31 Jul Closing Europe’s STEM gap starts with teachers
31 Jul, 2026
STEAMedge at EduCafé
Earlier this year, STEAMedge joined educators, policymakers and researchers in Brussels for EduCafé: Putting the STEM Education Strategic Plan into Action, an evening hosted at ISELP that brought together voices from the European Commission, the CES Chair of Education Systems, and Brno University of Technology.
The EU’s STEM Education Strategic Plan, launched in March 2025, sets ambitious 2030 targets, including 45% of VET students in STEM and 32% in higher education. Yet nearly 30% of EU students still fall below basic maths proficiency.
Several themes from the evening capture why:
- Stereotypes take root early, often at primary age, and mothers in particular shape whether girls pursue technical fields.
- The leak doesn’t stop at graduation. Even when women complete STEM degrees, labour market conditions aren’t always built for them to stay.
- Most EU countries face real teacher shortages and patchy professional development. It’s not just what you teach, it’s how, and interactive methods raise engagement equally for girls and boys, if teachers have the training to use them.
- The best example of the night was MyMachine: primary pupils dream up a machine, university students design it, vocational students build it, showing what happens when curiosity and hands-on skills are connected across school levels.
- On AI, the room pushed back on the idea that it lowers the bar for STEM skills. The demand is shifting within STEM, not away from it, and teachers need support to keep up.
This is the landscape STEAMedge steps into.
STEAMedge gives secondary school teachers the skills and confidence to bring emerging technologies and sustainability into the classroom together. Through flexible learning pathways, a Virtual Learning Environment with micro-credentials, and cross-border collaboration with peers across Europe, the project aims to reach 750+ educators, with a strong focus on reaching women and educators from disadvantaged areas.
Thanks to the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research and all the speakers for a great evening.
About STEAMedge
STEAMedge is funded under Erasmus+.
Check out the STEAMedge website for more.
