One of the main goals of the Lisbon strategy of the European Union is to increase the number of researchers and the number of students studying maths, science and technologies. It is not easy to fulfil this objective as the opposite trend has been observed for quite a long time in all EU countries.

The interest of young people in the sciences is decreasing and civil society is not very familiar with the importance of science for everyday life. There is a lack of possibilities for continuous education in the scientific field.

The Natural Sciences Education Centre offers comprehensive education in natural sciences. Currently, fourteen projects are running in the Centre, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund. The main purpose of these projects is to provide activities for the public, the scientific community, students, employees and PhD students at Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University.

All projects are focused on natural science education and implementation of modern information and communication technologies in the teaching and learning process. The Centre pays special attention to the needs of people with disabilities.

The project can be considered very successful. The most important outcome is a large interest of the target groups in participating in the Centre’s educational activities on natural sciences.

It is often assumend that people (in particular young people) no longer have an interest in the sciences. The project proved that it is not true. If the type and content of the activities reflect the specific needs of the audience, the response is very positive.

The Natural Sciences Education Centre is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

This practice was presented at the Fourth Best Practice Conference New Horizons in Graz, Austria on 15 November 2006. The conference aimed at promoting exchange of experience and dissemination of best practice between authorities involved in the implementation on EU Structural Funds Programmes in Europe. It was destined to contribute to improving quality of implementation of Structural Funds on the basis of project presentations and visits.

Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University
Lydia Suchova (Project Coordinator)

01/01/2005

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Education