Date & time: Tuesday, 9 June 2020 at 17:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Registration form: https://bit.ly/webinar-stem-forward

Jointly organised by STEM Alliance, Scientix and EPCA, the webinar was held online on Tuesday, 9 June 2020 at 17:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) in English.

Description:

According to a survey conducted by Scientix among 3780 educators in 38 European countries, a significant proportion of teachers (65% of the overall sample) indicated having undertaken no professional development of any of the kinds listed in the survey during the last two years. This will inevitably impact on the quality of STEM education, for example limiting the use of new technologies in the class.

The STEM Education Policies in Europe report (2018) highlighted the increasing involvement of private companies working in STEM fields in supporting teachers in producing educational content. Educators appear to be open to school-industry collaboration – a very positive sign, as school-industry exchanges can provide valuable opportunities for teachers to develop professionally. As reported in the Scientix study, 93% of the teachers surveyed believe they should use more resources from industry.

The fact that STEM teachers report only rare use of industry-based educational materials is of particular concern and indicates that more effort is needed to ensure that industry-created resources reach the school level. There is a clear need to support the development and dissemination of relevant STEM training programmes which encourage teachers to build their subject and pedagogical knowledge as well as their confidence in using new technologies in the classroom. Appropriate mechanisms to recognise and support teachers' efforts to improve their teaching should be put in place.

Strengthening school-industry collaboration is essential to ensure that teachers are in a good position to help their students develop relevant skills, and for companies to support the improvement of the labour force of tomorrow. Industry develops education purpose-built technologies and services helping the academic world to acquire the skills needed to be competitive on the job market and fill the gap in STEM-related jobs currently foreseen.

SPEAKERS

Jens Assmann, BASF - Staff to the Chairman of the Board Jens is working as Chief Technology Officer of BASF SE in Ludwigshafen and is also holding the position as Staff to the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. Prior to joining BASF SE in 2018, Jens served in positions as Head of Marketing and New Business Development at Amino Resins. He studied chemistry at the university of Goettingen where he not only received his doctoral degree in the field of physical chemistry, but also co-founded the Microliquids GmbH.

Anja Feldmann, BASF – Corporate Innovation Anja is an expert on Innovation design at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen. During her career as a professional journalist she has explored Japan and Russia extensively and was a lecturer for the German Academic Exchange Service at Tongji University in Shanghai for six years. After joining BASF mid-career in 2008 to build up Research and Innovation communication she organized major science conferences and events and covered stakeholder management for sustainable palm in the cosmetics industry for several years. Her current interest is scouting for startup companies, open innovation projects as well as virtual community buildup. As chairwomen of the Women in Business Network at BASF she takes a great interest in the CSR and sustainability aspects of innovation. Anja has an MBA from Strathclyde University and a journalism degree.

 

WEBINAR RECORDING

WEBINAR PRESENTATION

 

STEM Alliance http://www.stemalliance.eu

Scientix http://www.scientix.eu/

  In collaboration with:

Based in Brussels, The European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) is the primary European Business Network for the global petrochemical business community consisting of chemical producers, their suppliers, customers and service providers. It operates for and through more than 700-member companies from 54 different countries. EPCA organises conferences and events in Europe offering members all over the world the opportunity to meet industry leaders and selected external stakeholders and stay abreast of international market developments as well as technological and societal trends. EPCA also supports members on specific topics that underpin the sustainable development of the global petrochemical industry. EPCA promotes STEM education, with a clear focus on gender and diversity inclusion. EPCA also highlight the multidisciplinary approach and the variety of challenging career paths that the petrochemical industry offers.