In cooperation with the Digital Education Institute of Taiwan and the Industrial Development Bureau of the Hungarien ministry of Economic Affairs the Hungarian STEM Platform launched the online course "STEAM Learning for COVID-19 Prevention and Control" based on an existing Taiwanese model. 

The course consists of a series of ten different lessons and aims to help teachers to integrate STEAM subjects into their teaching. Participants in the course receive advise on how the COVID-19 virus works, how it affects them, their school and their community. Activities for students include 3D-printing protective face shields, developing motivational LED-display boards and discussing the societal challenges related to the outbreak. 

The course is suitable for teachers of children between the first and twelfth grades, as well as other school staff (e.g. school managers) and STEAM activity distributors. 

In addition to the course, the STEM platform is making available free web-based learning programmes from other sources. 

To ensure general continuity of primary and secondary education the main focus in Catalonia is on e-learning. While the use of e-learning platforms in secondary schools is quite common (although not universal) this is not the case in primary education. Catalonia is therefore implementing a range of teacher trainings as well as ensuring connectivity (and availability of devices) for students who do not already have access to them. These initiatives are not limited to STEM but cover all topics. 

In parallel, a range of proposals and actions are being prepared to support teachers in their teaching activities. For example, coinciding with the international "Day of Girls in ICT" the government of Catalonia is preparing a small digital challenge for secondary students. In addition, women engineers who work in ICT (role models) have been asked to record videos on their life and career in ICT as well as their projects, in particular those with a societal impact (e.g. healthcare, education, etc.). These vides will be tied into student assignments. In addition, an overview report will be prepared (based on the quality and number of the video reports - link will be available soon). 

The Jet-Net&TechNet (JNTN) programme is one of the flagship programmes of the Dutch national STEM Platform (PTvT). The programme is focused on increasing STEM uptake in primary and secondary education through school-company partnerships and covers the majority of Dutch primary and secondary schools and over 2000 companies. The programme also inspired 'spinoffs' in Denmark and the Basque country. For more information about the programme and its results, please see the full programme profile in the 'programmes' section.

In response to the COVID-19 measures the JNTN programme has developed online / remote formats of several of its key activities. These include the company tours, which now take place digitally utilising existing video materials developed by companies for new employees (available via the Ozone platform). 

The popular webtool for matching company professionals and schools for guest lectures (GastlessenZoGeregeld) now supports teachers and schools with special challenges and assignments inspired by companies that teachers can use in remote learning activities. 

Finally, the JNTN programme makes extensive use of webinars. These include a webinar on the 'BètaTechMentality'-model for teachers and other stakeholders which explains how students can be triggered by STEM in various ways. This special course is now also available in webinar format and has seen a strong uptick in popularity since the COVID-19 measures were imposed. The BètaTechMentality model is based on periodic research by the Dutch national STEM platform and is available in English and Dutch (see the publication pages for a full description).

Katapult is one of the flagship programmes of the Dutch National STEM platform (PTvT). The programme functions as a national support network for a wide range of public-private partnerships in VET and higher education. The network includes virtually all VET providers in the Netherlands and over 10.000 companies that collectively contribute more over 1/3 of the total budget (ca. 360 million). The majority of public-private partnerships in VET are currently co-funded from the 120 million Dutch 'Regional Investment Fund VET' (RIF) and supported through each phase (application, implementation, upscaling and sustainability) by the Katapult-network (for more info about Katapult, see the full programme description or visit the Katapult website (English and Dutch only).

The Katapult-model for public-private partnerships co-funded by government recently launched the Katapult.eu toolkit, in which the most-used Katapult tools and activities have been translated and made freely available. These tools are currently being used by international partners including in the EU-funded 'Centres of Vociational Excellence'-project for water technology (CoVE Water). The website also includes a wide range of resources ranging from independent impact studies and network mappings to (English subtitled) video documentaries on the functioning of individual public-private partnerships in the Netherlands in a wide range of sectors. For more information, please visit the Katapult.eu website via the link above.

STEM Learning (UK-based STEM platform) manages the UK's flagship "STEM Ambassador" programme, mobilising over 33.000 STEM Ambassadors to bring STEM to life in the classroom making the STEM Ambassados programme one of the largest of its kind.

In response to the closing of the schools as part of the COVID-19 measurs STEM Learning is currently working a new system to enable "virtual volunteering" by STEM Ambassadors so that these volunteers can respond to requests across the UK. Beyond the regular activities of STEM Ambassadors this platform will also support new ways of online volunteering for STEM Ambassadors, for example by contributing articles and blogs, participating in podcasts, appearing in the virtual festival (May 2020) when half-hour long sessions will be broadcasted live throughout the day for schools and home learners. 

In the same context the STEM Club leaders will be trained by STEM Learning to run online STEM Clubs. STEM Club resources are being promoted as support for home learning. The course will go live on April 20, 2020. More info about the STEM clubs on the programme website (see link above).

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, STEM Learning already had a substantial number of free online CPD (Continuing Professional Development) resources for STEM teachers available on the Futurelearn platform. This platform is designed to support STEM teachers in different stages in their career. 

As a result of the COVID-19 resulted in a rapid increase in engagement with CPD. For example, STEM Learning received 1000 registrations for an online Maths course in just five days time. 

In addition to the existing online courses, STEM Learning is currently developing online / remote delivery versions of the normal face-to-face courses as well as a special online summer programme for teachers. Currently 26 science remote delivery courses are in development.

All of STEM Learning's online courses can be accessed by teachers - including outside the UK - by visiting the CPD webpage via the link above. 

To support parents and carers with home learning, the subject experts of STEM Learning (UK-based STEM platform) have put together a selection of activities and materials. These include a wide range of free resources, guidance and professional development opportunities for teachers and educators, tips and resources for parents, daily activities as well as a 'homeschooling survival guide'. The lesson materials and resources are organised per topic (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics, computing, etc.), each with their own support pages and resources. STEM Learning's experts are available for support via webchat on weekdays between 08.30 - 16.30 (UK time). 

An additional 'home teaching' page will be launched later this week. This page will be focused on support for schools and teachers delivering lessons remotely.

STEM Learning's digital support platform proved extremely popular and recieved over 100.000 users in its first ten days. The portal is currently Google's top recommendation for home learning in the UK. The platform and all resources are free to access for everyone. For more information about the platform and individual resources and information about home teaching support, please visit the website via the link above. 

ENT3R is a national programme in which students from STEM higher education provide homework support to pupils in secondary education (age 14-19). The STEM students meet the pupils weekly to solve real-world tasks and homework at the local university campus and act as role models and mentors. ENT3R is a national programme that is offered completely free to pupils in secondary education. 

In response to the COVID-19 measures implemented by the Norwegian government, the National Centre for Science Recruitment has developed ENT3R Digital, a completely digital incarnation of the ENT3R programme. In ENT3R Digital all pupils meet their mentors in a digital classroom from 16.00-20.00h each school day. Pupils can submit their questions via chat or talk to their mentors directly via webcam. Mentors use a digital drawing board to help students solve their homework assignments. More information can be found on the programme webpage (see link above). Video's of the ENT3R programme and example sessions (Norwegian only) are available via the website.

For more information about ENT3R Digital, please contact us directly.

The misalignment between demand and supply contributes to the labour market problems experienced by many recent graduates in Europe. Not only does the growth in the number of recent university graduates differ from the growth in job vacancies potentially available for them, but also a large number of individuals end up completing their tertiary degree in subjects for which there is little demand or for which there is an excess of supply relative to demand. In an attempt to investigate whether the EU is expected to generate the appropriate number and type of graduates, this study compares projections on forecasted graduate labour market development tendencies made by Cedefop between 2016 and 2030 with estimated trends in the supply of tertiary graduates during the same period. The analysis predicts that, while a rough balance between graduate demand and supply is likely to emerge at aggregate level, there will be a small surplus of graduates in the fields of ICT and a more relevant one in Science and Engineering. Results, however, significantly differ across individual EU Member States.

To see the full report, click the 'link to source' button above.

In the Basque country 37 schools and 21 companies and other partners have joined the STEAMsare programme of the Basque Department of Education. The goal of this programme is to create a network of schools, companies and scientific-technological stakeholders in the Basque country focused on the promotion of STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). 

The Minister of Education, Cristina Uriarte, the Deputy Minister for Education, Maite Alonso, and the Deputy Minister for University and Research, Adolfo Morais, gave presentations at the STEAMsare program press conference. Together with them, Leire Bilbao, Managing Director of the Basque Innobasque-Innovation Agency, was also present, due to this project being developed with other stakeholders in line with other 'STEAM Euskadi Strategy' (Basque STEAM Strategy)-initiatives. 

The STEAMsare programme was inspired by a successful educational approach developed in the Netherlands (and later implemented in Denmark as well as other countries) called Jet-Net.  The main objectives of STEAMsare are to provide students with a realistic, positive and varied image of science and technology education and professions, while at the same time promoting careers in this area. Schools, companies and scientific-technological partners will work together throughout the year, with the help of one of the five partners involved. These are: Basque Innovation Agency (Innobasque), November Foundation, The Machine Tool Institute, Iraurgi Renovations and the Mondragon Corporation.

For more information, please see the full press release via the link above.