2022 Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects

The coronavirus pandemic has hit STEM education too, as the 2022 Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects, from acatech and the Joachim Herz Foundation, shows. In mathematics, for example, students in Germany are the equivalent of ten to 13 school weeks behind by the end of primary school. Universities have coped better with the impacts of the pandemic and have been undergoing changes since Covid: most students are opposed to a full return to traditional in-person instruction and would like some form of hybrid teaching with digital elements.

The advantages of the digital transformation must be better exploited in all areas of the education system. At the same time, many children have to catch up. This is a matter of equality of opportunity and success is only possible with the joint efforts of politics, industry, educational practice and science.

The Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects is a nationwide trend report. It compiles and comments on the key data, facts and figures on the situation regarding young talents in the STEM sector, covering all stages from school education to vocational training and university education. The report monitors key indicators to deliver empirical findings on current developments and areas where action is needed in STEM education. It also highlights factors and reasons that influence young adults’ study choice and career path. The Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects is jointly published by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering and the Joachim Herz Foundation, and is written by the IPN – Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education.

The compact overview provides a well-founded tool to assist decision-makers in education, politics and industry and thus helps to enhance the STEM situation in Germany in the long term.

The following graphs (German) give an insight into the data on which the 2022 Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects is based.