EU

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy. They form around 90% of Europe’s economy and the majority of Europeans is working in this kind of companies. Therefore, it is very important to involve SMEs in the green and digital transitions we are currently embarking on. Without SMEs, it will be impossible to move towards a sustainable, competitive and resilient economy that is fair to all, as outlined in the European Skills agenda, published in 2020.

Full publication can be accessed via the link above.

Following the Digital Education Action Plan (DEAP) and Communication on Achieving the European Education Area by 2025, the European Commission included the EU STEM Coalition in its objectives related to STEM in 'A Chips Act for Europe': a key initiative aiming to strengthen the EU's competitiveness in the global microchips industry. 

The EU STEM Coalition is referenced in the chapter related to 'Skills and Competences' with specific emphasis on female participation in this (STEM heavy) sector.

What is the 'Chips Act for Europe'?

On 15 September 2021, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an EU Chips Act in her State of the Union speech, pointing out the needs to link together Europe’s world-class research capacities and to coordinate EU and national investment along the value chain.

The EU Chips Act proposes to build on Europe’s strengths and address outstanding weaknesses, to develop a thriving semiconductor ecosystem and resilient supply chain, while setting measures to prepare, anticipate and respond to future supply chain disruptions. As part of a total investment package of 43 billion euro the Chips Act aims to increase the EU's share in the global microchips industry from 9 to 20% by 2030.

In the short term, it will allow to understand and anticipate future chips crises, addressing them through close coordination with Member States and equipping the Union with the instruments that some like-minded countries have at their disposal.

In the short- to mid-term, it will strengthen manufacturing activities in the Union and support scale-up and innovation across the whole value chain addressing security of supply and a more resilient ecosystem. And, in the mid- to long-term, it will reinforce Europe’s technological leadership while preparing the required technological capabilities that would support transfer of knowledge from the lab to the fab and position Europe as a technology leader in innovative downstream markets.

For more information, see the European Commission's overview page via the link above.

The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 sub-goals are at the heart of the UN’s Agenda 2030. These focus on three dimensions (the environment, our economy and our society) and on five driving principles (people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership). All of these aim to ensure the future wellbeing of our planet and of mankind by making their developments sustainable. The European Federation of Engineering Associations (FEANI), as the voice of more than six million engineers in Europe, has identified a major task in contributing to the successful implementation of the SDGs.

For full article please, click the link above.

This report focuses on gender gaps in educational attainment and educational trajectories. It provides a review of recent research and state-of-the-art empirical evidence by examining the economic literature. It documents trends and how gender gaps vary by level of educational attainment and field of study. Existing research has documented the presence of limited gender gaps at the early stages of education. Gender gaps seem to be related to educational choices that start in high school, and then widen along the educational trajectory. This report shows that gender differences in educational choices are significant and persist over time. It also highlights the heterogeneity in gender gaps in STEM and across related sub-fields. Women are not equally under-represented in all sub-fields of STEM, yet are especially under-represented in the maths-intensive STEM fields. The available evidence suggests that the cross-country variation in gender differences in each STEM sub-field is as important as the cross-country variation in the overall STEM field. Existing studies provide evidence of a complex set of factors that explain the observed gender gaps, though the magnitude of the determinants differs across countries and over time. Among other explanatory factors, the educational context, the structure of the labour market and the environment of the workplace, as well as broader gender equality in cultural values and social norms in society, appear to play major roles. In view of the nature and magnitude of today’s gender gaps, and the fact that they vary by educational stage, different policies and interventions are needed along the educational trajectory. The current evidence on the effectiveness of policies and interventions converges toward showing the importance of teachers and role models.