How can cities become places where young people choose to stay, build their future and develop their talents?
This was the shared challenge behind Future STEAM Cities, an URBACT Innovation Transfer Network led by the Municipality of Aveiro, bringing together five European cities: Aveiro (Portugal), Alytus (Lithuania), Kolding (Denmark), Płock (Poland) and Oulu (Finland).
Over two years, from September 2024 to August 2026, the five cities worked together to explore, test and adapt Aveiro's STEAM City model — an approach that connects Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics with education, business, culture and the wider community.
Through transnational meetings, local stakeholder groups, pilot activities and peer learning, each city explored how STEAM can help strengthen local skills, connect education with the labour market and create new opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds.
Although they started from different contexts and challenges, all five cities developed their own investment plans, bringing individual initiatives together into more integrated, long-term strategies.
The network also generated valuable insights into how cities can work collaboratively, test new approaches, learn from evidence and build stronger partnerships to support local development.
The journey may have come to an end, but the work continues. The knowledge, experience and practical lessons gathered throughout Future STEAM Cities provide a foundation for the next steps in each partner city and valuable inspiration for other European territories looking to embrace STEAM as a driver of innovation and talent development.
Discover the results and lessons learned
What did the five cities achieve? How did they adapt Aveiro's model to their own realities? And what can other cities learn from this experience?
Explore the Future STEAM Cities Final Report and discover the main outcomes, city journeys, lessons learned and recommendations for the future.