The lack of young people choosing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) studies and careers continues to be a major challenge for Europe. Education can play a major role in partnership with businesses and other stakeholders to help increase interest in STEM studies and occupations. The need to foster STEM talent in young people so they can become the much-needed STEM professionals of tomorrow continues to be a top priority for European Schoolnet. Furthermore, STEM disciplines continue to be taught in an isolated way. Initiatives that promote interdisciplinary teaching, connected to real-life challenges (like sustainability or research), collaboration and whole-school approaches to STEM education continue to be a priority for the coming years.
Our Work
Find below an overview of the STEM initiatives, strategic areas and initiatives in 2023:
Scientix promotes and supports a Europe-wide collaboration among STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) teachers, education researchers, policymakers, and other STEM education professionals. Coordinated by European Schoolnet, Scientix runs since 2010 leading the 21 European Schoolnet Annual Report 2023 exchange of knowledge and experiences in STEM Education via its portal, publications, campaigns, professional development activities and networking events. Scientix was co-funded by the European Union's FP7 and Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmes from 2010 to 2022. Since April 2023, Scientix continues as an initiative of European Schoolnet, as part of its sustainability strategy.
The STEM Alliance was created to address an unprecedented STEM skills shortage in Europe. Low interest in STEM careers, declining performance in traditional STEM learning, and the digital literacy gap are resulting in ever fewer STEM graduates – limiting not just innovation, but our ability to address global issues like climate change, mobility, and energy. This initiative served as the umbrella project for all the STEM education related collaborations with industry partners. The results of the STEM Alliance activities in 2023 can be found here. As from 2024, the STEM Alliance will become one of the key campaigns of Scientix, the community dedicated to advancing science education in Europe. This collaboration opens numerous opportunities for our partners, bringing together, under a unified umbrella, industry leaders, representatives from the Ministries of Education, the European Commission, teachers, and schools.
The STEM Discovery Campaign (SDC) is a joint international initiative organised by Scientix, which invites projects, organisations, libraries, schools, universities, and youth clubs across Europe and around the world, to celebrate careers and studies in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It takes place every year between 1 Feb and end of April, with a peak of activities during the STEM Discovery Week (3rd week of April). In 2023, the SDC used for the first time the SDC app developed with the support of Cisco which helped showcase over 2,200 activities and had 360,000 participants. European Schoolnet's programme to improve Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics teaching and learning in formal education follows the priorities set by our Ministries of Education STEM representatives Working Group and are implemented through different projects:
→ Priority 1: Improving STEM teaching in early childhood education, primary and secondary.
→ Priority 2: Connecting STEM education with Global challenges. This includes for example projects supporting sustainability.
→ Priority 3: Expanding access to STEM Careers. This includes addressing gender role stereotypes.
→ Priority 4: Facilitating STEM educators exchange & peer learning. Through, validation, and piloting of initiatives, practices, and solutions; sharing of best practices and results from projects; etc.
ARETE
The ARETE project aimed to support the pan-European interactive technologies effort both in industry and academia, through the multi-user interactions within Augmented Reality (AR) technologies evaluated in education in both professional and private contexts. Find here the ARETE PROJECT outcomes.
Make it Open
Make it Open aimed to develop a sustainable infrastructure of Open Schooling in Europe based on the approach, pedagogy, content, processes, and tools of the maker movement. Discover here a summary of activities delivered in 2023 and the project outcomes.
The STE(A)M Partnership Education Resilience in Europe
The STE(A)M Partnership Education Resilience in Europe (the SPERE) finished with the publication of the report "Teaching immigrant students: challenges, needs and available solutions", in September 2023, by European Schoolnet. The report outlines the needs of teachers to better integrate students with an immigrant background in their classes and propose possible solutions to the teachers' challenges in this context. Videos on the SPERE providing more detailed information on the solutions supported.
ARETE Smart Connected Classrooms Pilot Phase 1
The Smart Connected Classrooms Pilot Project was launched in collaboration with Scientix STE(A)M Partnerships and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ initiative and coordinated by European Schoolnet. The pilot aimed to assist schools in their methodological and digital transformation to improve teacher effectiveness, achieve individualized student learning, and ensure digital inclusion for all learners through the pilot project in two countries. From January to May 2023, the pilot was implemented in two schools, one in Spain and one in Portugal, with five teachers and 128 students.
