S&T education for twenty-first century Europe

We have published a discussion paper on ´S&T education for 21^st century Europe´ written by Aldert Kamp (Director of Education for TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering) in collaboration with our Task Force S&T Education for the 21^st Century. The paper explores the trends in engineering sciences and technology, education and society, and provides orientation how universities of S&T and our association can change education in Europe for the better.

The paper provides an overview of what literacies, skillsets and mindsets the students need to be able to address the grand challenges of today’s word. It points out the fundamental changes that universities can make in what and how they teach to better prepare their graduates for the increasing and different demands of the new world of work.

Moreover, it addresses the developments in online education, continuous learning, strengthening of university-industry collaboration, improving the competencies of academic staff.

The paper also presents forward-looking recommendations on skillsets and mindsets for the 21^st century; pedagogical and technological innovations in education; continuous and lifetime education; educational strategy and leadership. With this paper, Aldert Kamp sets the scene for further discussions and makes concrete proposals on what universities can do to keep up with rapid technological, societal and economic changes, and how they can ensure high quality and sustainable learning and teaching.

Rather than presenting a comprehensive overview of all development and all the educational innovations in the engineering sciences, Aldert Kamp with this discussion paper provides ideas for heads of department, education professionals, university leaders and our association based on his analysis of relevant publications. This discussion paper thus is not meant to be neither descriptive nor prescriptive, but inspiring. We thank him warmly for this work.

Read the full discussion paper here.

For more information and enquiries, please contact our Advisor for Higher Education Indrė Antanavičiūtė.