About the project
The STEM(AJMO!) project aims to strengthen the capacity of associations and educational institutions to implement interdisciplinary STEM activities that stimulate the interest and motivation of children and young people.
According to a 2018 Cedefop survey, 65% of young people believe that STEM careers require too much investment in education, while 23% remain undecided due to the perception of the difficulty of this field. The formal education system often fails to keep up with the rapid changes in science and technology, leaving students dependent on the enthusiasm of their teachers and additional extracurricular activities.
Research shows that children and students are most motivated when they participate in gamified, competitive or collaborative activities, especially those that have practical applications in the real world. Therefore, through this project, with the support of higher education institutions, the capacities for the production of innovative STEM content will be strengthened and 300 workshops and 24 popular science events will be held over two years, such as STEM Picnics, Researchers’ Night, Science Festival, European Robotics Week, European Programming Week, National Ship Modeling Competition or All Digital Weeks.
Enrollment of children in workshops is carried out according to the following criteria:
- Age of children – children of the appropriate age can apply for the workshop, according to the program of each workshop.
- Number of available places – each workshop has a predetermined number of available places
Registration is done in the order of receipt of applications. The maximum number of participants is stated next to each workshop. When all available places are filled, a waiting list is formed. Children from the waiting list are included in the workshop in the order of receipt of applications, if any of the previously registered children cancel their participation.
In the event that all interested children fail to participate in the workshop, the workshop will be repeated at the earliest in the following month.
The project, which is financed by the European Social Fund Plus, is led by the Rijeka Technical Culture Center, and is implemented in cooperation with partners: More Kindergarten, the City of Rijeka, the Rijeka City Library, the Croatian Ship Modelers’ Association, Centar Elementary School, Malinska-Dubašnica Elementary School, Andrija Ljudevit Adamić High School, and the Faculty of Mathematics and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Rijeka.
The funds allocated to the STEM(AJMO!) project through the public call “Strengthening the capacities of civil society organizations for the promotion of STEM” (SF.2.4.06.04) by the Decision of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia dated March 6, 2025 amount to 298,469.41 euros, of which 15% from the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia and 85% from the European Social Fund Plus.
Co-financed by the European Union. The project is co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
The views expressed in the publication are the sole responsibility of the Technical Culture Centre Rijeka and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
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