STEAM4LIFE

The international term for this field of education is STEAM, and if you take a look at other European countries, the distribution of men and women in the field is similar. And this despite the fact that there is no difference between women and men in STEAM-related tests and projects. Nevertheless, women are more likely to lose interest in science and university teaching, take fewer courses and, above all, pursue fewer careers in these fields than men. Factors for this include gender-specific socialization in society and stereotypes in STEAM professions. A possible reason for this is the lack of (self-)confidence among women.

The STEAM4LIFE project, consisting of a consortium of six partners, has set itself the following task:

• To support the capacity building of university teachers to carry out practical STEAM activities using technological tools and gender-oriented approaches.
• To strengthen and promote women's self-confidence in STEAM to motivate them to consider a career in the future.
• To develop innovative, high-quality learning materials, resources and OER for university teachers and industry leaders to promote the empowerment and engagement of women in STEAM.
• Strengthening and promoting women's interest in the digital sector by developing a mentoring program, gender-specific teaching activities and open educational resources in a real-world context.

The project team also wants to help make the STEAM sector more attractive in order to create and sustain a healthy change in the industry. The focus here should be primarily on empowering university students (with a focus on women) to become more actively involved. It is important to provide women with proper advice that is helpful from an industry perspective. This could help women pursue a STEAM career in the future.

The following project results are to be achieved:

• Development of a support package for university teachers and industry leaders to improve their professional practice in involving women in STEAM activities and in digital technologies through a collection of resources and a mentoring program.
• An e-learning environment and various open educational resources with online courses.
• A STEAM4LIFE committee in which stakeholders from different fields are represented.