Euregional Technology Award

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In the Euregion there is a high demand for qualified technological workforce and schools, at various levels, struggle to satisfy this demand. This world-wide problem has several cohesive reasons which can be found in some important aspects. In primary and secondary education, when study and career choices have to develop, insufficient attention is paid to technology (as a school subject). In many curricula the subject has vanished or has become fragmented. Also teachers are often incapable to design pedagogical strategies that teach students the rich content and possibilities the technology domain has to offer. Technology in schools often differs much from technology in real life, which shows that schools and the technology sector are completely divided worlds that act individually and do not learn from each other. As a result, students develop false perceptions of what technology really is, how technological careers may look like and what opportunities there are. Eventually, this may contribute negatively to the contemporary high demand for qualified technological workforce. Stichting Stimuleren has started in 2016 to develop and implement an event (Technology Award) for various secondary schools in the EMR with the collaboration of companies and engineering consultants. The aim was to enthuse first grade secondary school students to tackle various (societal) challenges from a technical perspective and to experience the different STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). As such the pupils were forced to think out of the box and to engage STEM from a different perspective. With guest lessons, performed by teacher-students, the students were challenged to solve a certain problem. A panel of teachers, companies, engineers assessed the proposals and the best ones were to pitch their solution in a euregional event. The winner was to actually engineer and build the proposed solution. The results of this approach are very promising, but in order to actually make a difference in convincing many students to choose for a STEM study and/or career, the scale and approach of the events will need to be transferred to a higher level. In that respect collaboration is found in partners who have also developed their approach to the subject and which will disclose their access to schools in order to involve them in the program. The combination of best practices and regional approach in involving schools  The logic of the project remains that a STEM methodology/approach is developed which has an impact on students in terms of their choice of study, on parents in terms of STEM perception (STEM as a positive choice) and encourages/inspires teachers to actively work with it and be an ambassador. Moreover companies will be involved from the beginning, since they are the final beneficiaries of this project in the medium long term. WP1 will focus on the development of a euregional program that incorporates this methodology with attention to the three goals and for which the successful Technology Award will be used as a basis. Other activities will be held in order to create, develop sessions of awerness for pupils on new technologies of the industrial sector. Based on demonstration and practise exercise, the goal is to motivate young people to apply for technical job in their future studies. To complete the landscape, toolkit for teachers will be prepare and easily accessible to support them introducing technological topics in their courses. WP2 is the concrete rollout of the program that has been developed by the partnership and the dissemination of the generic framework. WP3 researches the critical success factors, examines how we can improve the program and creates a framework to apply this methodology/approach in other programs. This will also focus on ways on how to challenge primary school pupils (age 9-10) to stimulate STEM, since scientific research has learned that this is the age where children actually make choices for directions of professions. The partners have had intensive contact with Bildungsamt Städteregion Aachen, RWTH Aachen, ZDI MINT Netzwerk Aachen/Kreis Heinsberg and MINT Forschungszentrum Naturpark Eiffel who decided not to join because of their lack in staff capacity. All organisations (except RWTH) have indicated however to support the project by disclosing information on schools in their region and disseminate the tools and publications. The same applies to the Ministerium der DG (Be) and PABO (NL). Agoria and Keyport 2020 will support the project as an associated partner, as a result of which the project has a further opening to companies in Be and NL.

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