By 2020 Flanders has the ambition to be one of the top five regions of Europe. To realize this ambition, it must invest in knowlegde and talents. Although many companies and research institutes are active in the domain of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), there is a gowing lack of young people studying exact sciences and technical subjects. To deal with this problem, the Flemish government approved the STEM Action Plan 2012-2020. At the STEM event of 18 February 2014, professionals and press were demonstrated how the plan is being implemented. The initiative had the support of the Flemish Parliament. STEM ambassadors gave their view on the subject, four Flemish ministers demonstrated their STEM talents and two new projects were presented.
One of the real life projects demonstrated was MyMachine. Its focus on co-operation by combining imagination and STEM makes it one of the lighthouse projects of the Flemish government. The story of the Spocker invention as well as many other great inventions by children was presented. Participants were invited to dream their dream machine and to share it with the world. And it turned out that the dream machine of the Flemish prime minister Kris Peeters is a highly remarkable grass mower.
