Spain

Originally conceived in 1987, Valnalon is an agency of the regional government of Asturias (Spain) in Asturias (pop. 1 million), a former industrial region with an economy largely based in coal and steel. Valnalon is strategically located in Langreo occupying the premises of an old steel factory. Far from coincidental, this location conveys a clear message about Valnalon mission, to act as a catalyst, to facilitate a somewhat difficult transition into a new economic model based in entrepreneurship and innovation that requires a whole different mindset.  Thus, Valnalon team (which employs 24 people) has the mandate to put into practice the ideas exposed in the Asturias Regional Action Plan for Entrepreneurship in two key areas: Entrepreneurship Education and  Business start-up support

Valnalon has earned an excellent reputation due to its pioneering role in the the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation in the education system. Here the focus is on the development of  the “sense of initiative and entrepreneurship” key competence, a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes among young people.  Valnalon plays a brokering role bringing together decision-makers, practitioners, and other social agents such as employers and third sector organizations to design and implement a coherent portfolio of enterprise education projects in primary, secondary and VET.  By way of example, more than 150 schools and 12000 pupils and students took part in our projects last year (2017-2018).  We would also like to highlight, Valnalon has gone at great lengths to connect its two core areas of work by involving more than 200 regional entrepreneurs and employers in the delivery of our enterprise education programmes last year alone.  

In 2019, the regional Department for Innovation asked us to coordinate the efforts to shape the budding regional STEM strategy (ASTURIAS4STE(A)M). Ever since its inception Valnalon has also provided business start-up advice, training and support to budding entrepreneurs helping them to create hundreds of new companies. Last year our business advisors worked alongside 404 users in the development of 208 projects leading to the creation of 43 new companies (59 new jobs). Start-ups have also the opportunity to rent office space in our premises (24 companies, at present) and we offer specific training courses touching upon different aspects of business management (last year, 18 trainings).

The regional STEM strategy co-implemented by VALNALÓN called 'ASTURIAS 4 STEAM' is one of the actions envisaged to fulfill strategic goal #1 of the 5-year Regional Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (“Improve human capital in RDI”). The programme focuses on Primary, Secondary and VET education and seeks to generate interest in STEM, equip younger people with a set of useful competences for their personal and professional life and   raise aspirations to pursue professional careers in STEM. In the first year of operations (2019) the region has:

• Set up an advisory board (incl. policymakers, university, RDI sector representatives (research institutions, employers, professionals)
• Undertaken a baseline study of  STEM in our region drawing on existing quantitative data (education and employment stats)  in order to determine :
  • Interest in STEM disciplines/careers
  • STEM competence/skills development of our young people)
  • STEM labour market (occupations/jobs/quality of employment/skills gaps/skills shortages)
• Mapped existing initiatives (led by schools and/or external providers)
• Drafted a communication plan and create website and social media profiles (in progress)

The baseline study debunks with evidence some of the taken-for-granted assumptions and negative messages directed at our education system. Asturias' performance in international assessments (TIMSS and PISA) is slightly above both the national and EU-average. And the same applies for interest in science (based in PISA latest data). Having said this, there’s ample room for improvement, i.e redressing not only the gender but also the socio-economic imbalances in STEM participation, tackling the high early leaving in Engineering careers but the starting point  is not as bleak as initially suggested.

On the employment side, our analysis of regional labour market data for STEM occupations brought to surface the need to provide a more nuanced version of  the “employability of STEM graduates”. Not all STEM qualifications secure a job, skills shortages are concentrated in very specific STEM sectors but more importantly most urgent  imbalances are not on the supply but on  the demand side. And they have to do with the structure (job polaristaoin) and size of our regional labour market (as compared to other regions) and the quality of employment (short-term contracts, low wages, precariousness)  

Valnalon holds  ISO 9001:2015 certification
 

Department for Science, Innovation and Higher Education (Consejería de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidad) is a ministry of the government of the Principality of Asturias (Spain). In a nutshell the department has three Directorates-General dedicated to specific fields of expertise. 

1. General secretariat
2. DG University
3. DG Innovation, Research & Digital Transformation

Each DG is headed by a director-general, who reports to the regional minister in charge of the corresponding policy area. The structure is completed  with the Asturian Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, an advisory body that provides independent advice and support to aid management and directors in the design and evaluation of RDI strategies and policies. Members comprise key actors of the regional RDI ecosystem including University, Research Centres, Businesses and Trade Unions.

The department has a 5-year Regional Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Principado de Asturias 2018-2022) (PCTI). The PCTI targets a range of actors in the triple helix: Research, Business, Education and expands the scope of the previous regional plan (2013-2017). Five strategic goals have been identified:

1. Improve human capital in RDI 
2. Enhance production of scientific knowledge in the region
3. Increase the competitiveness and innovative capacity of our companies.
4. Promote innovation in our public system
5. Generate a new territorial model based in networks and consolidate technological strengths focused on specific social challenges affecting our region. 

A set of perfomance indicators have been defined for each strategic goals.  Indicators will be tracked on a yearly basis. The PCTI total budget for the period 2018-2022 is 447.5 million euro.

The regional STEM strategy (ASTURIAS 4 STEAM) is one of the actions envisaged to fulfill strategic goal #1 (“Improve human capital in RDI”). The programme focuses on Primary, Secondary and VET education and seeks to generate interest in STEM, equip younger people with a set of useful competences for their personal and professional life and   raise aspirations to pursue professional careers in STEM. In the first year of operations (2019) the region has:

• Set up an advisory board (incl. policymakers, university, RDI sector representatives (research institutions, employers, professionals)
• Undertaken a baseline study of  STEM in our region drawing on existing quantitative data (education and employment stats)  in order to determine :
  
  • Interest in STEM disciplines/careers
  • STEM competence/skills development of our young people)
  • STEM labour market (occupations/jobs/quality of employment/skills gaps/skills shortages)
• Mapped existing initiatives (led by schools and/or external providers)
• Drafted a communication plan and create website and social media profiles (in progress)

The baseline study debunks with evidence some of the taken-for-granted assumptions and negative messages directed at our education system. Asturias' performance in international assessments (TIMSS and PISA) is slightly above both the national and EU-average. And the same applies for interest in science (based in PISA latest data). Having said this, there’s ample room for improvement, i.e redressing not only the gender but also the socio-economic imbalances in STEM participation, tackling the high early leaving in Engineering careers but the starting point  is not as bleak as initially suggested.

On the employment side, our analysis of regional labour market data for STEM occupations brought to surface the need to provide a more nuanced version of  the “employability of STEM graduates”. Not all STEM qualifications secure a job, skills shortages are concentrated in very specific STEM sectors but more importantly most urgent  imbalances are not on the supply but on  the demand side. And they have to do with the structure (job polaristaoin) and size of our regional labour market (as compared to other regions) and the quality of employment (short-term contracts, low wages, precariousness)  

The Basque Government (Eusko Jaurlaritza/Gobierno Vasco) is the regional Government of the Basque Country (Euskadi). Its degree of autonomy in policy areas including education, industry, culture, health and social security and services has led the Basque Country to achieve a high rating in the Human Development Index: eighth place in the world. Industry is the driving force of the Basque economy, accounting for 24.1% of GDP, and it aims to lead the fourth industrial revolution: 128% productivity per employee. Commitment to innovation is the hallmark of the Basque Country, commitment that brought in recognition and resources at European level. The Basque Country is the autonomous community in Spain that assigns the highest percentage of its GDP to R&D, 1.89%.

Regarding education, schooling in the Basque Country is compulsory from age 6 and free from 3 to 16 years old. Euskadi has the lowest dropout rate (7.7%) for young people between 18 and 24 years old, and 48.9% of people aged between 30 and 34 with have higher education The Basque Country directs its efforts toward implementing a clear, close educational model, providing value and quality assurance. Its commitment to developing talent in people, concentrated in a nursery for highly qualified professionals, who are prepared to take the reins of the future, both locally and internationally, has been reinforced. In this sense, an increasing need in qualified professionals in science and technology is foreseen in the coming years. Therefore, the Basque Government is currently developing the STEAM-Euskadi Strategy, using an integrated and collaborative approach between the education and industry, with the following goals:

1. To guarantee education in the scientific and technological areas in the curriculum and the literacy needed by the society in an increasingly complex, changing and highly technified world.
2. To inspire students professional vocations and aspirations in STEM areas in order to have more, better and versatile professionals.
3. To attract less represented groups such as girls to scientific and technological fields
4. To favour education in science and technology in students facing social inequality situations.

Innobasque, the Basque Innovation Agency, is a private non-profit association established in 2007 to co-ordinate and drive innovation in the Basque Country in all its spheres as well as to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. Innobasque is made up of agents from the Basque science, technology and innovation network (RVCTI), private businesses, Basque public institutions, association representatives of Basque workers and business people, and other organisations related to innovation.

Its vision is to turn the Basque Country into a European innovation benchmark region. For this purpose, an ambitious short, medium and long-term transformation programme has been established. The mission is to drive the process of transforming the Basque Country towards an innovating society. The agency works to understand the complexities, define priorities, forge a strong bond between public and private agents, and foster the demand and necessary stimulus in companies and society as a whole.

The Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya) is the regional government of Catalonia. It consists of ministries and other bodies such as public companies and autonomous organisations that employ more than 200.000 people. It has responsibilities, among other areas, in: education, employment, universities and economic development. Secretariat  for Telecommunications, Cibersecurity and Digital Society is responsible for boosting the deployment and integration of digital technologies in each area of Catalan society.

The Catalan economy boasts a significant level of industrial activity in sectors such as automobiles and accessories, chemicals, and state-of-the-art computer and office IT equipment. The publishing industry and construction are also of crucial economic importance. 

The lack of students choosing studies in the STEM-related subjects, high rates of youth unemployment and sustained labour demand growth in some STEM-related sectors such as IT, robotics, automobile and mechanics industry, have driven the Government of Catalonia to aprove in February 2017 an Agreement to develop the STEMcat plan (national STEM strategy).This plan promotes vocations in STEM among youth, and has to be deployed in the Catalan schools during the next school year (2017-18). The plan is currently being developed by the Government of Catalonia and will cover four main focus areas:

• enhance teacher training in science, technology and mathematics;
• enhance STEM skills among students and develop strategies to globally assess them;
• encourage participation in school of companies in STEM sectors;
• promote science, technology, engineering and maths in society