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EU Shoes Your Life Jump Out event discusses new approach to STEAM jobs

Dec 22, 2023 Europe

The EU Jump Out event for the Shoes Your Life (SYL) project, held on the 28th of November in Brussels, debated how digitalization can be used to improve educational opportunities in STEAM careers

Organised by the youth-focused ThinkYoung Brussels think tank at the European Business Summit, Egmont Palace, the Jump Out event aimed to disseminate and exploit the results of the Shoes Your Life project, improving the understanding of their use and integration into the European Education System.

Targeted at Generation Z, the Shoes Your Life (SYL) project intends to develop a new educational approach to STEAM jobs and encourage Generation Z to choose STEAM-based occupations. To this end, the SYL consortium is developing an innovative virtual reality-based educational programme that focuses on traditional industries and highlights the modernisation and digital transformation taking place in these sectors.

Attended by more than 40 people, the event brought then together educators, industry professionals, and students to discuss the impact of digitalisation on STEAM careers: namely, how technology can be used to create a more engaging and effective learning environment, how digital tools play “a key role in improving access to quality education, and how to better prepare young Europeans to be successful in the future of Europe’s STEAM job market”.

It also counted on the participation of Rita Souto Bizarro, Director of the Training and Qualification Department at the Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre (CTCP), Guillermo Tosca Díaz, Research Manager at ThinkYoung, Giulia Meschino, Director, Secretary General at the European Vocational Training Association (EVTA), and Mafalda Barros, Project Manager and Marketing at byAR.

In addition, the EU Jump Out event allowed participants to test the Shoes Your Life Virtual Reality App and experience its features and capabilities first-hand. This app provides an interactive and immersive experience that enables young people to explore three-dimensional virtual environments.