European Union faces a shortage of specialists who have completed STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) studies. CEDEFOP’s (European Center for the Development of Vocational Training) official statistics show that by 2025 the demand on highly qualified workforce will increase by 12% compared to the current state, the employment structure will also change: about 80% of new established jobs will require high qualifications. Long-term forecasts clearly indicate that the demand for qualified employees will be increasing constantly due to changes in the sectoral employment structure and changes in knowledge-based technologies.The FUTURE SPACE project provides a significant change in learning and teaching STEM subjects in upper secondary schools in Poland, Greece and the Netherlands. The implementation of the project will allow to reduce the number of low achievers in natural science subjects, increase the number of candidates for STEM studies and introduce young people to career opportunities in the space sector and other innovative industries. Modern tools and innovative didactic forms combined with an attractive subject matter of classes, should also result in a better understanding of STEM issues.The two main deliverables of the project are the Space Schools Programme and the Space Programme for science centres and other non-formal education organisations. Thematic modules are devoted to the XXI century’s global challenges and practical solutions offered by research and exploration of the near space. Both Programmes indicate economic and social benefits of space exploration, as well as career paths in industry, available not only to STEM specialists, but also to lawyers or graduates in social sciences. The Programmes will use a variety of didactic materials, such as short videos, ICT tools, and even an astronomical show for mobile planetariums. The aim of the Space Schools Programme is not to replace the existing curricula of individual STEM subjects, but to extend their content, present real-life applications to theoretical school knowledge and indicate the interdisciplinary nature of all STEM subjects. The Programme will also contain practical information for schools on how to organize classes and teaching process.The Space Programme for science centres and other non-formal learning and teaching institutions and organisations is a significant modification of the Space School Programme. The Space Programme is based on a wide range of training experience as well as expertise of the project foreign partners: NEMO Science Museum, Amsterdam and NOESIS Science Centre, Thessaloniki. Both Programmes offer workshops to develop youth's skills and competencies: from basic scientific and technical ones, through cross-section to soft skills. We also have foreseen a pilotage for Space Schools Programme to guarantee it fits the upper secondary school needs. The target group of the project are teachers of science subject in upper secondary schools in Poland, Greece and the Netherlands, but also students to whom some of the materials will be directly addressed. Moreover, the Space Programme increases the target group by lower secondary school students. The Project will train a large number of science teachers and educators. The multiplier events allow to reach 10 000 persons it total (directly and indirectly) in Poland, Greece and the Netherlands and the next few thousands from all over Europe due to ECSITE conferences. Workshops and conferences for the teachers will be conducted by specialists of the teachers’ training centres and science centres. Schools which decide to implement the Programme should see positive results already in the second year of its application. Individual elements of the Space Schools Programme can be used separately in upper secondary schools, shaping the STEM science interests and showing interesting career paths for young people all over Europe.The implementation of the project will result in long-term benefits not only by improving the quality of natural science subjects teaching and introducing the latest didactic methodology to schools. It will also increase the number of candidates for STEM studies, and present attractive career paths in the space sector and other industry sectors related to new technologies. Both Programmes enrich the educational offer for schools and non-formal teaching and learning organisations and improve the competences of teachers and educators.

The project “STEMitUP (Instilling interest for STEM entrepreneurship to young people across Europe) was designed to stimulate entrepreneurship and encourage STEM uptake by making STEM-related courses fun and interesting for students aged 4-15. It was also designed to plant “seeds of interest” that could grow into rewarding STEM entrepreneurship careers. Adding an entrepreneurial layer to STEM education helps young people to apply scientific and mathematical to solve real-world problems, to think creatively and to benefit their communities. STEMitUP developed a range of gender-sensitive activities to promote scientific and entrepreneurial thinking, which are now available for download on the project website:https://www.stemitup.euThe project achieved this through its fusion of STEM, Entrepreneurship and gender-sensitive Education, and the development of a state-of-the-art professional development training programme, targeting pre-service and in-service teachers. It implemented the innovative activities of STEMitUP at European level through cooperation between universities, science museums, NGOs, SMEs and their European networks.The project has also produced state-of-the-art reports on STEM entrepreneurship, which is a neglected, trans-disciplinary area in European education. These are also available from the website.All the objectives of the project were achieved, as follows:1)STEMitUP improved teacher training in the area of STEM entrepreneurship by providing materials and workshops.
2)STEMitUP developed students’ skills related to STEM entrepreneurship subjects, through workshops and a science fair.
3)STEMitUP promoted the increased participation of girls and other groups of learners at special risk of exclusion from scientific and entrepreneurial studies and careers, by adopting an inclusive STEM entrepreneurship education model.
4)STEMitUP encouraged sharing of experiences from all partners across Europe to identify best practices for the incorporation of ideas related to science, technology and entrepreneurship in STEM classrooms and in teacher education;
5)STEMitUP fostered a mutually beneficial relationship between research communities in STEM entrepreneurship subjects, teacher networks and local education systems for the on-going advancement of the disciplines;6)STEMitUP facilitated the widespread dissemination and sustainability of resources and innovative pedagogical approaches to the wider EU community and internationally, through its website https://www.stemitup.eu,The main activities of the project included:1)
Mapping of best practices at national, European and international level;
2)Development of STEMitUP activities for teachers and students;
3)Development of pedagogical material related to STEMitUP activities;
4)Definition of a methodological framework for “fun” as a founding element of work;
5)Organisation of training events for teachers to create the conditions for the implementation of STEMitUP activities; 6)Organisation of multiplier events to widely disseminate project activities;. Report FormThe potential impact of STEMitUP will depend on long-term trends in entrepreneurship education in general, and the interaction between entrepreneurship and other trends in STEM education, such as inquiry-based learning. We identified some of these trends in two of the main documents resulting from the project: IO1, the national state of the art report and IO2, the consolidated report on STEM entrepreneurship in Europe.In order to provide robust evidence of impact, the project would, however, need to collect data for a considerable length of time after the end of its official funding period, which is not possible under the current arrangements.Areas where the project has achieved potential impact included:
•Increased motivation for students towards STEM-related and entrepreneurship subjects;
•Increased awareness by students of the relevance and functionality of STEM entrepreneurship, leading to a probable increase in the number of students taking up academic studies and careers related to STEM disciplines.•Improved problem-solving and critical thinking skills, reasoning, and literacy, both to facilitate science education and to increase the scientific literacy of citizens;
•Greater implementation of inquiry-based teaching methods and related interdisciplinary approaches by teachers;
•Engagement of students in STEM entrepreneurship from an early age;
•Increased interest of parents and the general public in science and technology •Increased number of women in STEM-related studies;•
Enhanced STEM entrepreneurship levels, leading, in the long term to reduced youth unemployment, while boosting job creation and growth;
•Increased number of STEM startups due to improved innovation capacity.

Our priority is that through this project all project partners will be collaborating with the youth workers and with the youth to engage them in informal education in relation to STEAM and science communication. Moreover, sharing the knowledge and experiences would enhance the projects' outputs; namely the interactive resource including a high quality video of a science show, and public speaking/ debate skills sets. Youth participation strengthens personal and social development, provides expertise for youth programmes and services, and promotes a more democratic society. In the context of complex inter-generational challenges such as climate change and sustainable development, it is increasingly important for scientists and policy-makers to actively engage with and support the meaningful participation of youth in policy and decision-making.Art, theatre and storytelling will be used as media for youth upskilling and engagement. The first phase of the project will involve a triangulation research with youth and the surrounding communities and a training programme by a well established cultural organisation in which together with the youth entity will provide a comprehensive upskilling programme for science communicators on collaborating with youth. Using the research and the training through several matchmaking sessions youth workers, science communicators, artists and the youth will work together to produce the interactive resource. Transnational meetings will be used for the science centres, youth agency and the artistic organisation to monitor progress and plan ahead. Upon its completion the interactive resource will be presented during the three non formal multiplier events named Youth Science Cafes. During these multiplier events youth will be actively involved in their organisation and will also actively participate in the science show and science cafe. These multiplier events will be targeting more youths through the participation from the surrounding communities. Through these cafes, youths are presented with the opportunity to speak about their involvement in informal education; in connection to science communication and STEAM subjects. Furthermore, the interactive resource would be freely available to the public on the Websites of science centres. The innovative aspect of this project is that the science show would be developed on the basis of research conducted as part of this project in collaboration with the Youth Agency, involving the youths. Further more, a concluding conference would be held in Malta bringing together representatives from stakeholders in non formal education, science communication, youth work, youths and the art sectors. The conference will enable sharing of best practices and experiences, dissemination of the project outputs through the active involvement of the youths and specific workshops.

<< Objectives >>The world is facing a great number of problems caused by human development activities. By focusing on Sustainable development education for VET students and teachers we aim to bring learning in VET schools that will empower young people to develop alternative values and transformative actions towards environmental awareness thus contributing to a more sustainable society. We will use space science as the perfect arena to tackle sustainability and will improve space careers awareness.<< Implementation >>a) develop educational activities in VET schools in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Italy for 16+ year old students on ESD and space b) conduct teacher trainings for educators in VET schoolsc) Engage with schools to pilot and support implementation of activitiesd) new learning ecosystems in the partner countries ( VET schools, space industry companies, policy makers, teacher training institutes, museums, observatories)<< Results >>a) An educational framework on addressing ESD using space as a context for 16+ VET students.b) a toolkit of educational activities in ESD and space and space career pathsc) ecosystems in five countries advancing ESD education in VET schoolsOverall the project will contribute to VET students' 21st Century skills, make them agents of change in environmental and climate-change challenges, build on existing communities and encourage exchange of expertise and practice.

Culture constitutes the great wealth and driving force of the European Union. Indeed, just the former year, 2018, was declared as the European Year of Cultural Heritage, thus wishing to stimulate action but also to enhance the value of culture in developing a common European identity and a sense of belonging to the EU citizens. The present proposal seeks the convergence of culture and education through the creation of an integrated educational program for the younger audience and especially the school and preschool audience provided in small museums, mainly in the province, of EU countries, using modern technology with emphasis on augmented and mixed reality. The partnership of this project has been formed with the participation of academic partners, small and large-scale museums, technological bodies along with secondary schools.The present project hopes to turn the school visit to the museum into a stunning, charming and enjoyable learning process through an application and a game appropriately designed for school education and for its use in the educational process of the classroom providing the opportunity for experiential practice and play in the museum. The target audience is the whole school community, but mainly focusing on children, teenagers and teachers in the areas of the partners.In order to achieve the objectives of the project, a set of activities will be set up concerning both the implementation and the subsequent exploitation of its results.The following results are expected from the implementation of the project:• A guide to museum education with the use of modern technology• Virtual tour platform tailored to school education• Game with enhanced and mixed reality technology• Application for smartphones and tablets with access both to the platform and the game Apart from the partner schools involved in the project, it is planned to inform the school community of the region of each partner museum with an invitation to visit and use the integrated educational program. The outcomes of the project will be available at no cost, both during the project and for three years after the funding period for further elaboration.By implementing the project, the following objectives are expected to be achieved:• shaping the perception of small and medium-sized museums as places of learning, especially in the province of EU countries • highlighting the potential of technology as a means of promoting and learning about Europe's culture• highlighting the potential of technology as a means of attracting children and young people to the cultural wealth of Europe • the promotion of educational programs provided by museums as additional to the education taking place in the classroom• developing co-operation between museums and school communities to provide modern education• redefining small and medium-sized museums in the province of EU countries as attractive destinations for children and youth