The recent survey by The European House – Ambrosetti highlights that in Italy we scarcely study Stem disciplines – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics: just 16% of the population aged 20-29 has a degree in one of these subjects, against 20% on average of the European Union. Germany, with 20%, and France with 28%, are the excellences.
The Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi stated that the shortage of STEM graduates and professors is almost a national emergency, as it already happened in France two years ago: «We need immediate investments, we must work in synergy with Universities. The crucial issue of Mathematics is about new competences and new languages. Two years ago, the president Macron declared Mathematics as a national emergency for France. I am not doing the same thing for our Country, but we are close to it. Here is another theme, too: “How should disciplines be taught? In our graduation course, there is not a specific course that teaches not mathematics, but instead how Mathematics, or Physics, or Italian language is taught. We should not take for granted that a young boy or a young girl, graduated in Mathematics or Literature, are then able to teach it».
Another Italian politician, Roberto Cingolani, Minister of the Ecologic Transition, has cast the spotlights on the matter. «In Italy, there is a structural shortage of minds trained in technical-scientific subjects. We miss 30,000 young experts in STEM subjects. In other Countries there are many more. This is critical for the ecologic transition».
