STEM learning soars in popularity, Nord Anglia data shows

Nord Anglia Education released global figures today showing that online STEM courses taken by its students between April and June this year were twice as popular compared to the same period last year. The figures are based on students' co-curricular activities on Global Campus, Nord Anglia's online learning platform used by its 67,000 students in 30 countries.

The latest figures show that 57% of Nord Anglia's students opted for courses on Science, Tech, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), representing a significant increase compared to 23% during the same period in 2020. April to June's top ten most popular learning activities on Global Campus featured six STEM courses, including 'Space Sustainability', developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to challenge students to create thoughtful solutions and promote sustainable space exploration.  

With 73 schools based in the Americas, China, Southeast Asia, Middle East, India and Europe, Nord Anglia's analysis shows:

• STEM activities were the most popular and accounted for 57% of all online learning activities globally for Nord Anglia's students, proving especially popular with students in China, North America and Latin America, and India respectively.
• One in two students (48%) opted for courses centred on developing creativity, with students in China, India and Southeast Asia engaging most frequently with creative arts activities.
• Nearly a third of students (30%) opted for global citizenship activities to learn more about sustainable social impact. This area proved most popular with schools in India (1 in 5 visits).
• 1 in 5 students (20%) took part in wellbeing activities with Yoga one of the most popular online courses.

Nord Anglia's data found that between April and June this year, Global Campus recorded a 120% rise in users year on year.

Dr Elise Ecoff, Group Director of Education, Nord Anglia Education, said: "Across our schools we know that education technology is a powerful tool to empower teachers to bring learning to life and inspire students whether in the classroom or online. With Global Campus, developed by our team of educational experts, we have created a rich mix of engaging learning materials that complement schools' curricula and encourage students to discover, explore and collaborate with their global classmates."

Global Campus

Global Campus is Nord Anglia's exclusive online learning platform containing a rich mix of learning materials and resources that complement school curricula. Designed by Nord Anglia's team of educational experts and based on its collaborations with leading institutions, including The Juilliard School, MIT and UNICEF, the content is designed to nurture key transferable skills and help students further develop critical skills such as creativity, problem solving and communication.