Date & time: Thursday, 28 March 2019 from 10:00 to 11:30 Brussels Time

Description:

Jointly organised by STEM Alliance and Scientix, the chat was held online on Thursday, 28 March 2019 from 10:00 to 11:30, Brussels time. The chat took place in English. During this session, pupils had the opportunity to ask questions on careers in the petrochemical industry to the experts.

The STEM Alliance chat sessions address classes (pupils from secondary schools) that are led by one or more teachers and aim at promoting awareness of all aspects of STEM careers. Since these chats bring together key STEM professionals and classes from different European countries, they may enhance a lesson focusing on a significant subject.

During one and a half hour, pupils, led by one or more teachers, had the opportunity to ask topic-related questions to the experts:

SPEAKER BIO

Rosa Quarato is an education enthusiast and dedicated professional with about 20 years experience in the chemical industry during which she experienced several commercial roles. Since early 2017, she works as Market Development Manager for EMEAI for the Industrial Solutions business at Dow Belgium in Antwerp, managing growth projects across several markets and applications. Rosa is a passionate supporter of Inclusion and Diversity and an active member of several Employee Resource Groups at Dow, among which the Disability Employee Network, through which she has been advocating awareness and volunteerism for the Special Olympics in the last 6 years. She is Italian, lives in Antwerp and holds a Master's degree in English and French literature and an Executive Master Degree in Marketing and Advertising from the Solvay Business School in Brussels.

Rosa Quarato Market Development Manager for EMEAI for the Industrial Solutions Business, Dow Belgium in Antwerp

Christoph Girmann is an educated logistic expert with more than 14 years' experience. In 2010, he joined the specialty division Agility Chemicals that is providing its services to the chemical industry. Since then he has developed into his current role as Supply Chain Manager. In his current role, he focuses on operational excellence and customer reviews achieving agreed key performance indicators (KPI´s). Furthermore, he has responsibilities as Regional Account Manager in Europe developing relationship and the supply chain of the customer. He is also part of Agility´s Business Development Team building new business opportunities with new customers. The role also involves regular Project Leadership. In his first few years with Agility Christoph worked for multiple divisions within the company such as Airfreight / Sea freight / Overland / Fairs & Events and within the project department. He is German, lives in Dusseldorf and completed a Bachelor of Business Administration, graduating in June 2014 with the title of State Certified Business Economist.

Christoph Girmann Supply Chain Manager Agility Chemicals

CHAT SUMMARY

Download the chat summary here.

CHAT RECORDING

The purpose of this chat was to offer secondary school pupils a better understanding of careers in the STEM field with the chemical industry. Specifically, this chat provided an insight into a chemistry career. One speaker from company members of the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) presented her experience related to this career path and talked about the opportunity existing in this sector.

Classes discussed with professionals how a daily job looks like, the study and career path that brought them to their job. A facilitator from the STEM Alliance coordinating team moderated and supported both schools and company representatives to have a meaningful discussion. The chat was a great opportunity for teachers to make their lessons interactive and interesting.

Before the chat, it was recommended that teachers introduce pupils to the topic of discussion, to familiarise them with the profile of the speakers, and prepare the questions in classes.

A focal point for this chat was the current disparity between demand and supply of talent in chemical industry. Above are some of the key challenges facing the industry which can help pupils better understand why now, more than ever, the chemical industry needs young, flexible and innovative people. Pupils are encouraged to have a look at issues, such as lack of education in the STEM fields (resulting in low applicant pools), the existence of technological unemployment, and the lack of gender diversity in the chemical industry in advance of the chat to form relevant questions when chatting with the experts.

Teachers could prepare their classes to take part in this chat by watching the recording of the previous webinar and chat related to the topic of careers in chemical industry and by reviewing the material provided in the relevant links section.

Relevant links

• EPCA corporate website
• Petro & Chemistry: Partnership For A Better Life
• EPCA Role Model Series
• Science: Where Can It Take You?
• Chemistry: All About You
• The Young EPCA Think Tank (YETT)
• Career areas in Dow

STEM Alliance http://www.stemalliance.eu

Scientix http://www.scientix.eu/

 

About European Schoolnet

European Schoolnet is a network of 34 Ministries of Education from across the European member states, leading educational innovation at European level. As a major international think tank, European Schoolnet operates key European services in education on behalf of the European Commission, member Ministries of Education and industry partners. European Schoolnet's activities are divided among three areas of work:

• Policy, research and innovation: information sharing and evidence building.
• Schools services: enhancing cooperation between schools across Europe.
• Advocacy: how ICT and digital media contribute to transforming teaching and learning processes.

About EPCA

Based in Brussels,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.