The STEM Accord initiative – Putting Knowledge to Work
The STEM Accord has been created as a partnership between, WISE, STEM Foundation, Smallpeice Trust and the Design and Technology Association (DATA) to promote a wide STEM skills agenda. All of the partners have effective and high impact STEM programs.
STEM Accord will provide the basis to coordinate activities to generate even greater impact for the benefit of the UK economy. The aim of STEM Accord is to create a small number of local pilot projects which will:
- Support teachers and parents in inspiring future generations of engineers
- Build on the government’s industrial strategy
- Bring a focus to regional & industry stem clusters
- Increase stem impact in disadvantaged areas
STEM Accord is aligned with a growing sentiment for more cohesive action on the STEM challenge for the UK, reinforced by the updated Perkins Review and by initiatives such as the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) creation of the Engineering Policy Committee alongside the national work of Engineering UK (EUK).
This will be the first multi-organization initiative to deliver STEM in line with the recommendations of the Perkins report, and the impetus already created by EUK and the RAE.
Sir Christopher Snowden, ERA Foundation Chair, said: “ The ERA Foundation is very proud indeed to be playing its part with such high-quality partners in the creation of this coordinated initiative to open the door for many more young people into the high potential world of STEM careers”.
STEM Accord – Reach
Through the existing activity of the founding partners the reach of STEM accord is considerable:
- Every secondary state school and 87% primary schools
- 200,000 girls engaged in the WISE My Skills My Life program
Editors Notes
The STEM Accord supports recommendation 3 of Engineering Skills for the Future -2019 (The 2013 Perkins Review revisited)
Employers, charities, universities, and third sector STEM engagement providers should support the current initiative by led EngineeringUK and the Royal Academy of Engineering to drive coordination, simplification and quality of school engineering-inspiration activities through the re-positioned Tomorrow’s Engineers program.
The engineering and education communities should recognize the value of supporting a collaborative approach and rally behind this initiative with a commitment to sign up to a Code of Practice, designed to encourage signatories to work together around a common goal – a coherent vision for inspiring a broad diversity of future engineers.
Signatories of this code, including companies, professional bodies, universities, government, third sector, and other organizations, should commit to a shared vision through a series of pledges to raise the quality of engineering-inspiration activity, reduce duplication and improve coordination.
