The FRONTIERS summer school aims to:

• Bring together, motivate and train educators from all over the world who share the common vision of introducing modern Physics in the classroom.
• Bring participants up to date with the latest discoveries in the field of modern Physics through workshops delivered by leading experts in Physics.
• Train participants in the pedagogical framework of FRONTIERS and offer them training in a vast pool of educational activities developed by science education experts, in order to facilitate the introduction of modern Physics in the classroom.
• Guide participants on how to connect modern achievements in Physics with their school curricula.
• Enable participants to become creators of educational content in the field of FRONTIER Physics.
• Network participants among them as well as with leading experts in frontier Physics research and Science Education in order to collaborate towards the shared goal of introducing modern Physics in the classroom.
• Create a vibrant community of educators and researchers aiming in the advancement of frontier Physics in school education.
• Forge sturdy communication links between participants and experts in the field of Physics research and Science education research by whom they will receive continuous and personalized support.
• Facilitate the exchange of views, concerns, ideas and good practices between participants from different countries and make their voice heard in a vast audience of researchers and educators.

Participating teachers will also be invited to be part of an active and growing community of practice to exchange and share ideas, experiences, concerns and educational resources with colleagues from all over Europe and beyond.

The FRONTIERS Summer School brings together educators, researchers in frontier Physics and researchers in science education in order to create a joint framework for introducing frontier Physics in K12 education.

Through training workshops from world leading experts in frontier Physics, participants will be given the opportunity to delve deeper in cutting edge Physics topics such as the detection of gravitational waves from the VIRGO experiment, the detection of elementary particles from the ATLAS experiment at CERN or the detection of high energy cosmic neutrinos from the KM3NeT neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean.

Participants will be introduced to the pedagogical framework, curricular connections and educational tools developed by science education experts of the FRONTIERS consortium, in order to help introduce cutting edge scientific topics in their classroom. They will be offered step by step training to a wealth of educational resources, the “FRONTIERS demonstrators” which introduce concepts from Astrophysics and Gravitational Wave Astronomy to Particle and Astroparticle Physics using real data, demonstrations, simple experiments and online labs. They will learn how to use real data to optimize large research infrastructures in order to support scientists to reduce the noise of their experiments and facilitate new discoveries. Furthermore, participants will participate in virtual visits in large research infrastructures in Physics and will be able to discuss with practicing scientists in an authentic setting.
Finally, participants will collaborate with each other and with the experts of the FRONTIERS team in order to co-create educational content tailored for their needs and adapted to their respective school curricula. They will reflect on the process and will participate in a round table discussion to help offer recommendations for the modernization of Physics curricula in Europe.
The training will be active and collaborative through dedicated workshops and seminars. Participants will also learn how to prepare a KA1 project proposal for their schools and their subjects. Post-course social media and online community platforms will be used to support ongoing development of ideas and group support and feedback.

Participants will be expected to read the course program and pre-released reading material before arrival. All the relevant material will be uploaded in the FRONTIERS online Community in which, participants will have to pre-register.

At the end of the course, groups will share their work and feedback will be provided. As a follow-up, participants will have the opportunity to share ideas and suggestions about the possibility of implementation of the program in their classes creating an international school network. On return to their home locations participants will try out the different approaches with their students/pupils and share their experience and material with other participants through social media and online community platforms. The trainers will also give feedback and counselling through the same platform between training sessions.

The Frontiers Summer School programme will be announced soon.

Course fee

The course fee for all ESIA Summer Schools is 420€ (70€/per day) and fully within the funding opportunities of the Erasmus+ Programme.

The course fee covers:

• Expert lecturers for lectures, seminars and workshops
• All materials and equipment needed for the course
• Participation in the social programme & excursions (e.g. Sunset and dinner at Cape Sounio, excursion to the Acropolis and visit to the Acropolis Museum and dinner in downtown Athens, traditional night and farewell dinner, etc.)

Subsistence & accommodation

The Summer School will be held at Golden Coast Hotel & Bungalows, an A-class/ 4-star sea-side hotel which stretches on the golden, sandy beach of the Marathon Bay, near the historic location of Marathon, at the outskirts of Athens.

ESIA has made special arrangement with the hotel and are happy to offer to all participants a single or double room with all-inclusive services (i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and free of charge services for outdoors sports and recreational activities).

The costs for subsistence are also within the ceilings of the Erasmus+ programme for KA1 mobility actions.

The Summer School will be held at Golden Coast Hotel & Bungalows, an A-class/ 4-star sea-side hotel which stretches on the golden, sandy beach of the Marathon Bay, near the historic location of Marathon, at the outskirts of Athens.

It is the area of Marathon, that has hosted since the times of myths when Theseus killed the terrible bull of Marathon, to the times of the Persian wars and the Battle of Marathon, further on to our days and the marathon race and Marathon Run, the emblematic symbol of man’s quest for freedom and the will to defend his most noble deeds which constitute the foundations of the Human civilization. The plethora of natural, historical sites and museums of the area reveal in all details this unique historical voyage.

Participants are expected to arrive through the Athens International Airport, approximately 25 km (15,53 miles) distance from the hotel.

Learn More

The Erasmus+ Programme supports the participation in professional development activities such as the ESIA Summer Schools.

This year, however, the Erasmus+ programme for the period of 2021-2027 has not been published yet. Therefore, no new applications can be currently prepared. As soon as the new programme is published (expected in April / May 2021), we will inform you and explain you how to apply in the coming years.

However, in case your school or organization has successfully applied for Erasmus+ funding in the past 2 years, you are able to use the existing funds to cover the costs for this year.