Charmaine Kerr is the project coordinator for inGenious and Scientix, which are funded by the European Commission's FP7 programme. inGenious aims to reinforce links between STEM education and careers by involving 1500 classrooms across Europe in testing innovative teaching practices. It has a budget of €8.3M from the European Commission and industry partners. Scientix is a community portal that disseminates information about European science and math projects.

1. Charmaine Kerr
Project Coordinator at European Schoolnet
inGenious and Scientix are co-funded by the European
Commission’s FP7 programme. The document reflects solely
the views of its authors. The European Commission is not liable
for any use that may be made of the information contained
therein
Scientix and inGenious
projects and
conferences

2. www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org
European Schoolnet (EUN)
Promoting the use of ICT
and digital technologies
in the classroom
Promoting the European
dimension in schools
Improving the quality of
education in Europe
Network of
30 Ministries
of Education in Europe
Three areas of interest:
 services to schools,
 research and innovation,
 sharing of learning resources

3. www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 3
European Schoolnet and STEM

4. ingenious-science.eu
4

5. ingenious-science.eu
inGenious
• inGenious is the European Coordinating Body
(ECB) in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Maths (STEM) Education.
• An initiative which started in 1 February 2011
• Budget of € 8.3 M – 50% EC funding and 50%
industry partners

6. ingenious-science.eu
Aims of inGenious
• To reinforce the link between school – industry
collaboration by coordinating and build upon
existing school and industry partnerships in the
area of STEM education
• To reinforce young European’s interest in STEM
education and careers.

7. ingenious-science.eu
Objectives
• Increase the links between STEM education and
careers by involving up to 1500 classrooms
across 15 European countries
• Test and evaluate innovative approaches and
practices targeting primary and secondary school
teachers and students in STEM education.

8. ingenious-science.eu
Profile of Partners
 Ministries of Education
 Industry
 National Platforms
 Universities
 Science Museums
Unique consortium due to:
 Career focus
 Industry
engagement

9. ingenious-science.eu
Partners and associate partners

10. ingenious-science.eu
• Collecting practices / activities for schools from
industry
• Pilot schools – test + evaluate practices  info
for new practices
• Workshops, academies, summer schools for
teachers
• Webinars / chats: experts answering questions
from students
• Online Communities of practice / discussions
• Dissemination / information on careers in
industry
• School – industry collaboration needs analysis
• Network of 1000 schools by end 2013
• Setting up of STEM National Platforms
http://ingenious-science.eu
Activities

11. ingenious-science.eu
Practices

12. ingenious-science.eu
Example of one of the Practices

13. ingenious-science.eu
Practices

14. ingenious-science.eu
Industry activities: what teachers
say...
Pilot Cycle 1: 170 teachers from 150 schools in 21 European countries
“I gained experience in using ICT
tools to do mathematics. This is an
aspect of the curriculum that is
generally overlooked”
80% of teachers say pupils are
now more interested in STEM
careers
“(My pupils) learned some new
mathematical and physical rules
that aren’t in their curriculum
yet but that make them more
aware of how STEM subjects
are related to everyday life.”
95% thought the activities had
proactively enhanced their
teaching skills and practices

15. ingenious-science.eu
Observatory of practice
School-Industry Collaboration in STEM Education & Careers
Questionnaires
• Policy Actions
• Practices
Policy Makers
Industry partners
National Platforms
Preliminary
information
NEEDS ANALYSIS:
National Level
NEXT EVENT: European National Needs analysis
Workshop
Presentation of findings from the 15 national workshops
Identify common strategies to overcome the gaps in the
school-industry collaboration on a national and European
level
15 National Needs Analysis Workshops to identify the gaps and
challenges in the school-industry collaboration
Literature
Research
+
NEEDS ANALYSIS:
European Level

16. ingenious-science.eu
15 National Needs Analysis workshops
in the 15 countries
 Austria
 Belgium
 Denmark
 Estonia
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Israel
 Italy
 Netherlands
 Portugal
 Slovakia
 Spain
 Sweden
 United Kingdom

17. ingenious-science.eu
European Needs Analysis
Workshop
When: 2nd week of November 2013 (exact date tbc)
Where: Brussels
No of participants: 80 to 100 key participants
Target Audience: High level event
• Policy makers (National and European level);
• Industry; and
• National platforms in the area of STEM Education

18. ingenious-science.eu
Aim of the Event
 To present the analysis of the findings from the
organised15 National needs analysis workshops
on the gaps and challenges that exist in the
school-industry collaboration in the area of
STEM Education;
 To identify common strategies both on a
National, Regional and European level.
 Any queries about the event can be addressed
to: charmaine.kerr@eun.org

19. Scientix is financed under the European Union's Seventh
Framework Programme for Research and Development
The Scientix Community – a door to
all EC projects and STEM teachers

20. www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 20
EUN STEM Projects

21. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 21
European science and maths projects

22. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 22
http://scientix.eu

23. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 23
Conference 2011
Workshops 2012
Portal

24. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 24
Scientix European Conference
6-8 May 2011, Brussels
• Key note speech – Sir John Holman, UK
• Posters session
• 46 talks
• 2 Round tables
• 25 stands presenting EU funded projects
• 10 mini-workshops
• 379 participants from 37 countries

25. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 25
Conference sessions:
• Science education research
• Science education – thinking
outside the box
• EU projects for researchers in
collaboration with Schools
• Science & industry and schools
• Teachers associations
• Portals and resources
• Tools and experiments
• Science museums and
amusement parks
Scientix European Conference
6-8 May 2011, Brussels

26. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 26
Scientix European Conference
6-8 May 2011, Brussels
Conclusions:
• Key elements of a good science education system: school curriculum, pedagogy
and assessment [...however...] the quality of an education system depends
ultimately on the quality of its teachers.
• All presentations on innovative approaches to science education --> inquiry-
based approach (facts and figures + process of producing scientific knowledge).
Practical experience –> learning by doing + first-hand contact with real research.
• To fully exploit the concept of inquiry based learning, teachers have to be
properly trained. Teachers should combine excellent knowledge of their subject
with excellent pedagogical and assessment skills.
• Take on board more teachers, researchers and science communicators to
overcome fragmentation and promote best practices across Europe.

27. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 27

28. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 28
Conference 2014
Workshops
Portal (disseminate
projects)
Scientix 2: 2013 - 2015

29. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 29
Scientix observatory
Scientix National
Contact Points
Scientix 2: 2013 - 2015
Promote collaboration
between projects

30. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 30
Scientix National Contact Points

31. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 31
Scientix National Contact Points

32. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 32
Scientix 2 European Conference
9 - 11 May 2014, Brussels (tentative)
• Key note speech
• Posters session
• Talks
• Round tables
• 25 stands presenting EU funded projects
• Workshops
• BUT this time…
2

33. Scientix | C. Kerr
22/5/2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
Scientix 33
Scientix 2 European Conference
9 - 11 May 2014, Brussels (tentative)
• Key note speech
• Posters session
• Talks
• Round tables
• 25 stands presenting EU funded projects
• Workshops
• BUT this time… 600 participants
• AND we will be covering:
• hotel accommodation for all
• 200 flights for teachers
http://scientix.eu
2

34. www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org 34
European Schoolnet Science - Programme Manager
Àgueda Gras-Velázquez, European Schoolnet, Brussels, Belgium
(agueda.gras@eun.org)
‫רבה‬ ‫תודה‬!
http://www.europeanschoolnet.org
More information
European Schoolnet inGenious - Project Coordinator
Charmaine Kerr, European Schoolnet, Brussels, Belgium
(charmaine.kerr@eun.org)