On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the GAIA Cluster, in collaboration with Politeknika Txorierri, the company Ondoan, the National Association of Centers with Certificates of Professionalism and the Online National University of Education (UNED), joined forces to organize the conference “Microelectronics, Energy, Women, STEAM, VET and Employability” in the Arriaga Hall of the Bizkaia Aretoa – UPV/EHU in Bilbao.
The conference was a success, bringing together professionals directly linked to the microelectronics and energy sectors to highlight the attractive perspective offered by the STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) and their accessibility through Vocational Education and Training (VET).
The event opened with presentations of Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) projects ECOVEM and SECOVE. There were showcased by Imma Miralles from the National Association of Training Centers with Certificates of Professionalism, and Anabel Menica from Politeknika Txorierri, respectively.
Prominent speakers such as Cinta Daudé from the BCN Vocational Training Foundation, Marta Macho from UPV/EHU, and Julia Wagenpfeil from the EUDesk department of the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Spain shared valuable perspectives on the importance of STEAM in education and employment.
Two benchmark companies in the Basque Country, Merytronic and ZIV, represented by Iratxe Zuluaga and Begoña Aranzabe, gave inspiring testimonials about their experiences in the microelectronics and energy sectors.
The day concluded with a round table, where the panelists responded directly to questions from the audience and shared impressions with high school students present at the event.
The event highlighted the urgent need to address STEAM careers, especially in microelectronics and energy, in vocational education and training, and university classrooms. The importance of gender equity, non-discrimination and social inclusion in these sectors was underlined.
In this context, the ECOVEM and SECOVE projects stand out for integrating these objectives in their proposals, contributing to address these issues at regional and national level. The day demonstrated that STEAM is attractive to all groups and offers significant employment opportunities, underlining the role of vocational training.
For more information on the ECOVEM and SECOVE projects, as well as future events, visit https://ecovem.eu/, https://secove-project.eu/.