EU STEM Coalition General Assembly 2025: Strengthening Europe’s STEM Ecosystem

The 2025 General Assembly highlighted the power of collaboration and evidence-based action in shaping Europe’s STEM future

The Assembly opened on November 5, 2025 with a warm welcome from Fleur Korte and Rolf Schreuder, who led participants through an energetic first afternoon. The Coalition celebrated key milestones, including the strong reception of its Position Paper on the STEM Education Strategic Plan in Brussels and a direct request from Roxana Minzatu’s cabinet for a two-page policy recommendation on STEM priorities.

A major highlight was the launch of the third working group: Industry–Education Partnership, complementing the ongoing groups on AI in Education and Primary and Secondary STEM Education. The new members  WindEurope, Region Skåne, and the Austrian Federal Promotional Bank (MINT-Regionen Service-Hub) were introduced, further broadening the Coalition’s reach.

Insights from Across Europe

On November 6, 2025 the second day began with a welcome from Beatrice Boots, followed by Rebecca Allinson (Technopolis Group), who presented findings from the European Commission’s study “Promoting STEM Education in Schools”. The study provided the first EU-wide overview of STEM education policies, identifying key challenges, such as fragmented governance and rigid curricula and opportunities for more inclusive and innovative systems.

Dovydas Caturianas showcased national best practices from Lithuania, Denmark and the Netherlands, while Zoltan Marton presented the Hungarian STEAM Platform, illustrating how partnerships between government, academia and business can sustain a thriving STEM ecosystem. Malin Thunborg from Teknikcollege Sweden closed the session with lessons from the Swedish STEM Strategy, highlighting the importance of regional collaboration and strong industry links.

Equity, Inclusion and the Future of STEM

The afternoon featured a powerful keynote by Professor Louise Archer (UCL), who shared insights from her pioneering research on equity and social justice in science education. She challenged participants to ensure that curiosity and talent - not background - define opportunity in STEM. Her vivid metaphor “Instead of helping the fish swim harder, we must change the direction of the current” struck a chord across the room.

To conclude, Francesca Maltauro and Maria Podlasek-Ziegler from the European Commission’s DG EAC shared updates on the implementation of the EU Strategic Plan for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, and expressed their enthusiasm for closer collaboration with the Coalition in the months ahead.

With renewed energy, new partnerships and a shared commitment to inclusion, the 2025 General Assembly reaffirmed the Coalition’s mission: to connect education, research and industry in building a fair, future-ready STEM ecosystem for Europe.

_{Published on stemcoalition.eu on November 7, 2025}