EU

On April 25th special attention was given to the EU STEM Coalition during the Wissenstag of the Hannover Messe. During the opening ceremony Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte encouraged the audience to share knowledge, rather than hoarding it.

In this line of thought The EU STEM Coalition and the USA STEM Education Coalition expressed their commitment to work together for the future of STEM talent. On behalf of both Coalitions Beatrice Boots (Dutch national STEM platform), Julie De Widt-Bakker (Microsoft, on behalf of USA STEM Ed Coalition), Ronald Waaijer (Siemens, on behalf of EU industry) and Dirk Bochar (FEANI, representing engineers throughout Europe and a partner of the EU STEM Coalition) expressed the importance of triple helix collaboration in the field of STEM.

Dutch Minister of Education Jet Bussemaker was present to endorse the start of the EU STEM Coalition and close links with its American counterpart.  The EU STEM Coalition will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good practices between its current members and is looking forward to welcome more European member states in the near future.

Learning throughout life makes sense. Research shows it is good for your health, your wealth, your civic engagement and your family’s future prospects. It prolongs your independent life and enriches your quality of life. For companies, investing in worker skills makes sense too – it promotes flexibility and creativity, problem-solving, teamwork and an increased sense of agency among staff, making them happier and more productive. These are, of course, exactly the traits needed as companies face of the challenges of the latest industrial revolution. For governments, supporting learning in later life helps to delay the onset of dependency among rapidly ageing populations; plays an important role in overcoming inequality and exclusion; and supports inter-generational learning, creating more resilient families and communities. More broadly, learning fosters improved well-being.