Bulgaria has embarked on a journey of establishing over 2500 STEM centers in schools, with the goal to ensure a STEM center in every state and municipal school by 2026. In a parallel effort, Microsoft Bulgaria, with the support of Telelink Business Services, created a free STEAM education hub Dream Space.
Since its launch a year ago, Dream Space has hosted 3500 students and 900 teachers, who participated in immersive, research-based experiences. Students had a chance to enhance their STEAM skills and computational thinking alongside crucial social-emotional skills such as empathy, creativity, ethical decision-making, and collaboration. The hub also organized 140 innovative STEAM workshops since it opened its doors, in which students are at the center of learning specific knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values that help them discover and create advanced solutions.
“Dream Space, our STEAM education hub, makes one of the most prominent experiences where kids can learn skills for the future. Recognizing that our youngsters are the architects of tomorrow, it becomes our duty to equip them with the skills and know-how essential for future employment. It’s heartening to witness teachers and school principals actively engaging in our workshops alongside their students, and we’re thrilled by the growing interest from others eager to replicate the Dream Space experience in their own schools,” said Kalin Dimtchev, Country Manager of Microsoft Adriatics.
Experience is built on this philosophy and puts learners in the role of researchers. In Dream Space, students use innovative, fascinating, and fun technologies such as virtual reality. Also, for the exciting Dream Space experience to have a lasting effect on students’ motivation, tenacity, and proactivity, each class has its own mission to be accomplished together.
“My students and I are impressed by the atmosphere of active learning created by the facilitators and their communication style with the students. After the visit, I often present real-life problems during lessons with a suitable theme. I always strive to motivate my students, and this STEAM learning experience in Dream Space was very beneficial for me and my students in that direction. I would like to visit Dream Space every year with a different class. It was a very exciting, motivating, and inspiring experience for me and my students,” said Elena Pencheva-Koleva, Senior Teacher at 44th High School in Sofia.
Dream Space is bringing a diverse range of initiatives for the future including more STEAM workshops for students, the launch of Dream Space TV and Student clubs and targeted training for Pedagogy Students from Universities. Dream Space Teachers Academy will be established focusing on STEAM training and content creation with Minecraft Education, Micro:bit, MakeCode Arcade, and other free Windows applications. Students and teachers can also expect the commemoration of EDU Day 2024 themed “Traditions of Our Future,” and the grand finale with an end-of-the-year Dream Space Hackathon.
To find out more details and reserve a spot to visit Dream Space – www.dreampace.bg.
