The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe, TD, today launched the EU-funded science-education project, ESTABLISH, (European Science and Technology in Action building Links with Industry Schools and Home). The EU has allocated €3.4m funding under framework 7, which is being led by Dr.Eilish McLoughlin, Dr. Odilla Finlayson, Dr. Sarah Brady and Dr. Lorraine McCormack of CASTeL at DCU.

The event was held in the EU Commission Offices in Molesworth Street, and was attended by representatives from the eleven European countries who are partners in the project - Netherlands, Cyprus, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Malta, Slovakia, Germany, Estonia as well as Irish partners AG Education Services based in Dun Laoghaire. Together, they hope to bring about a change in the way science is taught in the classroom. The project consortium consists of over 60 partners from across these countries and involves science education researchers, scientists, teacher educators, teachers, students, parents, SMEs and Industry. It will support teachers and encourage students to enjoy science by stimulating their interest and encouraging participation in the classroom.

In addition to the Minister for Education and Science, the speakers at today’s launch include Dr Chris Horn, Chairman of the Government’s Taskforce on Innovation and President of the Institute of Engineers, as well as Professor Malcolm Smyth, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health at DCU.

The Minister said: 'Our education system must adapt and evolve to equip our students to meet the challenges of a world in which the ability to think, to be creative and to be adaptable are essential skills. An inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning supports the development of these skills. The launch of the ESTABLISH pan-European project sees co-operation between many stakeholders taken to a new level with the involvement of third-level researchers in Ireland and in 10 other countries across Europe.'

Dr. Eilish McLoughlin, the project coordinator said “The long-term aim is to generate a greater interest in science subjects at school, improve the take-up of science at third level and also increase the number of skilled graduates for employment in science and technology”. This project will be informed by authentic experiences of science from outside the classroom and therefore the involvement of industry plays a key role in this initiative. ESTABLISH will involve pre-service and in-service teachers and Dr. Odilla Finlayson, who leads the work package on preparing pre-service teachers, emphasised that “this project is focussed on providing appropriate education resources to equip teachers to bring about a change in the way science is taught in the classroom”.