1. Science and Technology Policy The Dutch approach
Beatrice Boots
Platform of Science and Technology

2. Presentation outline 1) Problem setting
2) Skills mismatch and the approach of the Platform of Science and Technology
3) Case study (1): public-private partnerships in vocational and higher education
4) Case study (2): Jet-Net
5) EU STEM Coalition
6) Questions and discussion

3. 1. Problem setting

4. Problem setting
Traditional jobs are changing and fading as a consequence of technological innovations
Close to 60% of employment growth since the 1990s has been in the form of non-standard work (temporary, part-time, self-employed) – OECD (2015)
47% of all jobs in the US will be automated by – Frey & Osborne (2014)
Degrees that give the highest return on investment are engineering, computer science and math – World Economic Forum (2016)
Persisting skills shortages in STEM fields in spite of high unemployment levels in many EU Member States is slowing down growth in the EU – European Parliament (2015)

5. Skills Mismatch
Key question: how to (re)develop the education system to equip youngsters with the right tools and ‘innovation skills’ (STEM, entrepreneurship, creativity) to succeed in this new reality?

6. What are innovation skills
What are innovation skills? – various definitions European Commission (2014) - creativity - entrepreneurial skills - risk taking adaptability - innovation capacity - problem solving skills - skills related to effective teamwork - sharing information and knowledge
21st Century skills – SLO (NL)

7. 2. Skills mismatch and the approach of the Dutch Platform of Science and Technology since 2002

8. Less people interested in science & technology

9. Example: The Netherlands
Lisbon Strategy (2000): European goals for more science & technology
National Deltaplan (2002): in % more STEM-students graduate from higher education than in 2000
Establishment of national STEM Platform

10. The Dutch Approach: Talent Pipeline
Chain approach: from primary to higher education
Performance agreements with every school. Funding/subsidies dependent on results
Guiding “compass” & expertise: cooperation schools & businesses, study & career advice, more context in curriculum, target groups (e.g. girls), coop with universities, etc.

11. Inflow STEM students

12. The Dutch Approach > 2013
Technology Pact: supporting regions with expertise and assistance
Public private partnerships between education and business (institutionalized in “Centres”)
Regional stimulation of Science & Technology in primary, secondary education, vocational education based on regional partnerships

13. Contributing to a solution
Triple Helix approach
Collaborating with and providing context for educational institutes
By business involvement
With government support

14. 3. Case study: public private partnerships in vocational and higher education in the Netherlands

15. Education system at a glance
Vocational education: ISCED2011 levels 2-4 (equivalent to Certificate of vocational matura), two types:
Full-time at school with internships
Four days work-based learning, one day at school
Universities of applied science: ISCED 2011 level 6 (Professional Bachelor’s)

16. Challenges
High rates of dropouts
Insufficient talent development
A lack of cross-disciplinary studies
Inflexible education system to meet the needs of students and the labour market
Not enough (qualified) teachers

17. Public-private partnerships
Total national goverment investment : € 200 million
Triple helix partnerships, co-investment requirement of 2/3rd: € 400 million (in-kind and in-cash)
Aimed at economy priority sectors (mostly STEM / STEM-cross-sectoral oriented)
Involves most VET/UAS institutions in the Netherlands and over 3000 businesses. 

19. Aims Solving skills mismatch
Contribute to innovative strength of businesses Life long learning
E.g. Redesigning education with business
Students work on innovation projects
Employees participate in Centres

20. Key features in governance
PPPs define their own scope and activities (within the overall aim of bridging the skills gap)
Participation and investments of triple-helix obligatory to acquire government finance, active government support
Focus on learning and monitoring: recursive learning oriented cycle, room for experimentation and innovation
Within 5 years a self-sustaining partnership without additional funding of government

21. Critical success factors
Sense of urgency: involvement of regional/local governments, businesses and education
Alignment of policies: avoid contradicting exisisting national education regulation (i.e. curricula, oversight, quality checks)
Commmitment and Give it time, provide expertise, focus on improving and monitoring (it takes > 5 years to build a self-sustainable ppp)

22. 4. Case study: Jet-Net

23. Jet-Net – Youth and Technology Network
November 2002

24. Cooperation within Jet-Net
Educational Institutions
Government
Industry
LONG TERM VISION

25. Goals and Procedure Goal:
Promote the flow of students to higher STEM Education
‘4 out of 10 STEM workers’
Dual approach:
1.Adding context to the teaching of the STEM-subjects  lower barriers
2.Showcasing career prospects in industry and technology  increase attraction

26. Main characteristics
1-to-1 collaboration school and company
Curriculum plays a central role
80-20 principle (DIY)

27. National Events
Girlsday
Career Day
Meet the Boss
Webcast

28. Conditions for succes
Commitment of the school and company: human resources, time and initiative
Direct link school and company
Embedding activities in the curriculum
Convert enthusiasm to professional approach
Let students experience by doing-it-themselves
Natioanal and regional

29. Results Jet-Net in 13 years
95 Jet-Net companies and 42 Partners 600 activities every year 185 active Jet-Net schools > students per year 91 schools on the waiting list

30. 5. EU STEM Coalition

31. National STEM strategies based on the triple helix approach have proved to be a successful tool in addressing the skills mismatch

32. What is the EU STEM Coalition?
A learning community
Exchanging good practices between organisations and countries with STEM strategies
Supporting others who are willing to develop such a strategy in order to challenge the skills mismatch on national level

33. EU STEM Coalition - objectives
Good practice sharing – between existing national STEM platforms
Peer to peer coaching – to support the establishment of new national STEM platforms
Community building – between national platforms, connecting parties on a national level, on European level between platforms and supporting organisations

34. No ‘one size fits all’
Formulating a national STEM strategy is a top down and bottom up proces:
Fitting the states’ needs and key characteristics
Key questions:
How is the relationship between education and industry?
How is the relationship between industry and government?
What sectors are located in the country?
Mostly large companies or SMEs?
What skills are most needed? (STEM wide, IT, entrepreneurship)

35. EU STEM Coalition - Partners
National Platforms 2. National Partners
Denmark Hungary
Estonia Greece
Belgium (Flanders) France
The Netherlands
Ukraine

36. EU STEM Coalition - Partners
3. Supporting partners
CSR Europe
ECSITE (science centers)
FEANI (engineers)
Jet-Net
Jet-Net.dk
ThinkYoung

37. Thank you for your attention further questions: b.boots@deltapunt.nl