site.btaNetwork of National and Regional STEM Centers Will Be Established in Schools

A contract for the establishment of National and Regional STEM Centres (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), which will be the main unit of professional development for teachers in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, was signed on August 26 between the Executive Agency "Programme for Education" and the National STEM Centre, the STEM Centre team announced.

The project is worth BGN 37 million and includes the establishment of off-site training facilities at the regional STEM Centres. It is funded the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. The project should be completed by May 31 2026.

The National STEM Center will support and advise the development of a STEM environment in every Bulgarian school, creating a model for learning, qualification, work with research methods and tools in the fields of "Mathematics and Informatics", "Natural Sciences", "3D Design and Prototyping", "Robotics and Cyber-Physical Systems", "Green Technologies and Sustainable Development". To support its activities, three off-site training facilities will be established at the Regional STEM Centres - at the universities Blagoevgrad, Plovdiv and Shumen. They will provide the necessary conditions for organizing and holding congresses, conferences, seminars, workshops and training of teachers, pedagogical specialists and others, as well as preparing children and students for participation in national and international Olympiads, competitions, contests, workshops and other forms of interest activities.

As a result of the project, the STEM Centres will be developed as research spaces that will combine play and science approaches to stimulate creativity, exploration and entrepreneurial thinking in children and young people. The investment will support the introduction of new teaching methods, the training of teaching professionals, the creation and implementation of new curriculum content towards the integration of STEM subject areas, and the development of attitudes towards innovation and entrepreneurship.