Education Working Group

acatech’s Education Working Group pools the knowledge of leading experts in the social sciences, humanities, and in engineering. Together, they find solutions for how schools, universities, and extracurricular learning institutions can be led into the digital age within the digital transformation. Further, they line out which impetus must be provided so that education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is improved for the long term.

To achieve this, the Working Group discusses project ideas, initiates projects, and supports the communication of findings in the reality of education.

Vocational STEM qualifications for all

With a focus on the rising deficit of skilled workers in STEM as well as on the societal goal of equality of opportunity, an effort needs to be made to ensure that all people have a qualifying entry into the STEM professional and working world.

The Education Working Group by acatech emphasises three tools necessary for the equitable and future-oriented design of the school and education system:

• Minimum standards for the STEM education,
• Entry qualification for vocational training,
• Offers for vocational orientation and preparation.

Further impetus for policymakers can be found in the publication “Vocational STEM qualification for all” (“MINT-Berufsqualifikation für alle”). It offers an oversight on the key issues regarding vocational STEM qualifications for all and intends to initiate a broad societal dialogue on equality of opportunity in the educational system.

Update for the educational system: Studying and teaching in the virtual classroom

The COVID crisis has shown: More and more schooling will be taking place in the virtual classroom. However, this is not yet true for many places: As a concept, it does exist though. The experiences with the digital knowledge transfer have made clear where digital learning and teaching can still be improved. We have compiled the ideas of acatech members Kristina Reiss (TU Munich), Olaf Köller (IPN Kiel), and Manfred Prenzel (University of Vienna) in one diagram (more can be found here in German):

 

 
School in the digital transformation

acatech sees a need to adjust the educational system to the requirements the digital age sets. This is especially true for schools. Comprehensive suggestions on how schools must change can be found in the publication “School in the digital transformation” (“Schule in der digitalen Transformation”) available for download:

Digital education is rarely investigated through the lens of empirical education research. Ulrike Cress, Ira Diethelm, Birgit Eickelmann, Olaf Köller, Hans Anand Pant and Kristina Reiss worked together in an ad hoc experts’ group initiated by the Working Group. There, they made clear which challenges schools and school education face in Germany. The options for action show, for one, what pupils need in the digital transformation, and, for two, which potential the digital education holds to improve school courses.

In the centre of the paper are especially aspects of the development regarding schools and lessons. The experts’ group further investigates the practical use of digital media in specialised teaching and the right integration of digital transformation in the training of teachers. Here it becomes clear that the opportunities of digitalisation can only be realised with the help of a holistic, systematic, and goal-oriented effort. The basis, therefore, is the collaborative work on all levels of the school system.

National STEM Forum (Nationales Mint Forum)

In schools as well as the universities, the communication of STEM knowledge plays a central role. This is key to technical autonomy and enables participation where chances of new technological developments unfold. This is why the experts also take part in the National STEM Forum. Represented by Kristina Reiss, acatech sits on the steering committee of the forum and is therefore contributing to the directionality of the forum.

The National STEM forum was founded in the year 2012 on the initiative of acatech and the BDA/BDI-initiative “MINT Zukunft schaffen”. The collaboration of more than 30 supra-regional institutions is determined to work for the promotion of education in the field of STEM.