BENCHMARK STUDY ON OPTIMAL STRATEGIES FOR FOSTERING STEAM SKILLS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Currently, in the context of multiple challenges and operating in a constantly changing environment, higher education institutions must adapt to new changes by reinventing new methods of activity and a new management model focused on establishing new competencies among students - the STEAM competencies, which offer the possibility to shape competent and creative young people capable of easily adapting to the new context.

In the evolving landscape of education, universities play a pivotal role in shaping future professionals. As such, the adoption and design of innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) curriculums has become increasingly crucial. These curriculums offer an integrated approach to learning, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary skills among students, thereby equipping them for a rapidly changing work environment. Furthermore, the increased need for adaptability of higher education institutions is emphasized by a new paradigm of education - postmodern education, an education that stimulates and maximizes the human potential of educational actors, as well as clarifying the need to establish new competencies among students through its fundamental elements: e-learning, e-tutoring, etc. This study represents a scientific exploration aimed at elucidating the role and undeniable contribution of STEAM competencies in higher education, competencies that are extremely necessary for educational actors in the era of postmodern education. Furthermore, the research carried out has allowed us to review the most successful national, regional, and international practices in implementing STEAM skills in higher education, on the one hand, and to clarify the most relevant practices implemented by the major university centers in the EU in integrating STEAM competencies into universities.

Another aspect of the research was directed towards analyzing the Moldovan system of higher education, with the elucidation of the need to establish STEAM competencies in entrepreneurial education, a study that focused on the Sustainable Development Goals.