Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) educators recently attended a national seminar entitled ‘Raising the bar: Shaping students’ science and career aspirations’. In her keynote address and in a subsequent workshop, Prof. Louise Archer explored teaching approaches that engage students with science. The participants discussed ways to support and help students find more meaning and relevance in science. The seminar was organised by the Education Ministry’s Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes and partially funded through Scientix project. www.scientix.eu.