Fundão, Portugal: using STEM education to help build a new ICT technopolis

Abstract

In 2015, to reverse a rise in unemployment, a decline in economic growth and the population aging, the Municipality of Fundão designed the Strategic Plan for Innovation. The plan was thought to attract companies and people to Fundão and to encourage families and younger generations already in Fundão to live and work in their home territory. This would be accomplished by attracting investments and new businesses based on new technologies. The strategy had a significant positive impact on the number of jobs created in the city, its economic growth, and attraction of businesses and population. In effect, the municipality started from scratch and built a new ICT industry cluster to transform the economy for a globalized, digital age, addressing needs in the areas of software development, robotics, and technology-based solutions for traditional sectors. The consortium supporting the plan includes governmental organizations, universities, schools, civic associations, businesses, financial institutions, and innovation centers. After four years, Fundão hosts 14 new companies, including four multinationals. Those companies have created over 500 highly qualified jobs. The municipality also has 70 new startups and over 200 privately funded innovative projects. The training of young students on digital technologies, namely on programming, as well as the reskilling of adults, was an essential first step in the plan’s implementation. This success was recognized with an award from the European Community–and it motivated the extension of the initiative into elementary schools, with the goal of covering all students of the municipality. This chapter examines the case within the lens of technopolis development and it includes interview insights from those involved in Fundão’s sustainability plan.