STEM disciplines Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) struggle to attract sufficient students to cover the need of the job market.
One of the root causes of this problem seems to be the difficulty to link the abstract study fields of science and mathematics with the practical application and relevance of these disciplines in our day-to-day lifes
To overcome this, MICAS leads multi-partner projects like STEMSCHOOL and InnovationLab. With these projects, we hope to not only enhance the STEM literacy of youngsters, but also their attitude towards STEM and its role in society.
We do not only publish our research output in peer reviewed scientific journals, but we also write articles for magazines with a broader audience. This way, we inform a more general public about our realizations and about the opportunities of our research.
We also use other channels to reach out to a broad audience, from television and magazines to social media and podcasts. Prof. Marian Verhelst is a regular guest in the monthly science podcast “Nerdland”, which discusses (in Dutch) the scientific breakthroughs of the month to non-experts.
In 2020, this podcast was Spotify’s most listened podcast of Flanders.
