EASTEM Euro-Asian project: Working together to improve employability and better prepare for the industry of the future

The EASTEM project "Euro-Asia collaboration for enhancing STEM Education 2019-2021", part of of which is carried by the Computer Science department at IMT Atlantique, supports the modernization of higher education systems to better prepare for the industrial jobs of the future. From 12 to 14 October, nearly 40 industrialists, participants from the 13 partner universities*, and members of the IMT Atlantique, met during a hybrid meeting organized by IMT Atlantique to discuss 8 promising modalities of industry-university collaboration.

The EASTEM capacity building Erasmus + project, launched in Vietnam in February 2019, aims to develop the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary character of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) training in European and Asian partner countries. Funded by Europe at a rate of of 1 million euros over 3 years, EASTEM identifies best practices of university-industry collaboration in STEM courses to strengthen them among the program partners.
EASTEM is in line with the international policies of IMT Atlantique and the Institut Mines-Télécom in that it fosters the establishment of long-term relationships with European and Asian technological universities, as well as connections between research and education around the Industry of the Future. It also contributes to increasing the international visibility of the school and the group in terms of education, innovative pedagogy and research.

8 priority modes of collaboration

"The meeting in mid-October was an opportunity to address the new needs for university-industry collaborations that European and Asian stakeholders have, and to share challenges and collaborative best practices with representatives of French companies", explains Siegfried Rouvrais, associate professor in the Computer Science department at IMT Atlantique and head of the dedicated EASTEM project. The three days of exchanges focused on the know-how identified to better align training programs with the new skills required by Industry 4.0 in two zones: Europe and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They involved five industrial partners -- Amadeus, BookBeo, Orness, Nokia, and Thales -- and representatives from IMT, the Fondation Mines-Télécom and the Franco-German Academy. Eight modes of collaboration have already been identified as priorities:

the involvement of industrialists in the definition and revision of programs
observation of professions and employment
fundraising for training programs and students
the participation of industrialists in courses
career preparation in professional teaching units
training with internships and apprenticeships in companies
innovation and entrepreneurship with industrialists in training courses
learning spaces shared with industrialists

With these priorities in mind, EASTEM will continue to create models that can integrate improvement processes into the strategies and practices of partners, in connection with competency-based approaches. The next meeting is already scheduled for February 2021.