically and apply scientific, mathematical, and technological knowledge for personal as well as for the benefit of the community is the heart of this conference.