FRONTIERS Summer School 2024

29 June - 4 July 2024

Do you believe that exciting discoveries such as the Discovery of Gravitational Waves or the Discovery of the Higgs Boson can be brought in the classroom in a consistent and understandable fashion? Can you imagine your students performing virtual visits to CERN or VIRGO, analyzing real experimental data and interacting with world leading scientists in the field of Physics? Would you like to become a member of a pan-European community of teachers and researchers aiming to introduce Nobel Prize Physics to Your school?

If the answer to the questions above is yes, we invite you to join the FRONTIERS international training course 2024!

Do you believe that exciting discoveries such as the Discovery of Gravitational Waves or the Discovery of the Higgs Boson can be brought in the classroom in a consistent and understandable fashion? Can you imagine your students performing virtual visits to CERN or VIRGO, analyzing real experimental data and interacting with world leading scientists in the field of Physics? Would you like to become a member of a pan-European community of teachers and researchers aiming to introduce Nobel Prize Physics to Your school?

In the FRONTIERS summer-school you will:

  • Learn about the latest news in frontier Physics research by leading experts in the field.
  • Train on educational activities developed by leading experts in frontier Physics research and science education which focus on frontier Physics, how to bring it to your classroom.
  • Perform hands-on activities using simple exhibits and experimental setups investigating aspects of Modern Physics as well as use real data to perform scientific investigations.
  • Perform virtual visits to large research infrastructures in Europe.
  • Investigate the FRONTIERS pedagogical methodology and train in the use of educational tools offered to bring Nobel prize Physics to your classroom.
  • Collaborate with fellow teachers and researchers to co-create educational activities on Modern Physics which will be disseminated across Europe.
  • Help shape the future of Europe’s curricula in the field of Modern Physics.

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. Post-course social media and online community platforms will be used to support ongoing development of ideas and group support and feedback.

At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate of attendance. The 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 480€ (80€/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

School Heads and Teachers participation in the summer courses can be funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme.

In case your school or organization does not have the funds to cover the costs of your participation in the Summer School, there is another option: you can apply to be funded by by the ERASMUS+ Programme.

Please note that the Erasmus+ KA1 application can only be submitted by the school or the organization – no individual applications can be submitted.

The deadline for application is 20 February 2024.

What is ERASMUS+?

Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s Programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the period 2021-2027. As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobility of learners and staff and cooperation across the education, training, and youth sectors and is easier to access than its predecessors, with simplified funding rules and a structure that aims to streamline the administration of the programme.

Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (KA1) provides a unique opportunity for teachers, headmasters, trainers, and other staff of educational institutions to participate in international training courses in different European countries. Schools, universities, vocational education and training, and adult education organizations are all eligible to receive full funding to attend courses under a KA1 mobility grant. The Erasmus+ KA1 grant covers all the costs to attend teacher training courses: including travel, subsistence, and course fee.

For up-to-date information about Erasmus+ please check the Programme’s website. Your school will need to apply to your country’s National Agency, who is also the one who will evaluate the proposal. Therefore, your National Agency is also a very good point to start for more information.

Don’t forget to go through the the New Programme Guide and you will have all you need to know.

The steps to apply for an Erasmus+ KA1 School Education Staff Mobility grant are:

  1. Fill in the registration form to our Summer School with your details. This is an individual registration form, so if there are more than one participant from the same school, each one will have to submit a separate registration form. This way you have reserved a slot in the course in case your application for Erasmus+ funding is successful!
  2. Register your school/organization here: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/ , if not already registered.
  3. Check the compliance with the programme criteria
  4. Check the financial conditions
  5. Fill in and submit the application form
  6. Respect the deadline
  7. Do not forget to inform us as soon as you get notified from your National Agency whether your grant application is accepted or rejected.

You can find all related information about submitting an Erasmus+ Application HERE.

We will be happy to guide you through the process.

The hosting organisation of the summer school is Ellinogermaniki Agogi, OID: E10212356