Submitted Abstract
The Luxembourg Tech School asbl (LTS) was created with the goal of promoting the development of “Future Digital Leaders”. A digital leader is someone capable of taking a business idea and, with the use of technology, transform it into a successful product or service, effectively creating value. Digital leaders are fundamental to the development and implementation of National Digital Strategies. At the same time, there is an important shortfall of qualified leaders in ICT; EU ICT shortage is estimated at 500,000 jobs for 2020 (source: empirica, January 2017). Luxembourg is not an exception of this shortfall; “According to Eurostat data, 59% of Luxembourg businesses have difficulty recruiting IT profiles” (source: Paperjam 25/02/2016) and Luxembourg is highlighted at risk of complacency; “future preparedness (i.e. talent pipeline and policies) are least likely to be fit for expansion, or potentially not even for sustaining status-quo” (source: High-Tech Leadership Skills for Europe – Towards an Agenda for 2020 and Beyond, Marc 2017).To contribute to the sustainability and long-term development and implementation of the Luxembourg Digital Strategies, LTS has developed an educational program to create the “Future Digital Leaders”. The program is aimed at 15-19 years old students who are passionate about the digital realm and eager to learn and apply technology in a real business context. LTS developed an innovative educational approach to teach with a purpose, using business and technology project-based learning. Students, of the last years of the high school, are taking in a 9 months program, with a workload of about 4-5 hours per week, on business, technology, and soft skills. The program, Level 1, is divided into 3 modules; Game Development, Big Data and FinTech. At the end of each module, the students demonstrate their product creations and pitch for prizes in an event in front of business leaders. During each module, students learn a business domain and the technology around it, and work during the class sessions in small groups to develop their project ideas. LTS uses the “Flipped Classroom” approach; classes are 100% hands-on and theory is learnt at home by means of video classes produced in-house.The first full 9 months program, with 32 students from 3 high schools, was successfully run during the last academic year 2016-2017. The students attended more than 80 hands-on sessions, watched 800+ minutes of video classes, developed 24 projects and some 800 people attended the events and performances overall. In this first effort, LTS created important societal impact by:•Promoting tech and science domains for all ages•Promoting an open and dynamic learning environment •Showing to the industry that young people are just waiting for challenges•Showing that innovation and quality is possible at early ageFor the 2017-2018 program, LTS is expanding to 60 students from 9 schools and developing a second-year level with 2 new modules; Space Resources and AI for Finance for 20 students graduated from the first-year program. In summary, LTS is aiming for more than 80 students, 9 schools, 5 3-months modules, 5 public events and will continue developing the necessary content and tools to further reach young adults in Luxembourg and, potentially, every high school student in the country.LTS is support by Digital Luxembourg, the ministry of education, children and youth (Script) and Centre for Computerised Management in Education (CGIE).