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Educating for STEM: Developing Entrepreneurial Thinking in STEM (Entre-STEM)

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Enhancing Entrepreneurial Mindsets Through STEM Education

Part of the book series: Integrated Science ((IS,volume 15))

Abstract

The events across society and business influenced by COVID-19 demonstrate that we live in a volatile and uncertain world. Whether events are shaped by the pandemic or other crises, digitalization, political instability, economic downturns, and a globally stretched healthcare system, each requires significant knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to solve problems. In the face of unprecedented challenges and opportunities, there is a dissolution of the traditional silos within the technical and scientific disciplines, and further between scientific knowledge and transferable skills such as creativity, innovation and problem solving. Thus, learning for and in STEM will need to go beyond mere transmission of knowledge within STEM disciplines to the possession of transferable skills of creativity, ingenuity, and the ability to work collaboratively. A realistic understanding of the broader business, social and ethical contexts within STEM will be required. Our findings propose an Entre-STEM unifying framework for use by a range of STEM stakeholders ranging from educational institutions, policy makers, educators, and funding agencies as it provides a common baseline to work from and enables more consistency in guiding programme design, implementation and evaluation. We suggest that Entre-STEM is a means of achieving this, delivering on the correct mix of technical knowledge in an applied context-relevant manner.

Graphical Abstract

Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it and make it the life you want to live.

Mae Jemison, first African American woman astronaut in space

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Correspondence to Briga Hynes .

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Authors’ Quote: There are many paths which lead to the one end-goal—a creative and entrepreneurial mindset is a crucial navigating compass to arriving at your best end goal.

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Hynes, B., Costin, Y., Richardson, I. (2023). Educating for STEM: Developing Entrepreneurial Thinking in STEM (Entre-STEM). In: Kaya-Capocci, S., Peters-Burton, E. (eds) Enhancing Entrepreneurial Mindsets Through STEM Education. Integrated Science, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17816-0_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17816-0_8

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