WeSTEAM

Empowering women in STEM through Art Thinking

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About the project

Despite significant efforts made through EU policies and projects, as well as national and local initiatives, the participation of women in STEM remains unsatisfactory. Gender inequality is particularly evident in the IT sector, where only 20% of graduates and 18% of IT specialists are women.

The WeSTEAM (Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering, Math) approach promotes transversal and cross-disciplinary skills, collaboration with non-academic partners, and addresses economic, environmental, political, and social challenges.

It has the potential to complement technical and scientific curricula with key competencies that can enhance leadership skills and foster the development of future female leaders, including in the IT sector.

Expected project results:

  • Skills Framework: enabling students to assess their skills in artistic thinking.
  • Educational Methodology: providing tools and exercises to improve the skills identified in the framework.
  • VR-based Educational Game: documenting the process of skill development through virtual reality.
  • WeSTEAM Certification: providing students with a certification that is recognized both nationally and internationally.

News:

In early December 2022, 15 young women studying technical subjects participated in a training program at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria. The participants came from Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Austria. Three students from the Experience Designer program represented Changemaker Educations.
During the three-day training, they tested the methodology developed within the framework of the project, which is based on the same phases that characterize both the artistic and research processes:

  • Incubation Phase
  • Imagination Phase
  • Creation Phase
  • Development Phase

Partnership:

Coordinator: Luleå Tekniska Universitet (SE) 

Project partners: 

Ars Electronica (AT) 

Futuregames (SE) (Changemaker Educations)

Espronceda (SP) 

Sineglossa (IT) 

Details

WeSTEAM is an Erasmus+ project co-funded by the EU.

Start: 01-01-2021 – End: 01-01-2024 

Project number: 2021-1-SE01-KA220-HED-000032118

Financing: 229 831 EUR  

Program: Erasmus+ 

Key Action: Partnership for cooperation in adult learning

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.