- Need to focus on developing student’s digital and practical skills e.g. spatial reasoning, from early childhood, primary and secondary level

- Need to foster productive dispositions in Mathematics- as this causes a barrier for many students to participate in some STEM subjects, e.g. Physics, Engineering, Computer science

- Need to foster and focus on building Identity and sense of belonging in STEM, from early childhood, primary and secondary level.

- Need to ensure initial teacher education programmes provide opportunities for teachers to complete a STEM specialism, this needs to happen for teachers’ of early childhood, primary and secondary level

- Address and enable diversity of pathways to STEM teacher education – career change.

- Establish curricula for interdisciplinary and integrated STEM education linked to real world contexts, industry and careers.

2) involve industry partners in designing and delivering education at all levels (from primary to PhD training), programmes alike MSCA DN but for primary, secondary and tertiary education involving regional enterprises and industry partners

3) create more general curricula (based on critical thinking, reasoning) instead of narrowing focus to specific specializations

4) why are fundamental competences decreasing despite using more supporting tools (like digital tools)?

This includes arousing pupils’ and students’ interest for STEM subjects early on and increasing female participation in tertiary-level STEM subjects and their following job/career choice.

Earlier adoption of STEM skills: STEM skills are often thought of as being acquired at upper secondary and tertiary levels of education. However, these skills can be acquired at all levels of education and training, including at primary and secondary school, and through general or vocational education;

Equity & inclusion - Addressing gender and socio-economic gaps to ensure equal opportunities in STEM.

STEM teacher shortage - A shortage of qualified educators limits student engagement and quality of learning.

Industry Alignment - Bridging the gap between education and evolving industry needs.

Digital Divide - Unequal access to technology and resources across regions.

Engagement & Retention - Making STEM more appealing through hands-on, real-world applications.

Rapid technological change - keeping curricula up to date with AI, robotics and emerging fields.

Lack of practical experience - Insufficient internship and mentoring opportunities for students.

Stereotypes in STEM - Breaking outdated perceptions to attract diverse talent.

Make it Stick - STEM initiatives are often limited to a project and are abandoned when the project ends.

Assessment - Are we assessing the right skills? Or are we still assessing last century skills for the future workforce?

Soft skills gap - Strengthening communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills

Public perception - overcoming the belief that STEM is too difficult or lacks creativity.

2) improve the learning ability of alpha-generation (STEM education, science & engineering cannot be delivered and implemented in 10-min slots, it requires long-term focus and engagement different from a 'fast-food' approach)

The German Employers’ Confederation (BDA), which is a partner of the Girls’ Day in Germany. Every year technical enterprises, enterprises with technical departments and technical training facilities, universities, and research centres are invited to organise an open day for girls – Girls' Day. Under this initiative a large campaign was launched in which a wide range of professions and activities are presented to girls from the age of 10 and upwards. For companies, Girls' Day has evolved as an important instrument of their recruitment policy, including for traineeships, dual study programmes and in encouraging future job applications.

https://teen-turn.com/

• A university qualification in partnership with the Microsoft Dream Space team through Maynooth University, Munster Technological University and Atlantic Technological University which sits on the national framework as a level 6, 5-credit module entitled Introduction to 21st Century STEM skills.  

• A ‘mentoring for equality’ programme through the National Forum for Teaching and Learning, with women and men working in the STEM industry completing the module through mentoring the students and acting as role models. By educating the students and the employees who work in STEM, we are ensuring that we are using a system thinking approach to change, by removing the focus from the students themselves, and ensuring the workplace is ready to support diverse women to become the leaders of the future. 

• STEM Resources which provides students, teachers, and employees access to all the STEM opportunities that are relevant to them. 

• By partnering across Industry, Education (Higher and Post-Secondary), the Department of Education and SFI, we are creating a cohesive eco-system which allows young, working-class women to see their place in STEM, access pathways to STEM courses and careers, and attain STEM qualifications and mentorship. 

• Impact of the STEM Passport
  Since 2021 1250 girls from 38 schools have participated in the programme. They completed research pre and post participation.

  
  

  Changes in STEM Intentions and Confidence Pre and Post Participation
  To establish the impact of the STEM Passport for Inclusion, paired sample t-tests were employed to examine changes in self-reported ratings of intention to study STEM and work in STEM, and confidence to study STEM and confidence to work in STEM. Results show that the STEM Passport is positively impacting students’ STEM Aspirations and STEM Confidence; there was significant increases from time one (pre STEMP) to time two (post STEMP) on all four rating scales (P<.05). There was also a significant increase in students’ self-reported knowledge of what STEM is (45%-95%), their plans to study STEM (40%-80%), and knowing a woman who worked in STEM (28%-92%). 

  1. 76% of students said they are now considering a career in STEM due to participating in the STEM Passport for Inclusion

  2. 95% of students said that the mentors had changed their view of STEM

  3. 79% of students said they were now considering studying a STEM subject

https://stemteacherinternships.ie/

Mentorship & Role Models – Connecting students with industry professionals which whom they can connect to to inspire career aspirations.

Early Exposure – Introducing STEM concepts at a young age helps build long-term interest and confidence.

Collaboration between all stakeholders – Policy, Industry, Teacher training, Head of Schools, Teachers to identify sustainable approaches for the national context.

Inclusive Programs – Targeted initiatives for underrepresented groups help close gender and socioeconomic gaps.

Continuous Teacher Training – Regular upskilling and access to modern teaching methods improve STEM instruction. In-service tutoring & job shadowing.

Systemic Approach, we need to overcome the aspect that STEM-Projects are often have limited time and when they ended, it's back to the old normal

Launch a campaign about being a STEM teachers- show the relevance, value their work in Europe.

Providing teachers with easy-to-implement teaching materials for primary and secondary school, developed and tested by teachers for teachers in international cooperations (www.science-on-stage.eu/teachingmaterials)

Connecting STEM to socially relevant interdisciplinary topics such as sustainability to attract learners with different interests and demonstrate the importance of STEM subjects. Examples teaching materials: www.science-on-stage.eu/act-now-sdg; interview with students: https://youtu.be/vSB8IxmNN3w) and new technologies (teaching material: www.science-on-stage.eu/ai-stem-education, insight into one of the teaching units: https://youtu.be/vSB8IxmNN3w).

Introduce students to different careers in the STEM field connected to the topic of their lessons to encourage more young people to consider a STEM career (https://www.science-on-stage.eu/material/ai-career-orientation). Link STEM with SDG topics.

Giving teachers the opportunity for international, in-person exchange such as the international Science on Stage festival (www.science-on-stage.eu/science-stage-festivals). -> this will also motivate STEM teachers to stay in the profession.