Innovation in education and re-industrialisation in Europe

In this paper we discuss innovations in education, with a focus on those oriented towards knowledge-driven re-industrialisation in Europe. We first introduce the specific education needs for re-industrialisation with regard (a) to young people’s knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and (b) to specific training needs of mid-level technicians. Then we propose the adoption of a context-based approach to place science and technology within young people’s daily lives and to promote links between science, technology and society. In particular, we propose the use of robotics labs to improve context-based approach to technology education. We suggest action-research as a feasible practice to boost bottom-up changes in teaching and learning activities, and we focus on the university initiative Officina Emilia as an exemplar of such actions, as the initiative involves university researchers, manufacturing and services companies, education agencies, civil society. The paper offers some concluding remarks on two main ingredients that can support a more appropriate set of education and training activities to enhance knowledge-driven re-industrialisation: first, the need to allow the emergence of hybrid places fostering innovation, with the involvement of different agents; second, the robotics labs, among others, as a means to foster a multidisciplinary perspective, crucial for the new challenges that education faces in supporting re-industrialization.