MINT Action Plan 2.0

Whether securing the supply of skilled workers, creating opportunities to participate in society or finding answers to society’s challenges such as climate change, digitalization and disease control: STEM skills are the key to our country’s future. That’s why we want to get young people interested in STEM and provide them with opportunities to obtain qualifications in these fields.

Thanks to the MINT Action Plan 2.0, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will strengthen STEM education throughout all phases of education, from kindergarten to higher education, to initial and continuing vocational training. The Action Plan 2.0 strategically brings together existing measures (MINT Action Plan 2019) and connects them with new initiatives in five fields of action:

1. Kooperation@MINT (Cooperation@MINT)

We create incentives for greater cooperation between non-school and school-based activities to support a comprehensive approach to STEM education. We aim to strengthen the numerous creative out-of-school STEM learning opportunities and interlink these more closely with school programmes.

2. Qualität@MINT (Quality@MINT)

We support the hard work of STEM stakeholders – for high-quality STEM educational programmes for children and adolescents and for building professional networks.

3. Familien@MINT (Families@MINT)

We need the support of parents to encourage the younger generation to enter into vocational training or higher education in a STEM field. We create opportunities for parents to play an active role in their children’s STEM education.

4. Forschung@MINT (Research@MINT)

We promote practice-based research and transfer to strengthen STEM education in schools and creative sites of learning.

5. Frühstart@MINT (Earlystart@MINT)

We lay the foundations with STEM education programmes in kindergarten, primary school and after-school care. For example with the Little Scientists Foundation and school pupils’ competitions such as the young researchers’ programme “Jugend forscht”.

Germany benefits from a diverse out-of-school education system. Thousands of STEM education initiatives are aimed at introducing STEM knowledge to children and adolescents outside of the classroom by means of creative making and first steps into researching, experimenting or programming. This is, in part, thanks to the voluntary work done by numerous dedicated STEM stakeholders. We support them in their daily work.

 

Key examples of STEM skill-building initiatives from the Action Plan

STEM clusters

With around 70 STEM clusters across the country, the BMBF provides excellent support for the expansion and coordination of non-school STEM learning opportunities. Numerous clusters have already set up networks with schools and established collaborations. And vice versa: many schools are already working together closely with learning labs or companies, with STEM initiatives, science centres, museums and libraries or have engaged external partners to offer computer courses within the school. We strengthen this cooperation by providing incentives to further consolidate links between schools and the non-school sector.

MINTvernetzt

With MINTvernetzt (MINTconnected), the BMBF funds a national coordination centre that provides support for STEM stakeholders, e.g. with the MINT-DataLab, advisory services and networking opportunities. The MINT-Community Plattform provides STEM stakeholders with their own digital forum, thus making it easier to engage in collaboration and establish networks.

In addition to this, the BMBF also funds the digital education platform MINT-Campus. MINT Campus provides free learning activities in various formats for a wide range of target groups. All of the programmes are provided under an open licence. The programmes focus on topics of project and network-based work, STEM teaching methods and STEM-related content.

STEM research and #MINTmagic

We need continuous research in order to identify the best conditions for successful STEM education. Thirteen STEM research projects are currently underway looking at topics such as successful teaching methods for STEM subjects, and experiences of self-efficacy among young girls. MesH-MINT, a meta-project on strategic fields of action within STEM support, collects and prepares relevant findings from STEM education research for stakeholders from academia and practice.

The BMBF communication measure #MINTMagie (#MINTmagic) is aimed directly at children and adolescents aged between 10 and 16 years old. Unusual and low-threshold entry points to STEM subjects are used to generate enthusiasm among the target group and give them a fact-based appreciation of STEM in our daily lives at home, school and work. This is done using age and gender-appropriate social media projects, publications and exciting events all over Germany.

Supporting women in the academic side of STEM

We need the talent of everyone if we want to advance Germany as a key location of science and industry. This is especially true for the innovation-driving academic professions in the STEM sector. However, women continue to be under-represented in this field, their potential has yet to be sufficiently exploited. Women’s expertise and creativity need to be more closely integrated into research and innovation processes if we want to develop future-proof solutions in Germany and hold our own in global competition.

Progress is moving in the right direction, but it is still too slow. Between 2002 and 2022, the percentage of women enrolled in the first semester of STEM degree programmes only rose from 31% to 35% (source: Federal Statistical Office 2024). Significantly fewer women than men are seen in top positions and named on patent applications, which are considered an indicator for innovation and creativity. In 2019, only 13% of patent applications filed by member states with the European Patent Office were for inventions made by women (European Patent Office 2022).

MissionMINT – women shape the future

We need to encourage more women to study STEM subjects and ensure they continue to work in the sector in the long term if we are to further build our innovative strength in science and industry. It is therefore vital to raise greater awareness among the general public regarding the significance of STEM subjects and the importance of female STEM talent for solving issues relevant to the future. What we need is a contemporary STEM narrative that appeals to young target groups and significant progress towards achieving gender parity in STEM-related academia. This task requires efforts from all parts of society.

In order to achieve this much-needed change, we must take deliberate steps to break down gender stereotypes. The BMBF therefore provides targeted support in the form of the “MissionMINT – women shape the future” funding initiative, aimed at young women during the important transitions from school to studying STEM at university and from there into a STEM profession. The goal is to arouse young women's interest in the opportunities that the STEM sector has in store for them, overcome prejudices and give them the chance to try things out and experience self-efficacy for themselves.

Girls’ Day

The annual “Girls’ Day” marks another important contribution made by the BMBF, together with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), towards ensuring that career orientation for girls is modern and free from stereotypes. It is also important that we help innovative women to achieve greater visibility, because they can act as inspiring role models. This aim is supported with the “Innovative Women in the Spotlight” funding regulations.

The BMBF has been working intensely for many years to further increase the representation of women in the STEM sector throughout all phases of education. Since 2021, the successful work of the National Pact for Women in MINT Careers – originally initiated by the BMBF – has been continued in the MINT Action Plan by the STEM networking hub “MINTvernetzt”.

Editorial deadline for this text: 01.11.2024