Specific programme: KA220-HED - Cooperation partnerships in higher education

Research team:

• NAHIA IDOIAGA MONDRAGON (Main resercher) 
• EVA  EPELDE BEJERANO (Main resercher) 
• RAQUEL  ESTEBAN TERRADILLOS 
• MAITE  ARTETXE URIA 
• EIDER BILBAO CASTELLANOS 
• ESTHER  ACHA PEÑA 
• AINHOA BERCIANO ALCARAZ 
• ARAITZ USKOLA IBARLUZEA 
• MAIDER  AMUTIO IZAGUIRRE 
• MARIA MERINO MAESTRE 
• IDOIA RUIZ DE LARRAMENDI VILLANUEVA 
• INGE AXPE SAEZ
• ITZIAR  KEREXETA BRAZAL 

Coordinator:

• UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA (Spain)

Partners:

• STIMMULI (Greece);
• RESET (Cyprus);
• PANEPISTIMMIO THESSALIS (Greece);
• UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS (Cyprus);
• VYTAUTO DIDZIOJO (Lithuania);
• INNO HUB (Spain)

Total budget: 250 000,00 € (UPV/EHU: 49.500,00 €)
Total funded: 250 000,00 € (UPV/EHU: 49.500,00 €)

Start date: 01/11/2023
End date: 31/10/2025
Total duration: 24 months

Brief description: Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, brings a new era that carries along automations, AI, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and biotechnology advancements. While this is a time of great opportunity and excitement, we must ensure that we are moving forward in an integrated and inclusive way “leaving no one (including women) behind”. Data is showing that the women workforce is exceeding men workforce in science and technology, but it is clear that this progress remains slow and the gender gap persists (Eurostat, 2022).

According to the World Economic Forum (2023), in the EU, there remains a substantial gender gap as only 19% of ICT specialists and 1/3 of STEM graduates are women. Eurostat indicates that women engineers and scientists (21%) are still largely under-represented in manufacturing. Eurostat report on women in science and engineering, 2021). Of the 36 countries examined, only six had 50% or greater of scientists and engineers who are women.

Although partner organisations have previously engaged in EU and national initiatives related to STEM education, they have not worked on an integrated model that brings together the element of mentoring and guidance alongside STEM education.

Enter FEMSTEM, a project that adopts an innovative three-tier methodology to:

a) advance HEI Educators capacities in addressing the under representation of women in STEM fields using scenariobased guidance and mentoring schemes (i.e. GROW mentoring model-Tree & Passmore, 2022) and cross-sectoral collaboration from Women STEM Industry Experts,

b) eliminate gender stereotypes in the STEM industry, in direct alignment with the European Strategy for Universities-2022 and the European Commission Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025, respectively, and

c) implement a participatory action research methodology through the establishment of a Co-Creation Group consisting of industry experts, women STEM students and HEI Educators in STEM.