STEM Ecosystems Spotlight: STEM Húsavík
In the remote Icelandic village of Húsavík, a groundbreaking initiative is transforming STEM education across Europe and the Arctic region. STEM Húsavík, launched in May 2022, has rapidly evolved into an international organization, focusing on empowering girls and women in STEM while addressing the unique challenges of rural Arctic communities.
About STEM Husavik
STEM Húsavík is Iceland’s first STEM Learning Ecosystem network, founded with the mission to empower residents and build skills by connecting diverse resources, nature, and community. Through strategic planning, laying the foundation of the SLE, STEM Húsavík advisory board recognized three important pillars; to increase awareness about STEM in the community, to support teachers and to sustain the efforts. Since its inception, it has expanded into a national network organization called STEM Iceland in 2023, with a second SLE launched in Iceland in April 2024. The project is now extending its reach into the Northern Periphery and Arctic region through EU funding.
The visionaries behind this innovative ecosystem are:
- Bridget Burger: Co-founder, STEM Húsavík (pictured above)
- Huld Hafliðadóttir: Co-founder, STEM Húsavík (pictured above)
Their leadership has been instrumental in expanding the initiative beyond Iceland’s borders, launching new ecosystems in Galway, Ireland, and Lapland, Finland.
Innovative Practice: Arctic STEM Empowerment
STEM Húsavík’s approach is tailored to the unique context of rural Arctic communities. The ecosystem focuses on skill-building for resilience in rapidly changing environments, leveraging community strengths to contribute to global agendas, and emphasizing equity and access in STEM education. On the ground, these efforts have manifested into an out-of-school robotics club for children, nature summer camp for children, series of teacher professional development, STEM lending library as well as STEM School Council whose aim is to share ideas, align curriculum across different school stages, map out STEM education, collect data and encourage STEM professional development. By developing international collaborations, STEM Húsavík addresses shared challenges around girls and women in STEM across the Arctic region.
Impact Story
The impact of STEM Húsavík extends far beyond its original location. The initiative has expanded into a national network (STEM Iceland), that earlier this year signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Iceland School of Education, that supports the efforts of launching more SLEs in Iceland. In addition, through the Northern Periphery and Arctic arctic project Arctic STEM Communities, have launched new ecosystems in Ireland and Finland, and developed projects empowering girls and women in STEM across Europe through a project called STREAM IT, Streaming Girls and Women into STEAM Education, Research and Innovation. These efforts are supported by a grant from the EU Horizon Program and the Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Program, highlighting the international recognition of the initiative’s potential.
A key outcome of the NPA collaboration is the creation of a STEM Ecosystems Community Manual, which will be disseminated to other Northern Periphery and Arctic communities, fostering the growth of STEM education in rural and remote areas.
Implementation Journey
STEM Húsavík’s growth follows a strategic implementation plan through the NPA project:
- Formation of new SLEs in three Northern Periphery and Arctic Region countries (2023)
- Identification of gaps for girls and women in STEM/STEAM through needs analysis
- Guidance for each community to undertake pilot projects and collect data
- Cross-ecosystem sharing of pilot results
- Creation of a replicable model for rural and Arctic communities through the publication of the community manual
Looking Ahead
As STEM Húsavík and STEM Iceland continue to evolve, it aims to expand its network of STEM ecosystems in Iceland, reaching more rural areas and communities, and to serve as an umbrella organization to those efforts.
To learn more about STEM Húsavík and its initiatives, visit https://stemhusavik.is/.
