The paper “Beyond STEM: A New North Star for European Competitiveness” challenges the conventional wisdom that simply producing more STEM graduates will secure Europe’s future competitiveness and resilience. Instead, it argues that Europe—and especially the Nordics—must move beyond the generic STEM label and focus on developing the specific technical capabilities needed for leadership in strategic sectors. The paper calls for a new, capability-centred approach to education, lifelong learning, and industrial policy, leveraging the unique strengths of Nordic collaboration and social partnership.
The paper offers a fresh, data-driven perspective on why the old STEM narrative is holding us back—and lays out a practical roadmap for how the Nordics can lead the way in building the skills, institutions, and strategies needed for the 21st century.
It also argues that the Nordics have a unique opportunity to demonstrate how small, democratic societies with strong institutions and social partnerships can maintain agency and prosperity in a world of technological disruption and geopolitical competition.