European Commission proposes upscaled EU STE(A)M Coalition

On May 30 the European Commission published two communications in which STEM and the EU STEM Coalition are prominently featured. The Communication on a Renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education states that "the Commission will launch an up-scaled EU STE(A)M coalition bringing together different education sectors, business and public sector emloyers to promote the uptake of relevant STE(A)M subjects and modernise the STE(A)M and other curricula, including through more multi-disciplinary programmes and cooperation between relevant faculties and HEI's." The Commission states that the initiative will build on the EU STEM Coalition (see p. 5-6).

In the Communication on School Development and Excellent Teaching for a Great Start in Life, the Commission focuses on the recent OECD PISA survey results. In relation to STEM the commission states that it will: "Support improvements in school level education in science, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM) by promoting best practice in developing links and cooperation of higher education, research, businesses with schools at EU level and effectively addressing gender gaps and stereotypes in STEM, using Erasmus+" (see p. 4).

The EU STEM Coalition is currently exploring with the Commission and various partners how it can support these action points.