Feb
10
2021
0
STEM-Monitor
By admin
Belgium
Dec
08
2020
Flyer #2 'STEM-OvK' (Dutch only)
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
This is an example of a flyer used by the 'STEM Ondernemers voor de Klas'-programme to engage teachers to participate in the programme. Each flyer is targeted at a different age group (see related documents).
Dec
08
2020
Flyer #1 'STEM-OvK' (Dutch only)
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
This is an example of a flyer used by the 'STEM Ondernemers voor de Klas'-programme to engage teachers to participate in the programme. Each flyer is targeted at a different age group (see related documents).
Dec
08
2020
STEM Ondernemers voor de Klas ('STEM Entrepreneurs in the Classroom')
By admin
Short summary:
STEM Ondernemers voor de Klas (‘STEM entrepreneurs in the classroom’), or ‘STEM OvK’. Is an initiative of the Flemish organisation ‘Vlaamse Jonge Ondernemers’ (VLAJO) aimed at engaging students with STEM-driven entrepreneurship at a young age through guest-lectures by successful STEM entrepreneurs.
Description and objectives:
STEM Ondernemers voor de Klas (‘STEM entrepreneurs in the classroom’), or ‘STEM OvK’. Is an initiative of the Flemish organisation ‘Vlaamse Jonge Ondernemingen’ (VLAJO) aimed at engaging students with STEM-driven entrepreneurship at a young age. The programme is a spin-off of the existing ‘Ondernemers voor de Klas’ (‘Entrepeneurs in the classroom’ – OVK) initiative. The programme facilitates guest-lectures by STEM entrepreneurs in STEM courses that provide context to the curriculum, highlighting the practical application and opportunities of STEM in enterprises and the link between STEM and societal challenges like climate change, healthcare, etc. Each guest-lecture is followed by a ‘wrap-up’ and evaluation organised by the teacher (supported by VLAJO).
Guest-lecturers are matched to schools in their geographic vicinity by a matching-programme (supported by a programme coordinator). After a school has been selected, the guest lecturer provides a one-hour guest lecture with time for questions. Each school year is kicked-off by a ‘boegbeeld’ (programme ambassador), a high-level company representative who’s guest lecture is used for broader campaigning purposes (and often covered by national media).
The main goal of the project is to enthuse students (14-18 years) for (STEM) entrepreneurship. On the organisational level VLAJO sets yearly benchmarks for the number of guest lectures, number of lecturers, number students and number of teachers. In addition, the quality of the activities is assessed through a questionnaire among participating teachers and guest-lecturers.
Country:
Education level:
Link to programme website:
Logo or photo:
Impact:
The STEM-OvK initiative has been positively evaluated by participants and has been widely covered in the media. Structural assessment of the long-term impact (e.g. impact on student behaviour) is not yet available.
Reach:
In the period 2018-2020 around 200 STEM-OvK guest-lectures were implemented (compared to around 700 ‘regular’ OvK guest-lectures). For the most recent figures, please visit the programme website or contact the programme coordinators.
Budget and funding model:
STEM-OvK is a public-privately financed initiative with the Flemish government covering around 70% of the operational budget and the remainder coming from a group of individual companies. This does not include ‘in kind’ contributions to the programme (e.g. time spent on guest lectures).
Year start:
2018
Status:
data_page_icon_programme:
Dec
02
2020
Press release: #STEMhelden (Dutch only)
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
Press release by the VRT (Belgian public broadcasting company) about the launch of the #STEMhelden campaign (see related article). The #STEMhelden campaign is a series of mini-documentaries in which child-reporters explore the contribution of STEM disciplines to everyday challenges and professions. The campaign was developed and coordinated by the Flemish STEM platform in cooperation with Technopolis (science centre).
Dec
02
2020
Recommendations for a Flemish STEM plan 2020-2030 (Dutch only)
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
The Flemish STEM platform is an advisory organisation. In outlines recommendations to the Flemish government for the development of a Flemish STEM action plan 2020-2030 (following the completion of the current Flemish STEM platform 2012-2020).
The three main strands of the proposed STEM action plan are:
- Targetting the broadest possible audience (entire population) in order to ensure a minimum level of competence and confidence in STEM for all people
- Developing a diverse curricular and extra-curricular portfolio of STEM education activities for both pupils, adults and existing STEM professionals
- Emphasising interdisciplinarity in each of the four components of STEM
Dec
02
2020
Flemish STEM Plan (Dutch only)
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
The Flemish STEM plan ('Actieplan voor het stimuleren van loopbanen in wiskunde, exacte wetenschappen en techniek, 2012-2020') is the overarching STEM strategy for the Belgian region of Flanders. It responds to the request of the Flemish parlement to increase the number of STEM graduates and covers the policy domains of the Flemish ministry of Education, Labour, Social Affairs, Economy and Science and Innovation.
The Flemish STEM plan introduces an integrated approach in which not only government, but also key stakeholders in education, industry and the media play an important role. The plan also aims to clarify and coordinate the multitude of existing initiatives in Flanders and provides a thorough quantitative analysis of the current state of affairs and policy context.
Dec
01
2020
#STEMhelden ('STEM heroes')
By admin
Short summary:
#STEMhelden ('STEM heroes') is a large-scale media campaign aimed at 10-14 year olds, parents and teachers broadcasted on public television. In each episode a 'child reporter' explores a specific STEM discipline and their relation to a societal challenge. The campaign is funded by the Belgian sector funds of specific industries and coordinated by the Flemish STEM platform and Technopolis (science centre). The video materials are aligned with relevant curriculum standards and can be used in classroom education.
Description and objectives:
#STEMhelden ('STEM heroes') is a media campaign consisting of short films for 10-14 year olds, their parents and their teachers. The videos show that different STEM-profiles in companies solving a problem that effect the society, with a lot of attention for gender-sensitive language and images.
The objective of the initiative is to encourage more young people, and specifically girls, to enroll in STEM education and STEM oriented VET. Flanders, like so many countries, suffers from a shortage of STEM-profiles. The shortage of girls in STEM-jobs in particular is certainly remarkable. The shortage of girls is very clearly visible in more practically-oriented STEM-education in secondary schools (15-18 years of age). In Flanders, young people aged 15 and over can choose a study program. That is why it is important to provide them with an inspiring picture of what a job as a #STEMhero could look like before the age of 15.
During the Corona crisis, the health and care-professions were rightly praised, but it was less visible that the STEM professionals ensured that the country kept going. Think for example about the supply of electricity, the availability of the internet, etc. These are stories that the #STEM heroes series tries to tell.
The concept is always the same: a theoretically trained STEM professional and a practically trained STEM professional show how, together, they ensure that their company can solve a socially relevant problem. Examples include recycled plastic, safer and more environmental friendly cars, safety of money in the bank, easy access to job vacancies on the labour market,...
In Flanders, there are many STEM-initiatives, mostly independent of each other. The project of the STEM heroes links all the initiatives through a HUB operation. STEM is already embedded in their own regular functioning and the #STEMheroes helps strengthening the reach and impact of existing initiatives. The project is currently being organized by the Flemish STEM-platform and Technopolis.
Country:
Education level:
Link to programme website:
Logo or photo:
Focus:
Impact:
The initiative aims to increase the number of young people, and specifically girls in STEM secondary education. This objective is part of the Flemish STEM-action plan 2012-2020, which aims to increase female participation in STEM secondary education 33.33% by 2021. In addition, the WiSTEM²D consortium associated with this project wants to inspire 50.000 girls in the BeNeLux to choose for a STEM-education. The number of young people in STEM-education in Flanders is monitored annually (STEM-monitor) with specific attention for girls in STEM. We expect an statistic relevant shift. A follow-up qualitatively study can provide us with the insight of the impact of this specific program.
Reach:
The #STEMheroes campaign is targeted at young people (10-14 year olds), parents and teachers and broadcasted on national public television as well as via social media. The campaign is in alignment with the school curriculum of this age group and can be used as a standard reference in classroom education. For this purpose there is already a cooperation with the Flemish study orientation service, parents' associations, employment organisations, teachers' associations, teacher training colleges.
Budget and funding model:
The initiative was funded by the Flemish 'sector funds' (specifically the wood sector, food sector, semiconductor sector paper and cardboard sector), and coordinated by the Flemish STEM platform. It is one of the core tasks of the Flemish STEM platform to network and play a connecting role in the Flemish STEM-ecosystem. Individual companies participate trough the WiSTEM²D consortium. The Flemish STEM-platform and Technopolis also participate in this consortium. This consortium includes companies such as Total, BASF, Janssens Pharma, ING, EXXON, GALAPAGOS, etc. with the objective to inspire girls to choose for STEM. The consortium contributed financially to #STEMheroes.
Year start:
2020
Status:
data_page_icon_programme:
Apr
21
2020
COVID-19 series: Belgium - #LockDownLab: Science experiments at home
By admin
Country:
Belgium
Abstract:
Immediately after the lockdown, Technopolis (Flemish science / do centre) launched the #LockdownLab, a series of do-it-yourself experiments that transform your kitchen (or garage or garden) into an instant test lab. Every day of the week, Technopolis posts new experiments and challenges on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. In this way, Technopolis tries to fascinate children and young people with science and to experiment during the lockdown. In addition, extra attention is paid to the extensive test database on the Technopolis website. Up-to-date information about the coronavirus is provided via weekly blog posts distributed via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Because young people are an important target group, Technopolis recently joined forces with the popular online youth platform TAGMAG. Through a series of challenges performed by TAGMAG influencers, Technopolis is taking important steps to significantly expand its reach among young people.
In addition, during the pre-teaching period, Technopolis also encourages teachers to experiment. A new series of experiments was visualized especially for them under the heading Science @ sool. Teachers will now regularly find new experiments on the Facebook page "Technopolis for Teachers" that they can show to their students or - better yet - perform live (in front of the camera or soon in front of the class). Based on this brand new experiment series, Technopolis wants to help teachers fascinate students with STEM so that as many students as possible (continue to) choose a STEM study.
Mar
20
2020
0
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