RUN-EU and HAMK’s Design Factory put effort into the future skills of children and young people
RUN-EU’s recently created Future Innovators Labs (FILS) Hub aims to inspire young people in our regions to develop their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills.
The FILS Hub provides children and young people aged 6-17 and their educators with tailored programmes and learning experiences designed to develop their future skills, with a particular focus on STEM fields. Workshops, challenges and other activities, developed in partnership with stakeholders in the regions, strengthen children’s and young people’s skills, promote social innovation and international competences, and stimulate interest in a more sustainable and technology-driven future.
The new Hub will increase and deepen opportunities for children and young people in the RUN-EU regions to work together. Children and young people have already been involved in RUN-EU activities, for example to tackle the food waste challenge in Burgos, Spain, and Forssa, Finland.
Get involved with the hub’s activities!
The FILS Hub works closely with the HAMK Design Factory. If you have a suitable challenge in mind for children and young people or would like to get involved in the hub in another way, please contact Jari Jussila, principal research scientist at HAMK.
The FILS Hub was launched at RUN-EU in May 2025 at the Howest University of Applied Sciences, Belgium. It brings together European centres of learning and innovation from eight RUN-EU partner universities across Europe. The centres are: Taste – Food and Tourism Education (TUS, Ireland), Centro de Ciência Viva do Alviela – Casoscópio (IPLeiria, Portugal), Future Innovation Lab (IPCA, Portugal), Design Factory (HAMK), Challenge Lab (NHL Stenden, The Netherlands), Netzwerk MINKT e Inatura (FHV, Austria), Mind and Makerspace (Howest, Belgium) and La Estación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (UBU, Spain).
The hub’s objectives and activities have been developed in line with the European Union’s Pact for Skills, a flagship initiative of the European Skills Agenda, launched in 2025 to prepare European citizens for the major challenges of our time: the green transition and digital transformation.
For more information:
RUN European University
We are part of RUN European University, which brings together eight European higher education institutions from seven countries committed to a common vision.
