# STEM Education Strategic Plan Canonical URL: https://digital-acquis.eu/initiative/stem-education-strategic-plan Entry type: initiative Source edition current through: 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17). This is not a page modification date. Status: delivered. A delivered initiative is not necessarily legislation in force. Instrument: Communication Date as recorded: 05 Mar 2025 Date kind: date Status note: full date links only to published artifact types ## Previous steps The communication was adopted on 5 March 2025. ## Summary The EU will reverse declining STEM performance and close talent gaps by 2030 through enrolment targets (45% of initial VET in STEM, 32% tertiary, and 5% ICT PhDs) with gender goals (≥25% women in VET, 40% tertiary, 33% ICT PhDs). It will modernise curricula via a STEM competence framework, pilot STEM education centres, and launch Advanced Digital Skills Competitions. Universities and Centres of Vocational Excellence will offer joint programmes and micro-credentials aligned with industry, moving toward a European degree for engineers. A Teachers & Trainers Agenda and actions under the Union of Skills will boost capacity and attractiveness. ## Sources - [Official source]() ## Action items (24; complete published list) ### 1. Action item 260001 A. Propose new 2030 EU-level STEM targets. By 2030: Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 1. Digital dimension: no. ### 2. Action item 260002 i) the share of students enrolled in STEM fields in initial medium-level VET should be at least 45%21; at least 1 out of every 4 students should be female. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 2. Digital dimension: no. ### 3. Action item 260003 ii) the share of students enrolled in STEM fields at tertiary level should be at least 32%23 , with at least 2 out of every 5 students female. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 3. Digital dimension: no. ### 4. Action item 260004 iii) the share of students enrolled in ICT PhD programmes should be at least 5%24, with at least 1 out of every 3 students female. Member States are invited to engage with the Commission in setting these EU level targets and, on this basis, develop own national targets, to guide national or regional STEM strategies. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 4. Digital dimension: no. ### 5. Action item 260005 B. In 2025, set up a European STEM Executive Panel at top business/political/administrative level to advise on strategic issues including curriculum modernisation, industry feedback on skills needs across industrial sectors, innovative teaching and content, and embedding academic-business cooperation in STEM education. The STEM Panel would provide actionable recommendations to foster close cooperation between business and STEM education to the European Skills High Level Board and make the results of its work publicly available to any other interested party. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 5. Digital dimension: no. ### 6. Action item 260006 C. Improve overall STEM skills intelligence based on international indicators and benchmarks, by measuring graduate outcomes in VET and tertiary education through the Eurograduate survey, and by better anticipating sector-specific skills needs as part of the future European Skills Intelligence Observatory and by leveraging the common European Data Space for Skills. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 6. Digital dimension: no. ### 7. Action item 260008 A. Promote future-oriented STEM curricula in schools, VET and tertiary education by: Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 8. Digital dimension: no. ### 8. Action item 260009 i) Developing by 2026 a STEM competence framework for all learners at all stages of education and a taxonomy of STEM skills within the ESCO classification. This will inspire and promote curriculum design, and assessment frameworks for STEM skills. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 9. Digital dimension: no. ### 9. Action item 260010 ii) Working towards a European degree for engineers, by building on the European Universities alliances and ongoing Erasmus+ pilots, considering the needs of employers. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 10. Digital dimension: no. ### 10. Action item 260011 B. Pilot STEM education centres for school education, including VET schools, across the EU with the goal of improving how STEM is delivered and experienced in primary and secondary education. Supported by Erasmus+, these centres will create dynamic learning ecosystems that drive innovation in STEM teaching and learning in schools, by stepping up cooperation with businesses, science museums, STEM organisations, libraries, cultural associations, creative industries, universities and research institutions. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 11. Digital dimension: no. ### 11. Action item 260012 C. Attract more students from diverse backgrounds to STEM studies in secondary education, VET and tertiary education by launching: Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 12. Digital dimension: no. ### 12. Action item 260013 i) the STEM Tech Talent Induction. Induction activities designed to attract young people to STEM careers and involving role models and entrepreneurs will be implemented by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 13. Digital dimension: no. ### 13. Action item 260014 ii) the European Advanced Digital Skills Competitions to engage young European people in cutting edge digital technologies by providing societal, technological or industry challenges, drawing on existing competitions such as the International and the European Cybersecurity Challenges. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 14. Digital dimension: no. ### 14. Action item 260015 D. Address employers’ needs in VET and tertiary education by means of the following actions: Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 15. Digital dimension: no. ### 15. Action item 260016 i) Develop joint transnational programmes and short courses leading to micro- credentials in strategic STEM sectors, as identified in the Competitiveness Compass, through the Centres of Vocational Excellence and European Universities alliances. In close cooperation with their respective innovation ecosystems and with EU skills academies: i) boost the available range of joint programmes and micro- credentials in STEM, including with a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) educational approach, ii) encourage the centres and alliances to coordinate their STEM offer and to pool and share their investments in STEM infrastructure, equipment and educational technologies; iii) encourage the centres and alliances to leverage private investment for the development of micro- credentials tailored to upskilling and reskilling the European workforce in strategic STEM sectors; iv) support and monitor the take-up by employers recruiting talent with micro-credentials issued with EU support. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 16. Digital dimension: no. ### 16. Action item 260017 ii) Support the development of joint education programmes (Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral levels) and specialist training for strategic STEM sectors, leveraging the skills academies and the European Universities Alliances. This includes joint degrees and future European degrees in digital technologies (e.g., AI, quantum, cybersecurity) and interdisciplinary degrees applying these technologies to sectors like health and biotech, as well as training for Destination Earth25 technologies (e.g., climate modelling, circular engineering). Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 17. Digital dimension: no. ### 17. Action item 260018 iii) Promote upskilling and reskilling through bootcamps, short courses delivered by formal VET and higher education institutions leading to micro-credentials, and platforms for digital immersive learning and training to create innovative lifelong learning opportunities. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 18. Digital dimension: no. ### 18. Action item 260019 iv) Provide dedicated training on innovation, entrepreneurship and IP management to 200 000 STEM higher education students, academics and staff by 2028, building on the EIT Higher Education Institutions Initiative in synergy with the European Universities alliances and the EIT knowledge and innovation communities. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 19. Digital dimension: no. ### 19. Action item 260021 E. Pilot in 2026 the development of STEM skills foundries in strategic sectors by involving companies to mentor young student entrepreneurs, in cooperation with vocational education and training providers and with higher education institutions, providing them access to their laboratories, technical infrastructures and equipment, development of intellectual property (IP), as well as facilitating access to venture capital. This should also bring together VET and higher education providers, talented VET and higher education students and the world of finance, particularly venture capital. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 21. Digital dimension: no. ### 20. Action item 260023 F. Propose ‘Capacity Building for STEM’ for education institutions in enlargement countries and other EU priority partner countries such as beneficiaries of EU Talent Partnerships and propose ‘International Partnerships on STEM’ to foster STEM excellence. The upcoming New Pact for the Mediterranean also offers particular opportunities in this regard. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 23. Digital dimension: no. ### 21. Action item 260025 A. Attract more girls and women to STEM by launching, in 2025, a new ‘Girls go STEM initiative to attract female secondary students into STEM study fields, including in VET, and female higher education students into STEM professions, and by developing their technical and entrepreneurial skills in STEM domains, including through induction periods and mentorship. The aim is to train 1 million girls by 2028 through Erasmus+, the European Universities alliances, European Alliance for Apprenticeships, digital skills academies and the EIT. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 25. Digital dimension: no. ### 22. Action item 260027 B. Launch ‘STEM Futures’, to identify and share inclusive and successful STEM education practices, including the most promising EU-supported STEM education projects, leveraging on existing communities and networks. In 2026, the focus will be on the most successful practices for girls and women in STEM. As part of this initiative, a European STEM Week will be organised, in synergies with EU-funded projects, with a focus on reaching out in accessible ways to young people, in particular girls and their families. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 27. Digital dimension: no. ### 23. Action item 260029 C. Showcase and exchange good practices and foster mutual learning on attracting and supporting girls and women in STEM apprenticeships. Engaging with companies, research institutions, research and technology organisations and other stakeholders as part of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, with a focus on increasing the proportion of female apprentices. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 29. Digital dimension: no. ### 24. Action item 260031 D. Pilot a ‘STEM Specialists Fellowship’ under the current MFF to attract top international STEM experts from diverse backgrounds to EU higher education and research institutions as well as EU-supported public-private partnerships working in key strategic sectors. Provenance: source document doc-027, paragraph 31. Digital dimension: no. ## Referenced entries - [Competitiveness Compass]() — status: not recorded. The Competitiveness Compass brings together work on innovation, industrial transition and the conditions for businesses to grow in Europe. Its agenda spans startups, strategic technologies, research and investment, alongside affordable energy, cleaner industry and circular production. Measures on the Single Market, simpler rules, procurement and standardisation accompany this sectoral work. The programme also includes trade partnerships, raw-material supplies, security and preparedness. Skills, labour mobility and quality jobs connect the economic agenda with workforce needs. The programme combines strategies, legislative proposals, investment initiatives and coordination measures across these policy areas. Source document doc-027, action item 260016: > i) Develop joint transnational programmes and short courses leading to micro- credentials in strategic STEM sectors, as identified in the Competitiveness Compass, through the Centres of Vocational Excellence and European Universities alliances. In close cooperation with their respective innovation ecosystems and with EU skills academies: i) boost the available range of joint programmes and micro- credentials in STEM, including with a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) educational approach, ii) encourage the centres and alliances to coordinate their STEM offer and to pool and share their investments in STEM infrastructure, equipment and educational technologies; iii) encourage the centres and alliances to leverage private investment for the development of micro- credentials tailored to upskilling and reskilling the European workforce in strategic STEM sectors; iv) support and monitor the take-up by employers recruiting talent with micro-credentials issued with EU support. - [Digital Skills Academies]() — status: not recorded. The EU will deploy a targeted network of Skills Academies anchored by a flagship AI Skills Academy and complemented by a Quantum Skills Academy, a Cybersecurity Skills Academy (with an Industry–Academia network and cyber-campuses), and Net-Zero Industry Academies. Academies will offer one-stop training, apprenticeships and fellowships, returnships for women, and competitions. Building on Large-Scale Partnerships, a rollout will serve strategic sectors: defence, automotive, grids, wind, food, AI, quantum, virtual worlds and semiconductors. Coordinated under the Union of Skills and linked to the Clean Industrial Deal, the EIT will equip 1 million learners by 2028, with gender and mobility targets across Europe. Source document doc-027, action item 260025: > A. Attract more girls and women to STEM by launching, in 2025, a new ‘Girls go STEM initiative to attract female secondary students into STEM study fields, including in VET, and female higher education students into STEM professions, and by developing their technical and entrepreneurial skills in STEM domains, including through induction periods and mentorship. The aim is to train 1 million girls by 2028 through Erasmus+, the European Universities alliances, European Alliance for Apprenticeships, digital skills academies and the EIT. - [European Skills High Level Board]() — status: not recorded. The Board will be the steering hub of the Union of Skills, chaired by the Commission and uniting business leaders, education and training providers, and social partners. It delivers cross-sector insight and guidance on skills issues, drawing on evidence from the European Skills Intelligence Observatory and aligning action with the competitiveness steering mechanism. It will support a new EU-27 Recommendation on human capital and inform country-specific recommendations, while taking into account the Digital Decade Board’s advice on digital basic skills. With a dynamic, agile set-up, the Board can convene stakeholders quickly and accelerate implementation across sectors. Source document doc-027, action item 260005: > B. In 2025, set up a European STEM Executive Panel at top business/political/administrative level to advise on strategic issues including curriculum modernisation, industry feedback on skills needs across industrial sectors, innovative teaching and content, and embedding academic-business cooperation in STEM education. The STEM Panel would provide actionable recommendations to foster close cooperation between business and STEM education to the European Skills High Level Board and make the results of its work publicly available to any other interested party. ## Citing documents - [Political Guidelines 2024-29]() — status: not recorded. The Political Guidelines link European competitiveness with industrial renewal, digital innovation and simpler rules for businesses. They propose support for AI, data sharing, biotechnology and strategic investment, alongside cleaner energy, circular production and changes to public procurement. A Union of Skills would connect education, training and recognition of qualifications across borders. The programme also covers hospital cybersecurity, protection against online manipulation and harmful platform design, and measures to improve working conditions. International partnerships and economic security form part of this agenda, while institutional reforms and stronger cooperation on lawmaking are intended to support its implementation. Source document doc-002, action item 30028: > To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree. - [Union of Skills]() — status: delivered. Union of Skills measures span basic education, digital learning, science and technology education, vocational training, higher education and labour-market mobility. The programme lists action on basic skills, a Skills Guarantee, skills academies, university-business partnerships, portability and recognition of qualifications, a European degree or label, and talent attraction. It also includes support for teachers and academic staff, school and university alliances, and ways for international talent to enter the EU. Its timetable combines pilots, strategies, frameworks and legal arrangements intended to connect education and training with skills needs. Source document doc-025, action item 240005: > STEM Education Strategic Plan [Q1 2025] ## Current developments Latest updates from Digital Policy Alert and Global Trade Alert. No reviewed developments available; this does not establish that no developments exist. ## Associated policy priorities - [Human Capital, Skills & Talent Mobility]() ## Broader policy context (shared priority; not a direct citation) - [2030 Roadmap on the Future of Digital Education and Skills]() — status: forthcoming. The roadmap will steer Europe’s digital education transformation, building on the review of the Digital Education Action Plan. It will promote equal access, build a digital education ecosystem, and forge partnerships with EU-based EdTech. An accompanying AI in Education initiative will set an AI literacy framework, support safe, ethical AI uptake in classrooms, and address online safety, wellbeing and misinformation. The Roadmap complements the Union of Skills and the STEM Plan, enlarging Europe’s AI-capable talent pool. The Digital Competence Framework will be updated by end-2025 to reflect emerging technologies. It will strengthen teacher capacity through targeted support and guidance. - [Action Plan on Basic Skills]() — status: delivered. The plan will lift literacy, numeracy, science, digital and citizenship skills, tackling underachievement. A Basic Skills Support Scheme will pilot interventions with EU funding, from early identification and tutoring to school-level improvement plans. A European Innovative School Award will recognise innovation and partnerships with businesses and local authorities. The Commission will pilot university–business partnerships via Erasmus+, Digital Europe and EIT to train for shortage sectors and co-develop micro-credentials. The plan will expand the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to 700 pledges and streamline the Pact for Skills (linking EU Skills Academies, CoVEs and European Universities) to double 25-million upskilling commitments. - [Digital Competence Framework (DigComp 3.0)]() — status: not recorded. DigComp 3.0 provides a common framework for identifying and describing the key areas of digital competence. Its use spans employment, education and digital-skills training across the EU, with adoption in at least 22 Member States and use as a basis or guide for 27 digital-skills certification schemes in 25 countries. The Joint Research Centre presented the new version in an online event for policymakers, employers, educators and researchers working on digital competence development. - [EU Literacy Coalition]() — status: forthcoming. The EU Literacy Coalition is an initiative announced under the Union of Skills and the Action Plan on Basic Skills. The Commission says the Coalition will be established in autumn 2026. In preparation, the Commission held a conference on reading and literacy in Warsaw from 5 to 7 May, followed by a two half-day stakeholder workshop to lay the ground for the Coalition. The Commission presents the initiative as a joint approach across education and culture that brings together the cultural, creative, education and book sectors in response to declining literacy competences and reading habits. - [EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda]() — status: forthcoming. The Teachers and Trainers Agenda is an initiative within the Union of Skills aimed at tackling shortages, improving conditions and strengthening careers for educators. The wider strategy seeks to help people access quality jobs, help companies find talent and make skills portable across the EU. It includes action on basic skills, STEM, vocational education and training, upskilling, reskilling, skills intelligence and talent attraction. - [EU Visa Policy Strategy]() — status: delivered. EU Visa Policy Strategy sets out changes to make visa tools more responsive to readmission, security and border-management cooperation. In 2026, the Commission plans a new framework for visa-exemption assessments, a Visa Code revision and the launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The measures cover restrictive visa options, digitalised procedures, travel-document security, longer-validity multiple-entry visas, support for innovation talent, border-management IT and a proposed EU Visa Support Office within a revised Frontex mandate. - [European School Alliances]() — status: forthcoming. The programme will knit Europe’s education and innovation fabric into a single, high-performing network. Universities alliances will launch joint programmes (especially in AI, quantum, semiconductors, data and cybersecurity) under a European degree/label, backed by an EU legal status and an investment pathway that secures long-term cooperation, shared infrastructures, and partnerships with business and research. In schools, a 2026 pilot will create European School Alliances to boost pupil and teacher mobility, enable cross-border cooperation between schools and authorities, and serve as testbeds for pedagogy, curricula and competence frameworks. Alliances will help schools become learning organisations focused on mastering basic skills. - [European Strategy for VET]() — status: forthcoming. The Strategy upgrades VET into a first-choice pathway for competitiveness, cohesion and generational renewal. It tackles skills shortages by modernising curricula with employers, expanding work-based learning, and boosting mobility and internationalisation (via Erasmus+ and a pilot European VET diploma/label in 2025–26). It raises excellence and inclusiveness, combats gender stereotypes, and sets a 2030 STEM target: at least 45% of initial medium-level VET enrolment, with one in four women. Centres of Vocational Excellence will scale transnational partnerships and drive national reforms, while recognition frameworks ease cross-border learning and careers, making VET as valued as higher education across the Union. - [Fair Labour Mobility Package]() — status: forthcoming. The Package will remove frictions to cross-border work while safeguarding rights, making Europe’s labour market more efficient. It will propose a European Social Security Pass for digital verification of entitlements, streamline posting procedures, and clarify social-security coordination for cross-border remote work. The package will strengthen the European Labour Authority’s mandate and data capabilities to improve enforcement and joint inspections. A Skills Portability Initiative will simplify recognition of qualifications and interoperable digital credentials, including for third-country nationals. Together, these measures cut administrative burden for employers and workers, enable service provision, and support talent circulation across the Single Market. - [Intergenerational Fairness Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Commission will present the first EU-wide strategy to embed long-term, intergenerational perspectives across policymaking. It will: (1) strengthen intergenerational democratic participation and scrutiny; (2) tackle cross-cutting challenges (i.e. climate, housing, fiscal sustainability, skills and lifelong learning) through an intergenerational lens; and (3) empower all ages, combating ageism and protecting children’s rights. The strategy is being co-created via a 2025 four-phase process and may include a monitoring tool for intergenerational fairness. It will align with the Union of Skills agenda and related education actions, ensuring no generation is left behind. It will propose metrics and mainstream youth participation. - [MSCA Choose Europe for Science]() — status: not recorded. Choose Europe will co-fund recruitment programmes that link MSCA grants to long-term positions, tackling precarity and drawing top researchers to Europe, including in AI. It sits within a wider talent-magnet approach: a new Visa Strategy to better use the Students & Researchers and Blue Card Directive, pilots of Multipurpose Legal Gateway Offices, and an EU Talent Pool plus a 2030 target to host at least 350,000 non-EU tertiary graduates annually. Complementary quantum actions include a European Quantum Talent Mobility Programme and a Pilot for Researchers-in-Residence in quantum startups. Together, this integrates R&I careers, mobility and immigration tools into one offer. - [Quality Jobs Act]() — status: forthcoming. Developed with EU social partners in 2025, the Quality Jobs Roadmap will set a coherent EU strategy to raise job quality alongside competitiveness. It will back fair wages, high health-and-safety standards, decent working conditions, work-life balance, gender equality and wider collective bargaining; strengthen enforcement of work-related rights; and support access to training and fair job-to-job transitions, drawing on the European Pillar of Social Rights. It will align with the Competitiveness Compass, Union of Skills and the Clean Industrial Deal so decarbonisation creates attractive jobs and regional cohesion, and may announce targeted legislative and non-legislative actions with robust monitoring and evaluation. - [Recommendation on Human Capital]() — status: delivered. The Commission will introduce a recommendation on education and skills within the European Semester to anchor the Union of Skills in the competitiveness steering mechanism. It will be underpinned by the European Skills Intelligence Observatory and advised by a European Skills High-Level Board, ensuring timely, granular evidence and guidance. The recommendation will target structural reforms across the skills pipeline (i.e. basic education, VET, higher education and lifelong learning) linking them to labour-market needs. It will inform Council debates, the Joint Employment Report and country reports/CSRs, and promote whole-of-government coordination across education, employment and economic portfolios, nationally. - [Skills Portability Initiative (SPI)]() — status: forthcoming. The initiative will remove barriers to cross-border work by making skills and qualifications usable across the Single Market. It will consider a legislative proposal to ease mobility and promote common EU formats for interoperable digital credentials, building on EQF, Europass and ESCO. Recognition in regulated professions will be expanded and modernised using digital tools, while simpler common rules will be explored to recognise third-country nationals’ skills. In parallel, the EU will develop a framework for automatic recognition of qualifications and learning periods in school, VET and higher education, and examine accession to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. --- [Reading guide and interpretation notes]() · [Methodology]()