Rationale

 

“STEMitUP” refers to the idiom “Spice it up” that means “make something more interesting or exciting”.

 

STEMitUP aims at developing a state-of-the-art comprehensive educational programme that will fill STEM teachers’ quiver with innovative and fun pedagogical tools. The overall aim is to make STEM-related courses fun and interesting for students of lower secondary schools aged 11-15 and strategically plant a “seed of interest” that could grow into an exciting and rewarding STEM entrepreneurship career.

 

A fusion of two interrelated fields will take place: stimulating entrepreneurship and encouraging STEM uptake at the same time.Adding an entrepreneurial layer to STEM education will help youth apply STEM to solve real-world problems, to think in a creative and innovative way and at the same time to benefit their communities.

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Objectives

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The project aims to:

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• Develop students’ skills, knowledge and competences related to STEM combined with an entrepreneurial mindset, through the provision of initial and in-service teacher training opportunities and support systems.

• Promote increased participation of lower secondary education students who are at special risk of exclusion from scientific and entrepreneurial studies and careers. This will be done through the adoption of an inclusive STEM entrepreneurship education model;

• Encourage sharing of experiences from all the partners across Europe to identify best practices for the incorporation of ideas related to science, technology and entrepreneurship in STEM classrooms and in teacher education.

• Foster a mutually beneficial relationship between research communities in STEM entrepreneurship subjects, teacher networks and local education systems for the on-going advancement of the disciplines;

• Facilitate the widespread dissemination and sustainability of resources and innovative pedagogical approaches to the wider EU community and internationally.

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Target Groups

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• Teachers, head teachers and vice-head teachers – This is our main target group as their role is key to influence student perceptions of STEM subjects and STEM entrepreneurship as a future career option.

• Students aged 11-15 - These young people are our ultimate target group and will be reached through follow-up project activities.

• Parents and Career counselors

• Decision makers

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Which are the Innovative elements of STEMitUP project?

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STEMitUP’s key innovative feature is that it combines two different fields, ie. STEM Education and Entrepreneurship to address both the decreasing interest of students in pursuing STEM careers and the increasing youth unemployment rates.

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STEMitUP is developed on three pillars: STEM Education, Entrepreneurship and Gender Balance. Thus, an inclusive science, technology and entrepreneurship education model that will encourage the participation of learners from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds will be adopted, as it is important to raise the educational standards of European youth in these disciplines.

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Furthermore, STEMitUP encompasses a wide variety of STEM subjects in the fields of chemistry, computer and information technology science, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physics and astronomy and social sciences (anthropology, economics, psychology and sociology), all combined with entrepreneurship.