Communications Toolkit
What is STEM Alliance? OVERVIEW KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT IDEAS
Demand for STEM professionals and associate professionals is expected to grow by around 8% between now and 2025, much higher than the average 3% growth forecast for all occupations. Europe needs more young people to be interested in STEM subjects and pursue STEM careers so that they can become a part of a muchneeded qualified workforce in the coming years. To accomplish this, we must engage and spark their interest using innovative methods. Industry and the Ministries of Education are working together to improve the situation of STEM education in Europe. They collaborate under the STEM Alliance, which further builds on the achievements obtained by the inGenious project. This is why, with the support of its partners, STEM Alliance animates a community of companies and educational authorities to motivate as many young people as possible to pursue STEM subjects and careers.
The STEM Alliance is organised in three major building blocks: Supporting school – industry cooperation to improve STEM education and promote STEM careers
European communication campaigns, the spring campaign with its highest peak on the STEM Discovery Week, and a Back to School campaign
Support of the emergence of National STEM Platforms and coordination of targeted evidencebased studies
Why should companies participate?
OVERVIEW
European Visibility
EVENT IDEAS
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KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL
Achieve European prominence by being included on a multi-stakeholder platform.
Connection with Schools
Ensure visibility to your company’s efforts to promote STEM studies and jobs Build on the results of inGenious, a successful European pilot initiative which actively engaged 250 innovative teachers from 28 countries and tested practices with 20,000 students
Enrich the strategy to reduce the STEM skills gap & to support STEM education connecting with schools. • •
Contribute to enliven and energise STEM teaching in Europe by offering real, live industrial situations Benefit from feedback from schools
Promotion of Business/ Education collaboration
Provide a central place for the promotion of Business/ Education in STEM Education.
Policy platform
Access a policy platform.
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Actively promote all the various initiatives developed by companies in the STEM area Get support in promoting STEM jobs Promotion of company’s volunteering programme
Ministries and companies discuss STEM teaching and learning challenges for the future Companies reward innovative STEM schools and teachers Companies support the publication of analysis and surveys which will inform strategic recommendations for policymakers
STEM Alliance calendar of activities: school year 2016/2017 OVERVIEW KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL
date
event 26th September – 7th October 2016
31st October 2016
STEM Alliance Back to School campaign
Release of STEM Alliance paper on the impact of the use of ICT in STEM Education
EVENT IDEAS 24th November 2016
8:00 – 13:00
February 2017
28th February 2017 April-May 2017
(date TBC)
• High Level Event for policy-makers and industrialists in Brussels • Award ceremony for winners of the STEM4YOU competition 2016 Launch of Professionals Go Back to School Scheme
Closing of the STEM Alliance competition
STEM Discovery Week
What is the Back to School campaign? OVERVIEW KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT IDEAS
With the end of the summer season comes the new school year and students return to their studies, well-equipped and full of energy. This is an excellent opportunity for companies to get engaged in the lives of young people and innovate the educational process through interesting and exciting initiatives. This is particularly important when it comes to STEM subjects, as motivating young people to pursue science and technology fields is essential for forming a capable and innovative workforce in Europe. With the Back to School campaign, it is time to involve students in your activities and lead the next generation of scientists and engineers! What will you do?
How can you participate? Share your opinion on STEM studies & careers in our online polls
Share with us your plans for STEM education
See what the STEM Alliance partners are planning
Submit your events to the STEM Alliance map
How will you help young people explore the world of possibilities with STEM subjects and careers? Participate in the Back to School campaign by sharing your plan with us!
Back to School slogans: Open doors to fascinating STEM careers during Back to School with STEM Alliance
Explore a world of opportunities with STEM careers during Back to School with STEM Alliance
Shape bright minds and futures with STEM careers during Back to School with STEM Alliance
Spark an interest in STEM careers during Back to School with STEM Alliance
How can we spread the word? Below are some materials you can use in your communication channels for the Back to School campaign - click the images to download the full-size version:
STEM Alliance official logo:
OVERVIEW KEY DATES Download our posters for your events!
BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT IDEAS
You can use it for social media posts, news items, blog entries, events, etc. You can crop the image if needed, but remember to keep the text and the STEM Alliance logo visible!
STEM Alliance visual identity guide
How can we promote online? Social Media
OVERVIEW KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT IDEAS
In your newsletter [YOUR ORG NAME] is proud to support STEM Alliance during their Back to School campaign and open doors to fascinating STEM careers! Join STEM Alliance and explore the fascinating world of STEM with events, workshops, chats, webinars, forum discussions, competitions and much more! [YOUR OWN INITIATIVE WITHIN STEM DISCOVERY WEEK HERE]. Please visit stemalliance.eu to get involved, sign up for regular updates and find out how to apply for any planned activities and competitions. For more details, contact stemalliance@eun.org
Don’t forget to tag us! /StemAllianceEU @stemalliance_eu http://eepurl.com/bT3AUj
# back2stem
What events can we organise? OVERVIEW
There are a number of ways you can get students, classes, other companies, schools and communities involved in the Back to School campaign. Your participation can be as simple as a display of your products and services, or as complex as a whole-school science fair. Here are a few examples:
KEY DATES BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT IDEAS
Visit a school as an industry professional and representative to talk about STEM sector and careers
Organise a poster contest for schools on STEM topics
Invite a class to your company for a daytrip!
Participate as a speaker in a webinar
Have an exhibition with products from your company for educational purposes
Organise a quiz for students and give out prizes
Challenge students to create lessons with the help of company STEM education resources
Have a Q&A session on Twitter for students and teachers
Announce a competition for most impressive experiment