Partners
Leading Partner
Based in Cergy, 45 minutes away by train from Paris, CY Cergy Paris Université is since the 28th of October 2019 the union of three entities: the University of Cergy-Pontoise, the EISTI engineering school, and the Université Paris Seine. CY University also includes two composing entities, School for Sport Careers (ILEPS), specialized in sport, and the School of Social Practices (EPSS), specialized in social practice services, and the ESSEC Business School, which is affiliated. CY is a multidisciplinary higher education institution including 6 campuses, an engineering school, an institute for teacher training gathering 24.000 students and over 1700 members of staff. As a public institution with a scientific, cultural and professional vocation, student oriented, anchored on its territory, it shares knowledge, inspires creativity and promotes innovation & entrepreneurship. Its areas of activity are teaching and research and it covers all areas of study and research besides medicine.
Other Partners
NUCLIO is a non-profit association and an NGO for development created in 2001 that focuses on the promotion of innovation in education for a better future. The work done by the team (composed of scientists, teachers, and researchers devoted to science education, psychology of education and science outreach) in the field of innovation in education includes the promotion of student-centered approaches, STEAM learning, maker skills and digital transition, democracy and participatory activities, inclusion and diversity, design thinking, scientific research in the classroom, open schooling, innovative student assessment and more. An official training centre recognised by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, NUCLIO is also the coordinator of the Galileo Teacher Training Program, one of the largest astronomy education efforts in the world, endorsed by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO. The program has already reached over 70,000 teachers from more than 120 nations.
OLA – Observatório do Lago Alqueva (Lake Alqueva Observatory) – owned by BioSky, Lda. – provides access to a professional astronomical observatory and educational programs related to astronomy. It is the largest astronomical observatory with a focus on science outreach located in Monsaraz in Alentejo. OLA is situated deep within a light pollution protected area internationally certified as a Dark Sky® Reserve or “Starlight Tourism Destination”, which extends approximately 10.000 km2. Annually, OLA welcomes approximately 8,000 students and 12,000 tourists.
F-HOU – L’univers A Portee De Main
The F-HOU (Hands-On Universe, France) association is part of the renewed approach to science education. Astronomy research and the use of new technologies help spark learners’ interest in science at middle and high school levels. It offers resources to secondary school teachers and facilitates a network of pilot schools and resource personnel.
F-HOU is committed to fostering connections between teachers and researchers by developing exercises grounded in both cutting-edge science and the French curriculum. It is part of the international G-HOU network, sharing the same mission: enabling learners to engage in scientific inquiry as researchers do. F-HOU has extensive experience in professional development, training a minimum of 40 teachers each year as part of the French national lifelong learning program.
Founded in 2021, and located in Weinheim, Germany, FTP-Europlanet gUG builds on the heritage of the Faulkes Telescope Project (FTP), established in 2004 to bring the excitement of observing with research-grade telescopes into classrooms. Through an MoU with the Europlanet Executive Board, FTP-Europlanet gUG draws on the 18 years’ experience of Europlanet in delivering media, communications and education activities and training for the European planetary community, with a particular emphasis on supporting early career researchers to develop skills for their future careers.
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is a nationally funded research centre that runs two of the best international observatories in the world, the Teide Observatory (Tenerife) and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma), which together form the Observatories of the Canary Islands. Its mission is to carry out and promote all kinds of research in astrophysics or related to it, to develop and transfer its technology, to disseminate astronomical knowledge, to collaborate in specialised university teaching and to train scientific and technical staff in all fields related to astronomy and astrophysics, as well as to foster relations with the national and international scientific communities.
Forty years after its foundation, the IAC has become a point of reference for the international astrophysics community and has gained worldwide recognition. It has been designated a “Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence” by the Spanish government for the high quality of its scientific research and technological products. This award was given to a few excellent Spanish research institutes chosen amongst all scientific fields.
Ellinogermaniki Agogi is one of the most innovative schools in Europe with 2300 students (ages 5 to 18) and 250 teachers. The school continuously modernises STEM education by promoting and creating learning environments for students and offering numerous opportunities for teachers’ professional development enabling them to thrive in the landscape of unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.
Haus der Astronomie Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Wissenschaften Ev
The Max Planck Society (MPG) is Germany’s foremost organization for basic research. Haus der Astronomie (literally House of Astronomy, HdA) is the center for astronomy education and research operated by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) for the Max Planck Society as a partnership between MPG, Heidelberg University, the City of Heidelberg, and the Klaus Tschira Foundation. The center’s mission is to bring the fascination of astronomy and associated STEM subjects to the general public and in particular to pupils and kindergarten children, and to foster scientific exchange between astronomers. HdA activities include the development of materials for use in schools and kindergardens, training events for school teachers (both elementary and secondary schools) on a regional, a national and international level, outreach activities such as the production of public exhibitions and the development of planetarium context, and fostering scientific exchange – the latter notably via the organisation of conferences. HdA staff is also involved in university-level teaching of prospective physics teachers at Heidelberg University, organizes workshops for students of all ages, and offers research internships to secondary school students. Since 2019, HdA hosts the Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), with staff funded by the IAU, the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
Portuguese Astronomical Society (SPA)
The Portuguese Astronomical Society (SPA) is a scientific society aimed at promoting the development and outreach of Astronomy in Portugal. It was formed in 1999 and presently has 98 members including the majority of the professional researchers doing Astronomy and Astrophysics in Portugal, as well as around 10 members exclusively dedicated to education and outreach. SPA has an intense experience in outreach: besides acting as a hub for circulating information both to scientists and to the public, SPA has organised hundreds of public events during the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and organises the annual National Astronomy Olympics. SPA further supports, coordinates, and disseminates Portuguese participation in national and international astronomical institutions, including a section with Portuguese representatives on various committees.