European Commission Publishes Landmark STEM Education Report Honouring Beatrice Boots

The European Commission has officially published the landmark report Promoting STEM Education in Schools, offering a comprehensive overview of the challenges, opportunities and future directions for STEM education across Europe.

The end of last year the EU STEM Coalition already had the opportunity to receive a sneak preview of the report and discuss many of its findings during our General Assembly in Brussels. We previously shared reflections from these important discussions, which highlighted the growing urgency for more connected, inclusive and systemic approaches to STEM and STEAM education across Europe.

We are deeply honoured that the publication includes a dedication to Beatrice Boots, former chair of the EU STEM Coalition, recognising her lasting contribution to educational innovation and European collaboration. The report remembers Beatrice as someone who “shaped and inspired educational innovation, bringing her heartfelt enthusiasm and endless energy to connect people and ideas.”

We would also like to sincerely thank the authors — Dr Rebecca Allinson, Dr Dovydas Caturianas and Lennart Stoy. Their research provides an important and timely contribution to the future of STEM education policy and practice in Europe.

A very special word of thanks also goes to Maria Podlasek-Ziegler at the European Commission for her guidance, wisdom and unwavering commitment to advancing STEM education in Europe. Her dedication to building stronger connections between policy, education and society has helped shape an important moment for STEM and STEAM collaboration across Europe.

The report identifies major structural challenges, including teacher shortages, fragmented governance, rigid curricula, unequal access to infrastructure and the need for stronger interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning approaches. At the same time, it highlights inspiring practices and emerging reforms from across Europe.

As EU STEM Coalition, we remain committed to bringing the lessons and recommendations from this report to policymakers, educators, industry leaders, researchers, and STEM and STEAM experts across Europe.

Strengthening Europe’s STEM ecosystems requires collaboration across sectors, disciplines and borders - exactly the kind of work Beatrice believed in so strongly.

Read the full report: Promoting STEM Education in Schools