The symposium's four days are intended for fostering the dialogue between various types of organisations and stimulating innovative forms of co-operation and communication.
Attendance at the conference is free of charge but registration is required.
- Key Note Lectures
- Parallel Plenary Sessions
- Professional Training Workshops
- Mini Posters
- Open Café
- Special Interest Visiting Program
Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič - Welcome Address
Albrecht Beutelspacher - The perspective of a researcher communicating science
Ada Pellert - The perspective of Higher Education Management
Hans Ulrich Grunder [SB] - The perspective of pedagogy: Children’s University and School -
A Tense Relationship and the Attempt of Clearing it
Different concepts will be presented and discussed: Research and evaluation results, pedagogical and didactical concepts, reaching different target groups, models of cooperation, …
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Diversity – target group analysis and supportive measures
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Communicating science subjects is one constitutive element of Children’s Universities to raise interest in science and research from the earliest age possible – but CUs are not only about science stuff in the narrower sense. Going even beyond, young people shall be given an understanding of future educational choice and options and this is exceptionally true for young people, who would most likely not have the intention (or the choice) to go onto higher education else. More and more, aspects of widening participation and raising aspirations are getting important and this requires keeping an eye on who is actually attending CU programmes. Currently, no comprehensive impact analysis on the impacts of CUs is done, but there might be selected findings on your side which could support the shaping of opinions and ideas of how to make universities more responsive and open.
Your findings and concepts about how to consider gender issues, diverse social and educational backgrounds within the families of origin, ethnic minorities, low-income family status shall come to the fore, as well as any other piece of research that is focusing on the expectations and composition on the side of participating groups – and the particular models to reach those target groups.
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Pedagogical/didactical concepts and innovation
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Communicating science subjects geared towards the needs and prospects to children and young people is a huge challenge for academic staff as it requires reconsideration of conventional teaching habits and lecture settings. In return, current project reports are revealing that everyday academic teaching has been substantially influenced by experiences gained from downgearing complexity of science subjects for this very untypical target group.
Let the participants know what your experiences with adaptations of didactics were and how your teaching staff managed to cope with. Targeted training and consulting concepts for supporting scientists and researchers might be exemplified as best practice as well as well proven teaching models and the problems encountered before.
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Research results – evaluations of CUs
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Do you have interesting results of accompanying research of your Children’s Universities activities?
Of specific interest in this subject area are findings about the motivations to participate and the expected gains – possibly including scientists and the organizations involved –, about the aims and objectives on the side of the implementing organization, about the appropriateness of a particular approach measured against those objectives, about effectiveness of target marketing among specific groups (incl. gender issues, ethnical minorities or underperforming social groups) or any other piece of research that is focusing on the expectations and impacts on all involved parties – either on a project level or in a larger context. Findings which include a long term perspective are of preferred interest.
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Integration of CUs in university life
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Children’s Universities may be an uncommon but effective innovation incubator for universities and might support organizational change and innovation transfer. Obviously, Children’s Universities are changing university campuses a lot, when masses of “non-traditional” students are buzzing around – but there is even more. New project development structures may be required for this particular approach and new opportunities may arise for involving students (together with post-graduate researchers and professors) in university programs as well as other departments and activities in and around a university (e.g. university radio programs, university news bulletins, university teacher-training programs, university property management services or alike). Even well-traditioned internal and external communication policies might be advanced.
Your practical experience reports of how Children’s Universities influenced internal procedures and structures and created added value in teaching and communication are highly welcome within this subject area.
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Science communication for kindergarteners and teenagers
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The target population of Children’s Universities is typically aged from 7 to 12 years and this very uncommon target population imposes great challenges on universities and other organizers already. Moreover, there seems to be increasing societal demand to expand these age limits even more and to open up CU programmes even for the younger ones. It seems to be a matter of fact that – besides science centers, popular TV-programms and a vast variety of science related books, magazines and online edutainment media for children – universities are deemed to be the right provider of early learning. Less surprising, there are also demands on the side of participants - and parents in particular – to expand upper age limits as to better bridge the transition from secondary eduction to university. This is a reasonable approach obviously, but focusing on age groups of the 15 years olds upwards might require modified settings of a Children’s University to hold up their unbiased curiosity.
If your successful approaches include activities for the age groups in question, share your experiences with the community. Specific experiences shall be discussed as well as corrective measures set to gear the overall aims and goals towards those age cohorts. Moreover, it shall be highlighted if universities are suitable organisations for those age groups or if they are merely regarded as substitutes for gaps in the education system elsewhere.
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CUs and interactive media [program including list of speakers - pop up]The use of online media and interactive features plays an increasingly important role in modern learning scenarios – and this could especially be true for Children’s Universities as a means for keeping contacts with participants, for documentation purposes or for supporting administrative procedures. Virtual communities, online streaming or interactive communication and administration applications might support both the sustainability of the approaches make the outcomes of project activities more visible also to a general public and ease external communication feature and administration substantially. Nonetheless such approaches need to be linked to real-life activities.This subject area focuses on the development of online resources, virtual communities and interactive administration features and the experiences gained from their implementation in the field of science events for children and young people.
You are invited to submit your abstract for your participation in the scientific program with an oral presentation (15 min presentation plus time for discussion). Please download the guidelines for your paper.
- Abstracts hat to be sent to info@eucu.net
- Abstracts submitted after October 7th 2009 will not be accepted
- All accepted abstracts will be included in the conference report
- Submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the management board of EUCU.NET. The presenting authors will be informed by e-mail about the status of the abstract (accepted/rejected) on October 20th, 2009
International experts provide workshops for the participants of the conference in order to give support and to require new competences – a contribution for the EUCU.NET partners to the successful and professional realisation of science events for children:
The topics:
a. Sponsorship [program including list of trainers - pop up]
Sponsoring as a possibility of fundraising is based on the principles of benefit and service in return. Different types and strategies of sponsorship will be introduced and discussed to make out the desired target group. The acquiration of potential partners and methods of research assumes networking qualities and plenty of “emotion” on both sides. The aim is to develop strategies for stable and long lasting relationships.
Basics of press work will be illustrated by means of best-practice examples to achieve an optimal handling with the PR. Transfer information in an appropriate and effective way in order to raise interest and to be noticed by the public. Networking skills are essential to build up and maintain relationships to journalists. This workshop offers a wide range of important instruments of press work e.g. press plan, distribution lists, press releases etc.
c. Feedback Tools
[CANCELLED!]
Wishing to illustrate the output of an event makes the knowledge of control systems inevitable. This workshop deals with various concepts and supportive measures of evaluation: Gain competence in methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis to achieve meaningful research results.
The “world wide web” has become an increasingly important tool to link and access information of various kinds. In order to publish on-line content e.g. blogs, videos, interviews, photos etc. familiarity with web tools is essential. Get to know ways and means to present complex subjects simply and graphically. The management of the online-content implies to update, secure and check your online-data.
Science related lectures and demonstrations that aim at youngsters have to be prepared and communicated in a specific way. Scientific staff needs necessary skills to structure, organize and impart knowledge in order to make it suitable for children. Therefore the development and creation of rooms to maneuver are reasonable to have different alternatives of taking action(s). That should grab the children`s attention to keep them enthusiastic and curious.
What leads an initial idea to a well planned and efficiently conducted project? Contents of this workshop are:
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project definition/stages/goals
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documentation and controlling
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time - and cost management
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team: assignment of tasks/team/ composition of the staff
For further ideas, discussions and potential new projects… Make quality improvement suggestions! Talk about current developments, get input of others and plan new activities with the support of professional moderation.
Let`s communicate!
You bring your topic to the audience.
You are kindly invited to submit a “mini poster” which illustrates your distinctive project or your specific approach and which provides further information for establishing contacts – even if you are not able to participate
Submission electronically until November 20th 2009
Download the guidelines for mini posters.
Time to communicate, time to relax, time to discuss new ideas, time to meet interesting people from all over Europe.
Visit interesting places of science communication for children and young people!
I. Museums of Tradition
Technisches Museum Wien (Technical Museum)
Since 100 years the “Technische Museum” offers information on a wide range of issues and objects of technology and its history. The world of technology is illustrated by models, machines, texts, films, and fascinating experiments. Beside the permanent exhibition a yearly changing exhibition is this year dedicated to high-voltage and steam engine -demonstrations, and the coal, iron and steel industries. The so called “Mini” - a section for children under the age of six - provides a playful and enjoyable opportunity to observe, compare and measure.
Naturhistorischs Museum Wien (Natural History Museum)
A variety of stuffed animals – extinct, endangered as well as living – plants, minerals and famous prehistoric works of art are presented at the “Naturhistorisches Museum”. Furthermore an ongoing special exhibition about "Darwins rEvolution" is for the first time audioguided over the visitors own mobile phones. Guided tours for children from the age of three combine certain topics e.g. fairy tales and myths, ice age, waterworld with the items of display.
II. Hands-On Environments
Haus der Musik (House of Music)
Direct an orchestra! Play on giant instruments! The “Haus der Music” provides an exciting journey into the world of sounds, music and famous composers of past days. The museums self-explanatory conception supplies unique listening experiences without lengthy explanations. Children are welcomed to make and experience music to discover their creative potentials.
Zoom Kindermuseum (Zoom Children`s museum)
A great learning and playing area is offered by the „Zoom Kindermuseum” explicit for children. It is divided into different sections:
the exhibition: a hands- on exhibition on flying for children ages 6 to 12
the studio: children can experiment freely with designing, painting and drawing
the lab: work with new technologies in order to produce animated films
the ocean: haptic stimuli, colorful objects, inclined planes, a water mattress and a tunnel of mirrors etc.
the science: science lectures, science portal, zoomblox:
III. Special Interest Approaches
Haus der Mathematik (House of Mathematics)
“Math is fun”. A slogan that comes true at the “Haus der Mathematik” (link info: only in German), where exciting and funny hands-on games can be played on certain game tables. At present 20 computers (without automatic decimal carry) and 34 calculating machines (with automatic decimal carry) from the last decades are exposed.
Vienna Open Lab
The Vienna Open Lab is a biomolecular hands-on laboratory which offers access to practical work in life sciences for everybody. Visitors have the opportunity to perform various basic experiments in molecular biology with trained experts. Children, teens and adults experience science through hands-on experiments and get exciting insights into the day-to-day experimental work in a life science laboratory.
* Member of the Scientific Board of EUCU.NET
