CESAER Annual Meeting in Brno: Leaders of European technical and research universities discussed the transformation of STEM education and the role of European university alliances

How should technical universities approach the education of professionals in times of radical change, and how can they strengthen Europe’s competitiveness through this effort? How can they respond to the declining interest in studying technical and natural sciences? What expectations and roles should European University Alliances play in the European education area? These and other questions – particularly the need for STEM education – were discussed at the end of October at Brno University of Technology by more than fifty rectors and representatives of technical and research universities from 25 European countries associated within the CESAER network. The three-day event also welcomed prominent guests from the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The annual CESAER meeting revolved around two main themes: the role of European Universities – European university alliances and STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, ed. note), the latter of which was the focus of a dedicated one-day conference. European University Alliances today represent a new stage in international university cooperation in Europe. In light of critical analyses highlighting the stagnation of productivity and competitiveness in the European economy and EU member states (Mario Draghi’s report), high expectations are being placed on the role of universities. The growing shortage of qualified professionals, particularly in technical and natural science fields, is one of the key competitiveness issues. Significant expectations are also placed on European University Alliances (as discussed by Manuel Heitor), which aim to strengthen international university cooperation and support the so-called fifth freedom (proposed by Enrico Letta) – i.e., the free movement of knowledge, meaning a qualified workforce also in the fields of research and education – alongside the four original freedoms of movement: people, capital, goods, and services.

A roundtable focused on the further development of European Universities discussed topics such as the long-term sustainability of European university alliances, their ability to contribute to Europe’s competitiveness, and their potential to connect education, research, and innovation in practice. Experiences were shared by Vanessa Debiais-Sainton from the European Commission, BUT Rector Ladislav Janíček, and Ludmila Hrachovcová, a civil engineering student and representative of BUT in the student council of the European alliance EULiST, of which BUT is a member.

The multi-day Brno gathering of European universities was dominated by the theme of STEM education. The need to strengthen and promote technical and natural science education as a driver of Europe’s economic competitiveness was a central topic of the meeting and culminated in a one-day open conference.

“When I started at the university in 1985, education in STEM disciplines was a privileged preparation for an attractive career. With the technological revolution, further accelerated by generative AI, much has changed. Universities are now embracing a new paradigm emphasizing critical and creative thinking, interdisciplinarity, project-based and practically oriented learning, and flexible study plans,” shared Rogério Colaço, President of Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon and one of the panelists at the conference titled ‘Shaping the future of STEM education: Advancing excellence through transnational cooperation.’

The conference on STEM education, one of the highlights of the CESAER meeting in Brno, presented various approaches to transforming STEM education. In the first of two sessions, Amitava “Babi” Mitra, Executive Director of the New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) program at MIT, and Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, a member of the Cabinet of European Commission Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, shared their insights. The second session featured presentations based on analytical data by Ladislav Janíček, Rector of BUT, and María Alfonso Molina, a researcher from Universitat Politècnica de València. Both sessions concluded with panel discussions involving the main speakers and other experts.

Innovation in STEM education – inspiration from MIT and European Commission initiatives

Everything mentioned by Rogério Colaço – critical and creative thinking, interdisciplinarity, a systems approach to solving technical problems, and education focusing not only on expertise but also on skills such as project and entrepreneurial thinking, and teamwork – is offered by the innovative NEET engineering program, which began as a 2017 initiative by three MIT researchers. “Babi” Mitra, one of its founders and current director, explained the inspiration and background behind the initiative.

A key factor was critical reflection. The founders realized that although MIT, as one of the most prestigious institutions in technical education, might seem not to need change, the opposite was true. The structure of curricula had remained unchanged for decades, and there was strong demand for innovation among faculty. The goal was to rethink what and how MIT students learn in terms of employability and preparation for future careers and societal challenges.

Among the key aspects was the effort to place a much stronger emphasis on developing students’ thinking rather than traditional knowledge transfer and to give students greater freedom in shaping their educational profile. The NEET concept also highlights interdisciplinarity, team-based project learning, and practical, experimental, and entrepreneurial approaches.

“Why should I join NEET? Let’s say I’m a mechanical engineering student interested in applications related to cancer treatment. I can choose Living Machines, one of the four thematic threads suited to that. The key point is that during the following three years, I can work on real projects in one team with students from other majors such as biology, chemistry, or physics,” explained Mitra.

NEET is not an official degree program but an innovative concept introducing a new approach to STEM education at MIT. This has its advantages. Above all, it avoids the lengthy bureaucratic process of launching a new program. “When we came together in 2017, we said we would create something engaging with the community – and if it didn’t work, we’d each go our own way. We didn’t want to wait four years for something to happen.” With this emphasis on immediate results, NEET mirrors a startup mindset. Consequently, the founders must devote significant effort to program marketing and communication with all stakeholders – from students and faculty to alumni and industry partners. “For example, industry partners are a key stakeholder, defining educational needs based on their experience with graduates entering the workforce,” Mitra emphasized.

A key result of several years of effort is a demographically, culturally, and academically diverse community that has formed around the program, connecting 31 majors and including 228 students, 221 alumni, and 59% women.

Vanessa Debiais-Sainton presented a broad portfolio of European Commission tools and initiatives supporting education in Europe. “If Europe wants to remain competitive and united, we must invest in education, talent, and skills. The Commission has therefore made educational competencies its highest priority,” she said, introducing the new Union of Skills initiative – a vision of equal educational opportunities for every European citizen, highlighting the key role of universities in realizing this vision.

“We must strengthen Europe’s sovereignty in critical sectors such as clean technologies, digitalization, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, defense, and space. Our society therefore needs more STEM projects,” Debiais-Sainton reminded, citing the Commission’s goal of reaching a 32% share of STEM students in higher education by 2030, with 25% of them being women.

She focused especially on the topic of European Universities – alliances initiated by the European Commission. According to Debiais-Sainton, this tool holds exceptional potential. European Universities can benefit from shared resources, infrastructure, expertise, and study programs. The goal is to elevate European Universities to a new mainstream level, benefiting as many students as possible.

She also mentioned other innovative steps supported by the Commission, such as the development of micro-credentials and the so-called European degree, intended to enhance the competitiveness of European universities and reduce administrative burdens.

Debiais-Sainton also praised the role of university networks such as CESAER. “Your role is to tell the Commission what support you need to educate more and better-prepared STEM graduates for a competitive Europe. For the Commission, it is crucial to know where the needs lie and where to invest,” she added.

Shortage of STEM experts, issues of competition, cooperation, and support

All of Europe is struggling with a shortage of STEM experts. Engaging new talent is therefore key. According to Nicolas Peter, ESA's Senior Policy Advisor, there should be no competition between universities in attracting talent. "There should be no competition in this room," he said with exaggeration during a panel discussion on the vision for a new generation of STEM leaders, adding: "Competition for talent exists at the global level. In Europe, we must therefore ensure that we offer talented people conditions that will make them want to stay here."

"Babi" MItra added that competition for talented people has always existed everywhere. "In this respect, we also have competition at the level of the state of Massachusetts or the city of Boston, but I think we should work together to develop talented people. I think that, ultimately, competition forces us to cooperate," he added, noting that in the past, a great model of transnational cooperation between leading universities in the field of science had been created, but unfortunately, the same had not been achieved in the field of education because it was not seen as a priority.

Nicolas Peter drew attention to the uneven distribution of talent. "We want to help European industry work with talented students locally as well. We want to avoid a situation where there are only rapidly growing centers in large countries. Talent does not know geography, but unfortunately opportunities do. ESA wants to spread these opportunities to make sure that they grow across different geographical areas, but also across different disciplines," he explained.

According to Peter, there are other barriers to working with talent. "We need to make it clear to students at the beginning of their careers that if they graduate in this field or obtain this degree, they will have certain opportunities, such as internships at ESA. We need to be able to demonstrate that these are possibilities, regardless of where you come from or what connections you have."

This view was echoed by Martyna Maria Czudec, a Ph.D. student at Gdańsk University of Technology, who, together with Patrícia Janigová, a master’s student at BUT, represented the student voice on the panel. "I don't really know what to expect after completing my Ph.D. studies because I don't see any program that would connect doctoral studies and industry. For example, I would like to work in the field of advanced materials for energy and aerospace, but I have no guarantee. I think it would be perfect to prepare programs that offer a vision after completing a Ph.D., which says: We are waiting for you because what you do is unique," Martyna explained.

Cooperation with industry in supporting STEM studies

“I consider it absolutely crucial to listen to industry representatives. We have been cooperating with them for a long time, for example in the preparation of study programs and in research, and in recent years we have also communicated intensively on the issue of supporting STEM studies,” said Ladislav Janíček, Rector of BUT, in his contribution.

As an example, he mentioned round tables and educational conferences on STEM studies attended by representatives of industry and the Czech government, which emphasized the requirements of national education policy. He presented popularization activities such as the STEM project, in which VUT, the South Moravian Region through the JIC innovation agency, and industry represented by more than a dozen hi-tech industrial companies operating in the region are participating. He did not forget to mention specific steps, such as contract financing for specific industrial qualifications, which was successfully negotiated in the Czech Republic with the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Government in the field of semiconductor technologies and nuclear energy. He stated that competitiveness cannot be built head-on, but selectively in areas that have international competitive potential. He also said that it is essential for the economy not to lose final production. He mentioned the concept of Big Bets, which consists of selecting a few promising sectors and building excellence and competitiveness in them. "However, people are absolutely essential for competitiveness, especially those whose qualifications are relevant to the needs of the economy and society, which undoubtedly includes technical and scientific education," emphasized Rector Janíček.

In a presentation based on current data, the BUT rector showed how the decline in interest in STEM fields affects all industrialized countries in Europe and how it directly manifests itself in a shortage of qualified experts in key industry segments. Using the results of two nationwide surveys, he also showed that there is a correlation between economic productivity and investment in higher education and research.

Motivation to study STEM fields

According to Ladislav Janíček, the key to increasing interest lies, among other things, in motivation to study. "When we talk about motivation to study STEM subjects in primary and secondary schools, where surveys show a significant decline in interest, it is important to mention that this is a key challenge, especially for STEM teachers, who are in critically short supply. Because, in my opinion, education in the future will not be just about the one-way transfer of knowledge. It is about supporting the development of our students' thinking and guiding them on how to work with knowledge."

In this sense, the rector emphasized the importance of student creative activities and student teams, which simulate real teamwork, the search for solutions to complex technical tasks, develop a project-based approach and teamwork, and support the development of creative communication. This results in completely unique and original solutions. "We must give our students the opportunity to participate in their educational profile with a higher degree of choice. At the same time, however, we need to think about the way we teach and strengthen interactive and activating teaching methods that support thinking and creativity," said Rector Janíček in his speech.

Spanish researcher María Alfonso Molina followed up on the topic of motivation mentioned in the BUT rector's presentation by introducing the field of STEM studies from a motivational perspective in her contribution. What motivates students to learn STEM subjects and achieve good results? What are the key factors driving their motivation during their studies?

Based on long-term PISA surveys, it is becoming clear that there is a persistent decline in student performance in mathematics and the ability to read and analyze written text. "This is a clear picture of the erosion of the basic cognitive skills on which learning depends. Mathematics, learning, and reading comprehension are not isolated domains. They represent an interdependent system of reasoning, abstraction, and transfer. A decline in one of these domains actually signals vulnerability in the broader architecture of thinking. This is therefore crucial," Molina explained, adding that there may be several explanations for the problem, ranging from inappropriate curriculum design to digitization during the Covid-19 pandemic to the way teachers are trained.

According to Molina, further monitoring of the issue in schools shows that key factors for STEM education include a sense of belonging and self-confidence felt in the learning environment, as well as factors such as perseverance and control over the learning process.

CESAER President: Students are the most important factor

"Everything we have heard here has had one central point – and that is the students. We know that the most important impact of what universities do is that they send millions of their graduates out into the world, doing wonderful things in every domain. And if we want to be able to solve grand challenges for the world, if we want to be able to enhance European competitors, if we want to support our graduates, our students, through these very challenging times, we have to grapple very intentionally and with purpose with the challenges of our time and the challenges that are reflected in university education," said CESAER President Orla Feely at the end of the conference.

Research security, discussions with industry partners, and other topics at the Brno meeting

The CESAER university association meeting also included other specialized events on its agenda.

The workshop "Research security as a collective responsibility: empowering universities, enabling Europe" focused on the area of academic research security, particularly in the field of critical technologies.

The event program also included an exclusive visit to the hi-tech production facility of BUT's industrial partner, Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global leader in the electron microscopy sector. The visit also included a panel discussion between representatives of industry and academia on the topic of cooperation in the field of STEM competitiveness.

A unique experience was also offered to guests in the form of a ceremonial welcome at the Brno Observatory and Planetarium.

The Brno meeting concluded with the CESAER leadership elections. Orla Feely, President of University College Dublin, was re-elected as President of the association. Eight members of the CESAER Board of Directors were also elected alongside her.

CESAER is an international network of leading universities with a strong scientific and technological profile. Its members promote excellence in higher education, professional training, research, and innovation, contribute to knowledge societies for a sustainable future, and have a significant scientific, economic, social, and societal impact. The CESAER association (short for Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research) was founded in 1990 as a non-profit association. It is based on the science and technology campus of KU Leuven and currently brings together more than 50 leading science and technology universities from 25 European countries.

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Author	Mgr. Petr Kubíček
Published	2025-11-03 14:03
Link	https://www.vut.cz/en/but/f19528/d308056