Europe In Change: STEAMing ahead towards our future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Europe In Change: STEAMing ahead towards our future

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

In “Europe in Change: STEAMing ahead towards our future” 6 international partner schools have set up a project that needed to be in line with a new European educational goal called STEM. Students need to be motivated to learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths in order to become so passionate about it that they choose their future study and career in one or several of these fields. Moreover many careers of the future will expect people and teams of people to be able to integrate various of these skills.

And that is exactly what this project wanted to do by bringing together teacher-specialists from several disciplines and have them create challenging lesson material integrating all STEM aspects which need to inspire 16-17 year olds to continue on the STEM path. However this project has gone one step further and has also added A (for Art) to the equation, upgrading STEM into STEAM. On one hand just by integrating Art as an element in the lesson packages created.

On the other hand though the project has given Art a prominent part by creating a 6 metre high, 8 metre diameter work of Art that can be visited by the public in Castle Batenborch, Peutie, Belgium and having been presented at an exhibition at the European Parliament in April 2019. All traditional STEM aspects are integrated in this work of Art through contributions of all participating schools and artists involved by those schools.

Apart from these two main objectives the partnership also wanted to enlarge its target audience by creating STE(A)M@home and STE(A)MForAll material that would challenge both younger students and adults into exploring the world of STE(A)M and tease them into trying their hand at simple STE(A)M challenges.

The six school from Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden are a mix of general, art (music) and technical/vocational schools that were able to contribute to the project by investing their special skills in both the lesson material and the work of art.

This very ambitious and diverse project required intense collaboration and communication throughout the 3 years of the project. For three years teachers were busy creating and trying lesson material. And for three years plans were made, specified and carried out in order to assemble an almost gigantic work of art by the end of the 3rd project year. However, some milestones were created, moments at which we tested, discussed, adapted and planned the further course to be taken. The transnational project meetings proved very valuable to evaluate the general course of the project and the realization of the work of art. The short exchanges of groups of pupils enabled us to test lesson material and explore the national topics. The joint-staff teacher training events allowed teams of international teachers to learn from each other, to get better acquainted with the benefits of the STEAM approach and to experience the positive impact it has on students.

Apart from the empowering impact on teachers and students, and therefore on the entire partner schools, the 6 packages of teaching material, linked up with 6 international topics and available in 7 languages, can have a lasting impact on all European (and worldwide?) educators who can freely dispose of the material as it has been published on www.steamon.eu . Also the work of art may be a lasting testimony and source of inspiration on what people can achieve if they join forces, knowledge and skills, especially across borders.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 180850 Eur

Project Coordinator

Vrij Technisch Instituut Veurne & Country: BE

Project Partners

• Escola Artística do Conservatório de Música do Porto
• Istituto Istruzione Superiore Natta/Deambrosis
• Srednja gradbena, geodetska in okoljevarstvena sola Ljubljana
• 1 Geniko Lykeio Alexandroupolis
• Jämtlands Gymnasium Wargentin