Partners

The BRIDGES consortium consists of 11 carefully selected organisations from 7 European countries, representing a wide coverage of Europe’s regions and cultures. The consortium holds significant experience in policy development, pedagogical research, large scale experimentations in school settings, teachers professional development and rich prior EU project experience. Their added-value synergy as a pan-European team makes them the strongest assets of the project, ensuring the fulfillment of the project objectives and the ideal conditions for generating a very significant impact in the world of environmental education and teachers training.

Unit of Education for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth

The Unit of EESD is the permanent horizontal unit of the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, responsible for designing, monitoring and implementing the national policy on Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development. Its personnel (36 persons) have high qualifications and many years of experience in the field of ESD. The Unit of EESD is responsible for integrating ESD curricula and Whole School Approach in all educational levels as well as in non-formal education. The Unit is developing the tools for integrating WSA in Cyprus, such as the Sustainable Environmental Education Policy (ESD School Plan), the learning outcomes and indicators of the curriculum as well as monitoring through the ESD self-assessment tool. It has developed a series of tools and supportive materials (of synchronous and asynchronous learning) for pre-primary, primary and secondary education on water, waste management, biodiversity, food waste, consumption and production, climate change, etc. In addition, the Unit is responsible for teachers’ professional development on ESD and offers a series of obligatory and optional courses on ESD Competences, Sustainable School, pedagogical approaches and techniques on ESD, improving the teaching and learning on ESD, implementing curriculum on ESD in the school process. Furthermore, the Unit of EESD is participating in various international and European projects, and it is the focal point of Cyprus on EE/ESD in various international fora and committees for Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development. The Unit has also extensive experience in designing and implementing environmental education programs, and it is responsible for operating the Governmental Network of Environmental Education Centres (EEC), which is part of the official educational policy and the most concrete structure of non-formal education in Cyprus. The Governmental Network of EECs operates with 7 EECs, offering more than 100 hundred educational programs on ESD and the environment.

More Info: https://mepaa.moec.gov.cy/index.php/el/

University of Bayreuth – Germany

The scientific profile of the University of Bayreuth (UBT) is characterized by interdisciplinarity, individuality, innovation and internationality. Teaching and research at the intersection of disciplines, as well as traditional and modern degree programmes in the humanities and social sciences, in law and economics, in the natural and engineering sciences lead to generally recognized degrees including the doctoral degree. The UBT enjoys partnerships with over 40 universities and research institutions across the globe and is particularly active in European mobility programmes. The specific Centre of Math & Science Education (Z-MNU) provides the school-relevant training scenario for pre-service teachers and is the focal point for frequent teacher enhancement courses. There are approximately 15.000 students on the campus, about a quarter of whom complete pre-service teacher study programs within three subjects: Two major scientific subjects as well as Pedagogy/Psychology. The courses also include structural teaching programs. Furthermore, in-service teacher training courses are offered for qualified teachers. The STEM pre-service teacher education is concentrated in the Z-MNU, an institution founded to optimize especially the education and enhancement of teacher training. Within all 10 Bavarian universities, the Z-MNU is the only institution of this specification. UBT under the coordination of Prof. Bogner has worked for many years in various EU-projects in the field of Science Education and will contribute to the success of the project with his specific expertise in the fields of inquiry-based science education, informal learning environment professional development and e-learning programs. Prof. F. Bogner and his research group in many projects funded by the EU as project partner, Prof. Bogner coordinated the large-scale PATHWAY-project (2011-2013) with 25 partners, which succeeded to train over 10.000 science teachers all over Europe and was selected as a “Best Practice” by the European Commission. Furthermore, he coordinated successfully both H2020 projects CREATIONs (with 16 partner institutions) and STORIES of TOMORROW (with 15 partners).

More Info: https://www.uni-bayreuth.de/

University of Cyprus

The University of Cyprus is a public University with approximately 7000 students, 113 laboratories, and 830 faculty and staff members. The Department of Education at the University of Cyprus is a large department with 22 members of faculty and 35 associate or assistant personnel. We offer two undergraduate (primary school and pre-school school education) programs, a pre-service post-graduate secondary education program across all subject domains taught in secondary education and seven postgraduate programs at the Masters and PhD level, including science, math and technology education. The University of Cyprus is the largest teacher training university of the country and the only one responsible for training secondary education teachers right before entering schools. UCY personnel train about 100 preservice teachers per year, as well as about 100 in-service teachers, and it currently leads the curriculum reform of the country. In Science Education we are active in research into inquiry learning, computer supported collaborative learning, physical and virtual laboratory experimentation, STE(A)M, RRI, modelling, science curriculum development and assessment, conceptual understanding, equity and multiculturism, teacher training and professional development, and educational evaluation in the cognitive and the affective domain.

The Research in Science and Technology Education Group (ReSciTEG) at the University of Cyprus is led by Prof. Zacharia and conducts a co-ordinated program of research, curriculum development and instruction including pre- and in-service teacher training. The group includes faculty, research associates, post-doctoral students and graduate students at the Master’s and PhD level. The goal of ReSciTEG is to support key audiences and target groups in Cyprus and the EU acquire a thorough understanding of STEM disciplines, achieve an optimum level of scientific literacy, and develop 21st century skills. Our work has received continuous financial support over the years from the Research and Innovation Foundation in Cyprus and the European Commission through various programs, e.g., IST, Science and Society, FP7, H2020, and Erasmus +.

The members of ReSciTEG have a lot of experience in designing and assessing technology enhanced curriculum in science education. They are experienced in training pre- and in-service teachers in digital tools and environments for science teaching and learning. ReSciTEG includes experts in educational evaluating. The group is currently taking a leadership role in the efforts of the Ministry of Education of Cyprus to implement inquiry-based learning and STEM across K-12 as well as to implement its eLearning strategy in designing multimedia environments for science teaching and learning. ReSciTEG maintains strong ties across several actor networks with schools, research organizations and teacher training institutes.

More Info: www.ucy.ac.cy

DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY – Ireland

Dublin City University has been ranked in two new league tables of the world’s young universities (less than 50 years old). For the second year running, DCU the only university on the island of Ireland to be featured in the QS Top 50 Under 50. DCU has been placed 40th in this showcase of next-generation, leading universities, all established since 1962. It has also been placed 86th among the top one hundred young universities in the Times Higher Education 100 under 50. The newly established DCU Institute of Education represents the largest body of expertise in education in Ireland. The institute delivers programmes in education and training, early childhood education and teacher education, providing graduates with the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to excel in a variety of educational contexts such as preschools, schools, vocational, adult and community settings. In establishing the Institute of Education, DCU has brought together Ireland’s leading colleges of education: the Church of Ireland College of Education, Mater Dei Institute of Education and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra to create the country’s first university Faculty of Education. Located on DCU St Patrick’s campus, it is home to internationally recognised experts in teaching and learning who work closely with students in an innovative environment for 21^st Century learning.in a variety of educational contexts such as preschools, schools, vocational, adult and community settings. The International Centre for Innovation and Workplace Learning (ICIWL) is a DCU Institute of Education Research centre that is fully engaged at the local, European and international level – https://www.dcu.ie/iciwl. DCU is actively developing its commitment to the furtherance of the sustainable development goals and already has considerable expertise in this regard. Bringing beneficial impact to individuals and communities is central to the DNA of Dublin City University. DCU’s aspiration is to be known as a University of Transformation and Impact that strives to deliver on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Dublin City University was invited to join the prestigious European university network, the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). DCU is the only Irish university to be represented in this network of 11 European universities and three associate partners, from Australia, Mexico and Russia, all of whom share a common commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. The vision of ECIU is to be a global leader in higher education through the collective expertise of the consortium, their dedication to enhancing the learning experience of students, and their focus on fostering economic and social development in the region.

More Info: https://www.dcu.ie/

Ellinogermaniki Agogi – Greece

Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA) is one of the most innovative schools in Europe. It has 2500 students (ages 5 to 18 years old) and 250 teachers in different disciplines. EA has a very strong vision-generated interest and rich research and development activity in the fields of Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE), Project Based Learning (PBL), and STEM education in combination with digital, online based learning environments and tools that use virtual reality, augmented reality and story-based education. EA is continuously modernizing STEM education by promoting and creating user-driven learning environments for students and offering numerous opportunities for teachers’ professional development to be prepared and thrive in the landscape of unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the 21st century. Under this approach, EA has taken up the challenge to embed innovative pedagogical practice that effectively uses a range of ICTs in STEM classrooms, as well as driving up student academic outcomes across the school. Moreover, a large range of previous projects were focused on developing and implementing technological tools which leverage both digital science repositories and IBSE/PBL learning. As part of this, EA has developed numerous scenarios for STEM education in which participators live their learning experience in every place. Established in 1995, the Research and Development Department of EA is guiding the introduction of innovation in the school setting. The R&D Department acts as an interface between the pedagogical research, the technological innovation and the school community. It focuses on the design, implementation and support of pedagogical and technological innovation in educational practice, both through internal research as well as through collaborations with numerous educational, research and commercial institutions. EA is a founding member of the European School Innovation Academy (ESIA – https://esia.ea.gr/), which is promoting a European standard-based IBSE competence framework that will facilitate the professional development of school heads and teachers in applying and implementing IBSE, as well as supporting the creation of a European community of practice among science teachers to modernize science education. Overall, EA has a very strong and proven experience in actively extending the dialogue between scientific and the educational community, enforcing the collaboration between schools and research organizations, centers and museums, and helping young people to acquire better understanding of the role of science in the society. In this framework coordinates large scale policy experimentation actions like the Reflecting for Change Initiative (https://reflecting4change.eu/) and Coordination Actions like the Open Schools for Open Societies (https://www.openschools.eu/) that are introducing the concept of openschooling to numerous schools in Europe and in the USA. EA is a Certified Centre for Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development since 2002 (Center Code: 4 – 626 4230_01, 08/02/2002). The Center includes two labs for Physics, Chemistry and Biology, a computer room (capacity of 30 people), a FabLab (introducing teachers to 3D design), two conference halls (capacity of 50 people) and an observatory that is hosting a robotic 16” RC telescope. Every year, EA offers courses on Technology Enhanced Science Education following the specifications and training curriculum outlined by the Ministry of Education. Teachers are trained in the introduction of new technologies in the science class effectively and integrate them seamlessly in the learning process. Teachers are also trained in the integration of inquiry-based approach in their practice.

More Info: https://www.ea.gr/