Completed International Projects

PHERECLOS (2019–2022)

The EU-project PHERECLOS builds upon the experience of Children’s Universities (CUs) in Europe and beyond. Due to their engagement with children and young people, they help to breakdown institutional boundaries between universities and the wider society. CUs often sit between key organisations in the educational and social landscape, collaborating with both. The project will establish “Local Education Clusters” (LECs), bringing together schools and further relevant actors in the educational ecosystem of 6 diverse pilot regions. These actors may be universities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, companies, charities, museums or other knowledge providers. The LECs will be incubators for enabling a dialogue and for setting-up joint activities between these organisations at the overlapping edges of formal and non-formal education.

At the same time, the project aims to improve the quality of science engagement. PHERECLOS will implement a digital “OpenBadge” system which labels institutions as reliable and responsive actors allowing all LEC parties to become real agents of change in education. At the same time, this ecosystem will highlight individual achievements with respect to STEAM engagement.

The regional effectiveness and impact will be monitored and informed by implementation research. This will lead to the development of implementation guidelines and policy briefs to enhance the sustainability of the overall approach. Therefore, PHERECLOS will highlight the wider benefits gleamed from our LECs and use these experiences to catalyse access to higher education for young people, particularly STEAM-related careers, affording benefits in a wider societal context. Come sail with us!
https://www.phereclos.eu/

PHERECLOS in Vienna

The “Bildungsgrätzl” and the Vienna Children’s University (including seven universities) are two networks in Vienna carrying out projects in the area of innovative education for children and teenagers with a strong perspective on the aspect of social inclusion. Although both networks follow similar purposes, there is no direct connection nor cooperation so far.

The Local Education Cluster (LEC) Vienna will connect the two networks and will promote the establishment of a shared, sustainable and structural cooperation between the different actors. The aim is to bridge the gap between different educational sectors (from primary to tertiary sector) alongside non-formal educational institutions. As an alliance in innovative science engagement activities, LEC Vienna will strengthen holistic, open and lifelong learning for 10,000 children already involved in Children’s Universities activities and 70,000 children already connected to “Bildungsgrätzl”. It will bring science in the neighbourhoods and the perspectives of children and schools in the Universities.

ENPRENDIA (2019–2022)

The project “Enhancing female entrePRENeurship in InDIA (ENPRENDIA)”, coordinated by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in India, brought together a network of European and Indian organisations. The ENPRENDIA project aimed to improve the living and working conditions of women in India by providing them with a suitable environment to develop their business ideas. To this end, dedicated competence centres were set up at the Indian partner universities, where future Indian female entrepreneurs are taught the appropriate tools and entrepreneurial thinking. This enables them to learn the necessary skills and abilities to develop their own business ideas in tailor-made programmes. The Vienna University Children’s Office contributed its expertise in teaching complex content and working with children and young people to the project. The aim was to raise awareness at an early stage in order to develop an awareness of opportunities, gender policy and gender equality.
https://enprendia.eu/

#Mult!nclude (2018–2020)

In the project, best practice examples for inclusion in the education system are sought, measurement criteria and quality parameters are developed and, in the sense of “Multiplying Evidence-Based Strategies for Inclusion”, the transferability of models of inclusive education and their political anchoring are worked on.
(Erasmus + Project Ref: 592125-EPP-1-2017-1-NL-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN, 2018–2010, Partner)
https://multinclude.eu/

Sci4all—European Researchers Night, Vienna (2018–2019)

Coordinator: PRIA (Practical Robotics Institute Austria), Austria; H2020-MSCA-NIGHT-2018: Horizon 2020 ID: 819006
https://sci4all.eu/

MERSCIN—Mersin Researchers Night (2018–2019)

Coordinator: Mersin Universitesi, Turkey; funding: H2020-MSCA-NIGHT-2018 ID: 818725

Khoj Boxes (2017–2019)

Khoj is the Hindi word for discover. The idea: a new form of mini experiment boxes for children of elementary school age in India and Europe, which allow new perspectives on their own lives, but also communicate large contexts, which give simple instructions for research, but do not diminish independent thinking, which motivate them to find their own solutions and lead to innovations. (Social Entrepreneurship Challenge in cooperation with Manthan Education, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India—supported by Austrian Development Agency)
www.ahaboxes.org

InEDU—Innovate, Educate, Awake (2016–2018)

The project aims at stimulating the exchange of experiences between actors in school education and in extracurricular education programmes in multinational seminars and to incorporate didactic findings into low-threshold science boxes. (Erasmus+, #2016-1-PL01-KA201-026744, 2016–2018, Partner)

SciChallenge (2015–2017)

SciChallenge is a Europe-wide competition for young people on new research topics in science, computing, technology or mathematics. (#665868, H2020-SEAC-2014-1, 2015–2017, lead applicant)
www.scichallenge.eu

SiS Catalyst—Children as Change Agents (2010–2014)

In SiS Catalyst, numerous measures and materials have been developed that have stimulated the exchange of experience between Children’s University organisers and promoted cooperation and quality development. In the long term, the results of the project should support universities and other scientific institutions in implementing such awareness measures on a strategic and practical level. (#266634, FP7-SCIENCE-IN-SOCIETY-2010-1, 2010–2014, Partner)
www.archive.siscatalyst.eu

Eucu.net (2008–2010)—2010: Foundation of a Membership Organization

The Global Children’s University Network—started as an EU-funded project in 2008 (#217810, FP7-SCIENCE-IN-SOCIETY-2007-1, 2008–2010, coordinator) and since 2010 an association of 65 institutional members around the topic Children’s University in 29 countries.
www.eucu.net

ECFUN (2005–2008)

In ECFUN, a multilingual science portal with content for children from 9 to 12 years of age has been developed and implemented in six languages, spoken by 10 million children in this age group in Europe, presenting scientists with their individual lives and educational pathways as role models. (#020817, FP6-2004-Science-and-society-11, 2005–2008, Coordinator)
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