Ongoing

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.

#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.

Research has shown the importance of continuous investment in skills (lifelong learning). Small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) in the Netherlands tend to invest relatively little in lifelong learning. Research by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs (EZK) has shown that the main obstacle to increased (structural) investment in the continuous development of employees is not a financial but practical. For example, smaller companies find it more difficult to free up personnel to participate in lifelong learning activities, but also find it more difficult to identify learning opportunities suitable to their specific company / sector.

The Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs responded to this challenge with the MKB!dee: A programme that supports SME’s in the development of lifelong learning activities that fit the needs of their specific company type, size and sector. The programme is funded by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs and part of the broader MKB Actieplan ('SME Action Plan'). It is implemented by the Dutch national STEM platform supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) which monitors and evaluates the programme. Participating SME’s can apply for a total grant of max. 125.000 euro (individual SME’s) or 200.000 euro (multiple SME’s) for the development of new / experimental lifelong learning activities relevant for their company / sector. The main objective of the MKB!dee programme is twofold:

1. To provide practical and financial support to SME’s in the Netherlands in the development of (experimental) lifelong learning activities that suit the needs of their company
2. To identify and upscale successful lifelong learning approaches developed in the context of the programme.

In addition to general quality criteria, project proposals submitted by SME’s are evaluated on the extent to which they contribute to pre-defined policy objectives of the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs. These include:

• Climate and energy transition
• Increasing the number and quality of STEM and ICT professionals
• Digitalisation of SME’s
• Lifelong learning in small SME's (< 50 employees)

The national program 'Building a School STEM Environment' aims to create new school centers - an integrated set of specially created and equipped learning spaces with a focus on the study and application of competencies in the field of natural sciences and mathematics in state and municipal schools in the country. Each school center will include the following elements:

• physical environment (improvement of the interior architecture and furnishing of existing spaces)
• technology (equipment)
• learning content,
• teaching methods
• management of the educational process.

The main objective of the programme is to create an integrated learning environment for a new generation in Bulgarian schools, which will encourage and support educational innovations in teaching and learning in the field of STEM, creativity and research. The investments will support the introduction of new teaching methods, raising the qualification of pedagogical specialists and creating new educational content in the direction of integrating the subject areas of STEM. The Program is in line with Bulgaria's Digital transformation Policy and National Science Strategy 2017-2030.

To achieve this, the programme is aimed at schools with (already) innovative practices and those with the potential to develop innovations in science, digital technology, engineering thinking and mathematics (STEM). The national program will create "models" in some Bulgarian schools for successfully investing in a comprehensive idea, including learning environment, technology, management, integrated content, qualifications and teaching methods. The 'Education of Bulgarians Abroad and School Network'-directorate is responsible for the implementation of the programmme.

As students and teachers continue to navigate the challenges presented by COVID 19, the collaborative platform Together 4 STEM, coordinated by CSR Europe, has launched STEM@Home: a digital learning platform with a rich collection of free, multi-lingual courses on STEM. The platform’s partners Amgen, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, currently offer resources in English, French, Italian and Spanish, and cover age groups from 6 to early 20s.

The materials will support students and teachers with easily accessible world-class resources.  From “Elephant Toothpaste”, a course that helps explain chemical reactions to kids between the ages of 11 and 14 all the way through to  “Gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9”, or  “Cybersecurity Fundamentals”, teachers and students are one click away from building, developing and sharpening their STEM skills (see programme website for more information about the activities mentioned).

STEM@Home will continue to add new resources and expand beyond the pandemic to become a long-term reference point for digital education and effective remote learning.

At the Mini Tech Fairs the children have the opportunity to see the everyday life of a tech expert, they can experience the most up-to-date technologies and devices, and try what it is like to work at a tech company. Children can also meet tech volunteers at the events who speak about their everyday work, the advantages and challenges they have to face at their workplace. It can be a good opportunity for visitors to meet their future employers or get a suitable job or internship places.

The Ambassador is responsible for giving lectures on the importance and necessity of the STEM fields, representing and supporting the STEM Platform in Hungary and abroad and also setting a good example for the younger generations.

The STEM Ambassador must have reference from at least two experts recognized in the field of mathematics and engineering. Based on the references, the management of the Hungarian STEM Platform has the right to decide on the admission, the mandate will be valid until withdrawal.

The management of the Hungarian STEM Platform reserves the right to reject applications without having to justify it.

Based on the increasing demand for competence within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the Norwegian labor market, the ENT3R program was initiated by the Norwegian National Centre for Science Recruitment (NCR) in 2010. The project is coordinated by NCR in collaboration with local universities and university colleges offering STEM studies throughout Norway. The ENT3R STEM training is offered to junior high pupils and high school students.

Participating pupils attend after school activities, typically in the form of help with mathematics and science homework and occasional pupil night arrangements including inspirational lectures by invited guests, pitching of different studies and career opportunities, experiments, pizza serving, quizzes and competitions. The ENT3R sessions and activities are organized by designated project leaders and organized and held at the local campuses by STEM students working as mentors for the pupils. All students working for ENT3R are brought together regularly for courses and exchange of experience. New mentors are trained in basic pedagogics and STEM subject didactics and attend regular gatherings for exchange of experience.

The main objective of ENT3R is to encourage and inspire youths facing a career choice to consider and pursue and education and career within STEM. The “STEM training” activities in ENT3R aims to provide the pupils with:

• Increased motivation and sense of achievement
• A more positive attitude towards STEM subjects
• Increased career choice capability
• Increased STEM capital

The KPI`s used is a yearly survey among all pupils participating in ENT3R, giving valuable insight and measures of pupil motivation, effects on grades and considerations of future career choices, satisfaction with the mentors etc. Every year we also see our initiatives in context with trends in the universities and colleges admission services.  The ENT3R program is part of th e Norwegian Directorate for Education and Trainings STEM strategy called “close to STEM”.

Meet and Code invites local nonprofits across Europe to apply for micro-grants to organize events that foster interest in and access to digital skills among young Europeans. The aim of Meet and Code is to help build a world in which every young European has the digital skills required to shape their own future. It was co-created by SAP and Haus des Stiftens gGmbH in Munich, which coordinates the grant-giving process, along with the TechSoup Europe network partners. The initiative is aligned with the EU Code Week and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

THe Meet and Code Award presents and honors the most successful event ideas. The goal is to award the most creative and innovative event ideas used by nonprofits to get youngsters excited about coding. The five categories of the Meet and Code Award 2020 are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Winners of each category will receive 2000 euro prize money.

The following 35 countries are eligible for grants from the programme: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,

Every two years, Science on Stage organises Europes biggest educational festival from and for STEM teachers. Each time hosted by a different country, the event brings together up to 450 STEM teachers from over 30 countries to share and exchange their ideas and concepts for a successful science education from primary to secondary school.

Every participant presents his or her good-practice teaching examples to their international colleagues at stands, in workshops and in on-stage-presentations. Following the principle 'from teachers for teachers' the festival supports the professional development of the educators. Furthermore the most innovative best-practice teaching concepts find their way to teacher trainings, brochures and teaching materials after the event.

Teachers are competitively selected to be part of their country’s delegation through rigorous application processes and national events.

The next European Science on Stage festival takes place will take place from 24-27 March 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.