Issue 16 2017 - ScienceVie...The Athens We Need 5 EVENTS SAVE THE DATESAVE THE DATE Clute International Science Education Conference Barcelona, Spain 3-7/5/2018 Athens, Greece 23-26/12/2017

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Science View is communicating science to society since 2008, sharing a vision of science literacy and science awareness.

In this issue you will read about:

STEAM 2018 Malta summer school in science Communication

The Open Schools for Open Societies project

DESCI 2nd Open Campus in

Innovation in primary science education

The Athens We Need

Discover Events, Conferences, Seminars and the most recent Science News!

Subscribe here if you want to receive monthly these interesting news!

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Cover photos from Pixabay

The latest news and science opportunities

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SCIENCE IN ACTIONSCIENCE IN ACTION

STEAM 2018 Malta summer school in science

Communication

“an innovative summer school that marries science and art through practice.” Science View, partner οf the Erasmus+ programme STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics),

participates in the organization of the third summer school on 2-11 July 2018. Join the 10-days intensive training in

science communication at Malta, for university students, researchers, and educators!

The programme covers several aspects of science communication including journalism, arts, social media,

management, policy, and theatre. It will be a fully immersive experience on science communication theory and

practice but no previous communication experience is required. STEAM aims to train science communication

ambassadors eager to engage with various sectors of the public back in their home countries.

Expect a unifying experience combining science communication theory, techniques, and practices using very

creative and innovative approaches. Participants will be expected to try their own skills at event management,

performance, writing, social media, governance, and evaluation. All activities will be guided by our group of

experts who will give some professional advice to help participants gain the skills they need.

You can take part in by:

1. Apply for Our Grant (for partner institutions only). Applications open on 9 October 2017 and close on 27

November 2017. More info

2. Apply for Our International Grant (for specified non-partner countries only). Applications open on

9 October 2017 and close on 27 November 2017. More info

3. Pay a Registration Fee. Registrations open on 9 October 2017. An early-bird reduced fee is applicable before

1 May 2018 at 23:59 (midnight) UTC/GMT. Full price registrations close on 4 June 2018 at 23:59 (midnight) UTC/GMT.

More info

4. Apply for ERASMUS+ Mobility Grant. Applications must be submitted through your organisation before 1

Februrary 2018 at noon (Brussels time). More info

here

For more information see www.steamsummerschool.eu or

contact [email protected].

Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, STEAM is led by the

University of Malta, with the following partners: European

Union of Science Journalists‘ Associations (EUSJA, France),

Haaga-Helia University (Finland), science communication

company Science View (Greece), University of Edinburgh

(United Kingdom) and Rhine-Waal University (Germany).

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SCIENCE IN ACTIONSCIENCE IN ACTION

The context

There has been a great deal of research into and discussion about education. In the last few years, there

was growing consensus that the traditional and knowledge-based form of education was insufficient to prepare learners for the increasingly complex society in the 21st century.

This has to do with a changing society: ICT has become very important, organizations need to be more flexible and they are asking for more flexible employees, knowledge outdates much faster, and also traditional jobs are replaced by jobs as yet unknown. This means that we do not know exactly what we are educating learners for. All of this requires a broader way of education and people‘s willingness to lifelong learning. Research focuses on re-designing education to make a better connection with the demands of the 21st century. In the meantime, international agreement has been reached on the development of skills on which education must focus. These are called 21st century skills: creativity, critical thinking, problem solving skills, communication, collaboration, digital literacy, social and cultural skills and self-regulation.

The Open Schools for Open Societies project

A consortium of in total 20 universities, research centers, science centers, schools, policy makers, companies and organisations representing school heads and physics around Europe are proud to introduce the Open School for Open Societies project.

The OSOS project encourages an open school approach. An open school opens up to the community and uses the school‘s environment to enrich the learning experience of the students. It imports external ideas that challenge internal views and beliefs and uses these insights to innovate education. Furthermore, an open school is a more engaging environment for learning and makes a vital contribution to the community: student projects meet real needs in the community outside school and draw upon local expertise and experience. And

finally: learning in and together with the real world creates more meaning and more motivation for learners and teachers.

This European project will last until 2020 and consists of two phases. Initially, 100 primary and secondary schools will be involved, while in the second phase up to 1000 schools will be supported by the project members to implement the open school approach. Schools will be supported to make vital contributions to their communities, student projects will meet real needs, they will be presented publicly and draw upon local expertise and experience.

Participate in the OSOS project

Participating schools will work closely together with national coordinators. These coordinators will coordinate and support all participating schools that aim to enrich the education of learners by offering real life experiences to all learners. All participating schools will have access to a rich online database of inspiring projects and other curriculum materials. Participation is free for all European primary and secondary schools. Interested schools may visit the website at www.openschools.eu and get in contact with their national coordinator or contact Fred Verboon from European School Heads Association [email protected].

The Open Schools for Open Societies project

The OSOS project will support participating schools with:

Inspiring projects that schools can imple-

ment to become open communities of learning

The OSOS model that enables schools to

become Open Schools and redefine their role in their communities

The OSOS community of 1000 Open

Schools. The OSOS project will guid teachers to participate in our communities

The OSOS project will enable schools to

reach out to members of your community

and build lasting relations

offer learners the unique possibility to

learn from real life projects,

develop learners’ competences like team

work, problem solving, entrepreneurial and presentation skills,

improve learners’ motivation and self es-

teem,

build a network of stakeholders and bene-

fit from their knowledge and resources

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SCIENCE IN ACTIONSCIENCE IN ACTION

Science View, Faculty of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology of National and Κapodistrian University of Athens and the 1st Experimental Gymnasium of Athens are organizing on Friday 8/12 and Saturday 9/12 2017, at the 1st Experimental Gymnasium of Athens (Adrianou 114, Athens) the 2nd Greek Open Campus, which aims to strengthen the links between schools, society, businesses, research institutions and policy makers.

The Open Campus is r e a l i z e d w i t h i n t h e framework of the European Erasmus+ Project “DESCI - Developing and Evaluating Skills for Creativity and

Innovation”. The project is contributing to Science View‘s series of activities within the ―Open Schools for Open Societies‖ initiative in which it is proposed schools to act as hubs open to society and participate in all societal aspects.

DESCI promotes alternate training paths based on the Living Lab approach, adopting participatory design methodologies, connecting School, Enterprise, Research and Local Communities. The

school has the potential to create a co-working space, an innovation laboratory for the local community, for which the students, also guided by company tutors and by researchers, can develop innovative products that will be socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. By implementing DESCI approach, the school becomes a hub, bringing together the world of research and business with the community, where all the Living Lab‘s actors can find innovation and inspiration. DESCI is funded under the Programme Erasmus+, Key Action K2 (Strategic Partnerships), by the Italian Agency INDIRE. The leader of the project is CNR-IRPPS, its partners are institutions in the fields of Research and Education from Italy, Greece and Spain.

The participation to the Open Campus is free. For participation please contact:

[email protected]

DESCI 2nd Open Campus in Athens

“Bringing schools close to enterprises, re-search institutions and local community”

Science View proudly announces the participation in two new Erasmus+ European projects on Science Education.

As an organization specialized in Science Communication, Science View will contribute with its innovative inputs and highlight new perspectives in the way primary education approaches science.

CASE which stands for ―Creativity Arts and Science in Primary Education‖ will focus on implementing and strengthening the framework of 3 already existing initiatives, namely Learning Science Through Theater by Science View, Digital Narratives by AUTH and Puppetry by Speel.

The CREATEskills project is designed to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning practices, tools and methodologies in EU primary schools for the establishment of STEM studio

classrooms, improving the quality and relevance of the learning process in primary education, more specifically regarding the attractiveness of STEM subjects. Through hands-on activities based on the Social Learning Theory logic framework and through the involvement of teachers and parents, CREATEskills will contribute to the development of the 21st century skills among p r i m a r y s c h o o l students.

Stay tuned because in the next S c i e n c e Views more details will be announced!

Innovation in primary science education

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EVENTS EVENTS SAVE THE DATESAVE THE DATE

Clute International Science Education

Conference Barcelona, Spain 3-7/5/2018

The Athens We Need

Athens, Greece 23-26/12/2017

The Organization Earth as a member of the World Urban Campaign, a UN initiative to achieve green, productive, safe, healthy, inclusive and well-designed cities, organizes for the first time "The Athens We Need" in collaboration with Design 4 Future, in the context of the implementation of the Global Objectives for Sustainable Development in urban centers.

The three-day event will take place in the Kerameikos area, with the ultimate goal of creating a space for dialogue and co-design between residents, organizations, businesses, municipalities and other stakeholders in the region to develop a New Urban Agenda.

Science view will participate realizing the ―Theatrical workshop on Responsible Research and Innovation‖ that will highlight in the most creative way the benefits that the collaboration between science and society can bring, as well as the ongoing European effort to establish a sustainable framework that promotes this kind of collaboration.

Event website: https://www.theathensweneed.org/

Theatrical workshop details (in Greek): http://www.scienceview.gr/news/theatricalrri_utc/

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B i o t e c h n o l o g y

Conference

Rome, Italy 25-27/4/2018

International Biotechnology Conference will be held during April 25-27, 2018 at Rome, Italy. Biotech-2018 brings upon a new platform to share and discuss all the innovations in the field of Biotechnology and its allied areas. Biotech-2018 will focus on most recent progressions and technologies in this field. This conference is a gathering of all eminent persons, scientists and professors of biotechnology from all over world. Biotechnology is a highly interdisciplinary field of science and technology and it uses biological constituents and makes products which are playing important role in bio based economies and animal and human health aspects. Research in biotechnology and its allied areas plays an impotent role to find new, sustainable food sources and drugs which are useful to mankind. Biotech-2018 conference aims to give clear image on diversity of current biotechnology science advances in research and practices useful to approach future challenges in the biotechnology industry. Biotech-2018 provide pathway to overcome from barriers in this research field by innovative thoughts of renowned speakers and scientists. Website: http://biotechnology.madridge.com/ Contact person: Santosh MJ

The conference provides a forum for faculty and administrators to present their research on all aspects of business & business education. In addition to the Science Education Conference, the Conference on Education the Conference on Technology in Education and the Academic Conference on Business is hosted that will be held on the same days, at the same venue. One registration fee will allow attendants to participate in all three conferences. The 2018 Clute International Science Education Conference Barcelona Spain provides a forum for faculty and administrators to share proven and innovative methods in utilizing technology at all levels of education.

Early Registration: $575 USD (Expires on April 27, 2018)

Registration Fee: $650 USD

Submission Deadline, Final Abstracts/Papers Due: May 3, 2018

https://clute-sci.com/clute-international-science-education-conference-barcelona-spain/

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SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIESSCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES

Hong Kong PhD fellowship scheme

Background

Established by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong in 2009, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme

(HKPFS) aims at attracting the best and brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong's

universities.

Eligibility

Candidates who are seeking admission as new full time PhD students in the following eight universities, irrespective

of their country of origin, prior work experience and ethnic background, should be eligible to apply.

City University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Baptist University

Lingnan University

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Education University of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The University of Hong Kong

Applicants should demonstrate outstanding qualities of academic performance, research ability / potential,

communication and interpersonal skills, and leadership abilities.

Selection Panel

Shortlisted applications, subject to their areas of studies, will be reviewed by one of the following two Selection

Panels comprising experts in the relevant board areas:

Science, Medicine, Engineering and Technology

Humanities, Social Science and Business Studies

Official Scholarship Website: https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/index.html

George Washington University Global Leaders

Fellowship Brief description:

The Global Leaders Fellowship is for incoming graduate students (master‘s and doctoral) at the George Washington

University who will return to their countries of origin to apply skills learned through their formal education at the GW.

The fellowship is intended for GW graduate students who will be future leaders in their fields in their home countries.

Field of study:

Masters and Doctoral programs under the following schools offered at Foggy Bottom campus :

• College of Professional Studies

• Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

• Elliott School of International Affairs

• Graduate School of Education and Human Development

• School of Business (Executive Education program is not eligible)

• School of Engineering and Applied Science

Number of Awards: 3

Applicants must apply via the online submissions portal by the deadline, 5 February 2018, 12:00 PM (NOON) EST.

Official Scholarship Website: https://www.gwu.edu/~fellows/fellowships/global_leaders.html

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SCIENCE IN A NUTSHELL SCIENCE IN A NUTSHELL

SCIENCE NEWS R Ushering in the beginning of a new era in astronomy and physics, scientists on Monday announced they have for the first time detected the spacetime ripples known as gravitational waves from the collision of two neutron stars. Streaming in from the sky over the Indian Ocean on August 17, the waves registered at the twin detecting stations of the U.S.-based Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) as well as a European detector called Virgo located in Italy. This is the fifth time in the last two years that scientists have confirmed spotting such waves, a phenomenon that Einstein first predicted more than a century ago—and that led to this year‘s Nobel Prize in Physics for three of LIGO‘s leaders. The astronomers working with the LIGO and Virgo physicists had been sworn to secrecy. But the sheer volume of follow-up observations around the world unavoidably spawned public rumors, now confirmed, about a global campaign to track the collision and its aftermath. http://bit.ly/2gfDWzQ

Scientists have developed a new method to locate the precise time and location that objects fall into the oceans. The method, developed by researchers from Cardiff University, uses underwater microphones, also known as hydrophones, to listen for underwater sound waves that are emitted when an object hits the sea surface. "Tracking these acoustic gravity waves opens up a huge range of possibilities, from locating falling meteorites to detecting landslides, snowslides, storm surges, tsunamis and rogue waves." http://bit.ly/2zZK5LP

One man‘s neuron is another man‘s knowledge. That‘s the stance of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, which this week released the first open-access database of live human brain cells. It contains data on the electrical properties of about 300 cortical neurons taken from 36 patients and 3D reconstructions of 100 of those cells, plus gene expression data from 16,000 neurons from three other patients. Working with Seattle, Washington–area neurosurgeons, the Allen Institute acquired healthy cells from the cortex—the outermost layer of the brain that coordinates perception, memory, thoughts, and consciousness—from patients undergoing surgery for epilepsy or brain tumors. Normally considered medical waste, these tissues can now provide scientists with a unique resource for understanding the human brain. http://bit.ly/2mPxOV4

A team of researchers at CERN once again attempted to figure out why the universe exists despite a fundamental symmetry that should have resulted in instant annihilation. Unfortunately, their study of the magnetism of protons and antiprotons didn't turn up any differences. According to the standard model of physics, the universe had equal amounts of antimatter and matter when it was created. The problem with that is the fact that each antimatter particle should have canceled out its corresponding matter particle, leaving nothing behind. Except they didn‘t, and here we are left wondering why. http://bit.ly/2hasNRM

Continued on next page

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SCIENCE IN A NUTSHELL SCIENCE IN A NUTSHELL

In recent decades we‘ve seen the rise of an emerging interdisciplinary field that brings together neuroscientists and educators. As technologies like brain mapping and scanning continue to advance our understanding of the human brain, a sub-sector of experts are applying those findings to the classroom. Instead of being based on traditional or individual assumptions about learning, education is beginning to be treated more like a science. http://bit.ly/2yS2XM2

Artificial intelligence is going to overtake many industries. They should make our lives easier, but many people are more aware of the dangers than of possibilities. Now scientists from the University of Waterloo developed a special software, which should increase people‗s confidence in AI decisions in financial sector. http://bit.ly/2zeSvfc

It's not just our eyes that play tricks on us, but our ears. That's the finding of a landmark Australian-Italian collaboration that provides new evidence that oscillations, or 'strobes', are a general feature of human perception. While our conscious experience appears to be continuous, the University of Sydney and Italian universities study suggests that perception and attention are intrinsically rhythmic in nature. This has profound implications for our understanding of human behaviour, how we interact with environment and make decisions. http://bit.ly/2hMnec7

New NASA research is helping to refine our understanding of candidate planets beyond our solar system that might support life. Liquid water is necessary for life as we know it, so the surface of an alien world (e.g. an exoplanet) is considered potentially habitable if its temperature allows liquid water to be present for sufficient time (billions of years) to allow life to thrive. If the exoplanet is too far from its parent star, it will be too cold, and its oceans will freeze. If the exoplanet is too close, light from the star will be too intense, and its oceans will eventually evaporate and be lost to space. http://bit.ly/2hMtGjs

Observation skills are an essential component of any medical education, aiding doctors during patient exams and in making medical diagnoses, yet several studies have indicated inadequacies in this area among medical trainees and practicing physicians. In an effort to explore ways to improve these skills among medical students, researchers from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with educators at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, turned to the field of visual arts to examine if training in art observation, description, and interpretation could be applied to medical training. http://bit.ly/2hWBxyJ

For years, experts thought Alzheimer‘s, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, originated in the brain. Recently, though, studies have come out that suggest other bodily systems, like the gut, could play a not-insignificant role in the disease‘s onset. And now, a new paper published in Molecular Psychiatry, supports that nascent line of thinking by claiming that our blood could also be a player. This realization should help researchers keep in mind how the body as a whole impacts Alzheimer‘s disease. http://bit.ly/2zw48CJ

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ABOUT SCIENCE VIEWSABOUT SCIENCE VIEWS

Science View is a science journalists‘

association based in Athens. Science

View attempts to strengthen Science

Journalism in Greece. SV also pro-

m o t e s s c i en c e c om m u n i c a -

tion activities between the scientific

community and the wider public by

implementing events, video produc-

tions and scientific documentaries,

science communication trainings and

e-learning courses, printed and elec-

tronic publications, newsletters, online

magazines, websites, information por-

tals and brochures. Meet the SV team

and check out our projects and our

services.

Science View is a member of the Euro-

pean Union of Science Journalists‘ As-

sociations (EUSJA) and European Sci-

ence Events Association (EUSEA)

2 Misaraliotou str,11742 Αthens Gr Phone: +30 210 9231955 Fax: +30 210 9231956 E-mail: [email protected]

GET IN TOUCH WITH SCIENCE VIEW

ABOUT SIENCE VIEW

―Science Views‖ is a monthly bulletin published by Science View, that focuses on EU and Greek R&D, policy, science and innovation news. The views expressed in Science Views are those of the individual writers, and not necessarily those of Science View. Unsigned articles come from selected press releases from scientists, research institutions and the EU.

Publisher

Menelaos Sotiriou

[email protected]

Content & Layout Editor

Koukovinis Alexandros

[email protected]

ABOUT Science Views Publisher‘s CV

Mr. Menelaos Sotiriou is a science writer and communicator. He was the editor of the official Research and Technology online magazine in Greece, E&T (www.et-online.gr) that was published from the General Secretariat of Research and Technology. He started his professional career by developing various Management Systems, mostly in the field of Education

as well as Health Care and Telecommunications, in over 40 public and private Organisations. He is a certified auditor and has realised over 50 audits, mostly in the field of Quality Management Systems and Assurance. The last twelve (12) years he is running (project management) and organising European and national projects for several institutions (including research institutions) mainly in the areas of new and innovative technologies (ICT). He has been involved in more than 30 EU projects in the areas of SiS, SSH, ICT, Research for the Benefit of SMEs. He has vast experience in networking activities as the project Coordinator of EUROSiS Project that is the Network of the Science in Society NCPs. (Greek NCP for SiS Programme). During this project he has organized a lot of brokerage events as well as info days / trainings concerning the participation of institutions in the specific programme. He is holding the position of President of Science View (www.scienceview.gr) a nonprofit, non governmental organization that has expertise in Science Communication and Science Journalism. He is specialised in science communication, organisation of events (science cafes, conferences, science festivals, exhibitions, science weeks), publications, science writing, outreach activities for young students (mainly in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy and health), and creativity in science education (Introduction of creative ways to provide science education like science theatre, music and science). Finally, he is included in the Evaluators‘ Data Base of theEuropean Commission for the HORIZON2020 and of the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and also he had participated in several EC meetings as an expert in Science Communication and Journalism issues.

Contributors

Maria Daskalopoulou (Historian of Science)

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