The most important aim of the EUTech project is to stimulate pupils in primary and first stage secondary education for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and thus to interest them in choosing a further STEM education or a technical profession. This target group is deliberately chosen as they are just about to choose their study profile. The project introduces students to the various facets of technology in a challenging, practical, and inspiring way.
As such the project is addressing a very important challenge of companies in the EMR: the lack of sufficient technical competencies. Current euregional initiatives are being or have been developed to deal with this topic in the short term, mostly emphasizing vocational training. This challenge however also needs an approach based on the (medium) long period, ensuring that more pupils and future students are more ‘confronted’ with technical aspects and their influence/impact in daily life.
Inspiring STEM education needs innovative contexts and concepts to show the relevance of STEM for future and sustainable living. Although many innovative companies and R&D centers work intensively on new products and services, these innovations do not reach the school and the educational field. The SECURE research has also shown that teachers lack examples of STEM innovations. This project will disclose this innovative dimension of STEM for the educational field.
