Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects

Background and aims

In 2008/2009, the “Barometer of Young Talents in the Technological Sciences” (Nachwuchsbarometer Technikwissenschaften) began documenting research findings on the image of engineering and science professions and people’s individual reasons for choosing particular study courses and professions. The results were based on extensive surveys of school pupils, university students and engineers.

Since 2013, the project (which was renamed the “Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM subjects” in 2014) has been continued by acatech and the Körber Foundation as a long-term monitoring initiative. Since 2018, the project’s ongoing work has also benefited from the pedagogical perspective of its partners at the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN). The project’s overall focus is on the supply side of the STEM labour market. It pursues the following goals:

• to identify the individual attitudes, interests, perspectives and motivations of young people and young adults,
• to carry out in-depth investigations of priority themes and specific target groups, and
• to evaluate any discernible changes and identify the relevant trends.

The “Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM subjects” is published annually, with each edition focusing on a particular theme. Although its methodology is mainly based on secondary analysis, the project may also carry out its own surveys and questionnaires.

Further information

Video statements of project manager Olaf Köller (German content)
Interview with Ortwin Renn (former project manager) on BRalpha (German content)