Future of STEM education: AI as the key to change in teaching!

Future of STEM education: AI as the key to change in teaching!

The annual meeting of the 'TU-Net MINT' network will take place at the RPTU on March 9, 2025. Teachers, researchers and specialists are invited to discuss innovative developments in STEM education. The focus is on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching and on promoting sustainable collaborations between universities and schools. Loud RPTU The TU-Net MINT network has existed for over 10 years and includes 21 schools in Kaiserslautern.

An exclusive contract between the university and the schools ensures close cooperation. The aim of the network is the targeted exchange between the cooperation partners, quality assurance in studies and teaching as well as the development and exchange of research findings and teaching-learning materials. The network meetings are used as an exchange and contact format to create synergies and develop new ideas.

Innovations through workshops and lectures

A highlight of the meeting is the lecture by junior professor Johann Seibert and teacher Lisa Häßel, who deal with AI as a tool for personalized learning. The need for a comprehensive strategy for introducing AI technologies in schools is also being discussed. Workshops on digitalization and MINT focus on, among other things, GIS technologies for data visualization in lessons and analog tools for analyzing movement sequences. These offers are intended to help overcome the challenges of digitalization in the education sector.

The results of these meetings and workshops will be implemented in new training offerings in the areas of AI, digitalization and quantum technology in the coming months. TU-Net MINT also plans individual school visits to create new cooperation and transfer opportunities.

STEM education as a central challenge

The MINT Action Plan 2.0, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aims to comprehensively promote MINT skills in Germany. In five fields of action like Cooperation@MINT and Quality@MINT Existing measures are bundled and new initiatives are initiated. These include, among other things, involving parents in their children's MINT education in order to arouse interest and enthusiasm for technical and scientific subjects at an early stage.

As part of the action plan, communication about the MINT sector is also supported through initiatives such as the #MINT-Magie communication campaign, which is specifically aimed at children and young people. However, women are still underrepresented in academic STEM fields. The proportion of women among first-year students in MINT subjects rose from 31% in 2002 to 35% in 2022, which illustrates the need for action.

Promoting women in STEM careers

A study by the employers' association Gesamtmetall shows that women are severely underrepresented in MINT professions and that targeted targeting by companies and educational institutions is necessary. The “MissionMINT – Women Shaping the Future” initiative and Girls’ Day aim to promote career guidance that is free of clichés and to attract more women to MINT courses. The proportion of women in patent applications was only 13% in 2019.

Additional programs, such as the CyberMentor program at the University of Regensburg, offer online mentoring to girls from the 5th grade onwards and support them in exploring career paths in the MINT sector. Companies are encouraged to question internal stereotypes and actively promote their professions through various measures, such as InfoTrucks and trial days.

Overall, the national focus on greater integration of women in the MINT sector highlights the challenges, but also the opportunities for a forward-looking educational and professional policy that aims to promote not only technical skills but also a broader social awareness of gender issues in this sector.