CONTEXT Within a world that technology and inventions are outpacing developments in the field of education, protecting ownership of creative works becomes especially important to STEAM subjects, where regular innovations occur on a daily basis.Therefore, the inclusion of intellectual property (IP) in STEAM education rapidly becomes a pivotal element establishing the protection of creators’ rights beseemed to their achievements. Nevertheless, due to its complexity, a surprising lack of IP education occurs in schools, with the European educational ecosystems rarely integrating IP teaching into school curricula, whereas teachers have not been introduced to IP assets in their own education as well. Within the endeavor of preparing students for the future under the prism of kids of today being properly qualified for jobs of tomorrow, school teachers should found their freedom to innovate utilizing fundamental IP practices.To that end, simply teaching students how to invent within STEAM subjects is not enough;they should also learn how to protect their work from potential legal attacks. IP education in early age is equally crucial as early exposure to innovation in terms of equipping children to become future inventors.Besides, IP rights play a hugely important role in stimulating innovation and creativity, and thus their promotion is a matter of economic growth. OBJECTIVES In terms of IP education being crucial in promoting STEAM-related subjects, the IPinSTEAM project aims at generating awareness about the importance of IP knowledge in order to confront its large absence from K-12 curricula.In pursuance of the objective,the project will integrate IP assets into STEAM teaching through innovative training approaches that comprise the development of a practical handbook for K-12 teachers about how to transfer and implement IP concepts into their courses along with an interactive digital tool promoting real-life scenarios of IP knowledge implementation. In order to efficiently tackle the lack of IP knowledge and yet motivate teachers to influence European educational ecosystems, the IPinSTEAM approach will be facilitated by gamified learning techniques that will trigger its main participants to embrace the project strategies in real life. PARTICIPANTS The partnership will engage: -K-12 teachers -Up to 12-year-old students -STEAM departments -Schools and educational institutions -Law departments -Policy makers -e-learning enthusiasts ACTIVITIES -Set up a concrete framework through an iterative methodology based on the target groups’ needs -Create a hands-on training course comprising practical advice and specific lesson plans for K-12 to easily embrace IP assets and implement them in their STEAM subjects -Develop a digital tool aiming at assessing teachers’ understanding and retaining their newly acquired knowledge -Develop a dedicated online space serving as a single point of information under the scope of widening the project network and thus increasing its impact METHODOLOGY -Verification of the needs of K-12 teachers related to their current knowledge about IP main assets and their role in STEAM teaching -Iterative development of the hands-on IPinSTEAM Training course and a digital tool promoting real-life scenarios based on participants’ feedback -Validation of all project outcomes through a series of exercises -Configuration of an online community that will serve as a single information spot for all IPinSTEAM enthusiasts -Organization of multiplier events to promote the project RESULTS -IPinSTEAM Training Course -IPinSTEAM Gamified Mediator -IPinSTEAM League IMPACT The impact of the project lies on: -Awareness among STEAM teachers about avant-garde training approaches towards promoting the importance of IP implementation in education -Increasing motivation to embrace a different approach in their trainings -Improvement of their knowledge in order to properly equip students with IP knowledge in conjunction with STEAM subjects At local level, the project will promote techniques to improve participants' knowledge about the incorporation of IP in their curricula At national level,it will encourage an open dialogue about the inclusion of new elements into school curricula and potentially change of teaching materials At European level,it will influence policies so as to shape the future of the educational ecosystems towards fostering students’ employability and personal growth skills. LONG-TERM BENEFITS Indubitably,the project upholds a standard-based training approach towards the improvement of school education on subjects that are momentous for a functional community of future inventors through the IPinSTEAM League.Motivating European school communities to move towards promoting the value of IP in STEAM industries, the project can build long-term a united nation of inventors and future entrepreneurs that can increase ‘innovation economics’ focusing on the connection between economic growth and IP teaching.
As referenced in the above response, the main objective of the project, at the highest level, was to provide teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement IP concepts in their K-12 curricula, and also raise awareness of the importance of Intellectual Property assets within the STEM field, where inventions and technological advancements are on the agenda. The project then targeted not only K-12 teachers but also students who, thanks to the project, were exposed to the importance of IP concepts, through a gamified approach that will trigger all participants to embrace the project strategies in real life. The project indeed, during its life, accomplished its main achievements in delivering a complete set of training material, including lesson plans, specifically designed to be used by teachers in K-12 classes’ curricula, about the concepts of copyright laws, design rights, trademarks and patents, within the STEAM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). Also, a Gamified Mediator, was created to simplify the approach of IP concepts, implemented using real-life scenarios.
The IPinSTEAM project was born with the objective to generate awareness about the importance of IP knowledge in order to confront its large absence from K-12 curricula (primary or lower secondary education). Indeed, research has shown that regular innovations occur now on a daily basis, in a world that is mainly regulated by technological advancements and inventions in the field of education. Here, the need to learn the regulations and know-how to protect ownership of creative works becomes especially important to STEAM subjects. However, due to its complexity, a surprising lack of IP education occurs in schools, with the European educational ecosystems rarely integrating IP teaching into school curricula, leaving also teachers with no knowledge of IP assets. To achieve this objective, the project aimed to integrate IP assets into STEAM teaching through innovative training approaches that comprise the development of a training course for K-12 teachers about how to transfer and teach IP concepts into their classes along with an interactive digital tool, the Gamified Mediator, promoting real-life scenarios of IP knowledge implementation.