SwissCore successfully co-organised a new edition of the EduCafé, focusing on attracting talent to STEM pathways and strengthening STEM education in Europe.
Together with the Czech Liaison Office (CZELO) and the South Moravian Region to the EU, SwissCore had the pleasure of organising the latest edition of the EduCafé at ISELP. The event presented a panel debate on the topic of “Putting the STEM Education Strategic Plan into Action”, featuring inputs by Chiara Colella, Policy Officer in the ‘Digital Education’ Unit of the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission (EC) and by Mariana Tesařová, Head of Internationalisation at Brno University of Technology (BUT) in the Czech Republic. From the Swiss side, Lena Dändliker, Head of the Swiss Education Lab at the Chair of Education Systems (CES) at ETH Zürich, participated in the panel, where she contributed her research perspective on issues surrounding undersubscription of STEM pathways.
The debate largely explored root causes for the low number of STEM talents in Europe, such as a lack of engagement in primary school and early childhood education and care, as well as gendered career preferences. On the topic of gender, the panel members recalled the importance of providing support and role models to engage women and girls in STEM subjects, while acknowledging the ‘leaky pipeline’, a phenomenon that describes the high level of female drop-outs in STEM careers. The discussants agreed that adequate policy responses should therefore also take into account societal and career factors beyond initial STEM education and, more largely, consider talent retention as an extension of talent attraction.
The discussion further explored the potential of the EC’s STEM Education Strategic Plan, which was published just over a year ago. Ms Colella recapped the first year of the Plan’s implementation and spoke of future action, including the upcoming creation of the STEM executive panel, an advisory body at EU level which foresees strengthened communication between the labour market and education systems. In the context of rapidly changing skill demands in today’s job markets, Ms Dändliker highlighted the importance of soft skills beyond ‘hard’ STEM skills, which enable learners to adapt more easily to new tasks and work environments. In this regard, VET graduates may have an advantage, as transversal skills, versatility and challenge-based learning are at the heart of workplace-based learning, such as is custom in the Swiss VET system.
SwissCore would like to extend its gratitude to the three speakers for sharing their expertise and to all the participants for their engagement and valuable contributions during this session. Additionally, SwissCore would like to thank the co-organisers, the Czech Liaison Office (CZELO) and the South Moravian Region, for their collaborative efforts in organising the event.