CONTEXT The Renewable Energy Directive establishes an overall policy for the production and promotion of energy from renewable sources in the EU. It requires the EU to fulfill at least 20% of its total energy needs with renewables by 2020 – to be achieved through the attainment of individual national targets. Given this broader context, we have created this partnership with a view to raising the awareness of students about the necessity to increase the use of renewable sources of energy, which is expected to increase by 7% in the next 10 years all over Europe (according to the revised Renewable Energy Directive). We want them to gain an deeper knowledge of how these sources of energy are used. They will make them experiment with them through STEAM and PBL, draw their attention to the benefits and drawbacks of all energy sources and provide a context for critical and creative thinking, in which students assess, research and analyze, produce tangible outputs collaboratively. OBJECTIVES The project aims to set the grounds for the 5 partner countries to cooperate and share practices in the area of renewable energy resources and sustainable production and consumption through activities designed for students which are meant to: 1. develop their understanding about scientific concepts and processes in the production of sustainable energy; 2. develop their overall awareness about alternative sources of energy and how their usage can be enhanced ; 3. improve skills and competences through interdisciplinary projects in the STEM field; 4. improve collaboration, team work and communication skills of students and teachers; 5.develop soft skills – critical and analytical thinking, creativity – in order to foster students’ employability; 6. enable teachers to share school models and practices in the areas of STEM, ICT, coding, robotics that can be transferred into their schools; 7. improve self-awareness and intercultural awareness of young European citizens, as well as promoting European citizenship and EU policies in the field of renewable energy usage. ACTIVITIES C1 Traditional and alternative sources of energy – consumption and impact on the environment C2 Water energy and STE(A)M C3 Wind Energy and STE(A)M C4 Solar Energy and STE(A)M C5 Sustainable energy in the future – designing smart, green city models PARTICIPANTS 120 students aged 15-18 from general education high schools and 40 accompanying teachers of English, ICT, Physics, and Science etc. RESULTS - presentations about renewable energy sources and statistics and trends from the 5 partner countries; - Posters for campaigns encouraging European citizens to use solar energy more; - presentations about alternative building systems; - models of buildings using alternative types of insulating materials; - simulations of power plants; - STEM projects – anemometers, wind vanes, solar cookers etc. - research data and conclusions; - simulations/models of sustainable cities. Teachers will produce exchange reports in which we will include data measuring the quality of the activities, the impact of the activities on participants, pictures and videos taken during the exchanges. Other deliverables: Europass mobility documents, initial and final evaluation forms, feedback forms, self-assessment sheets, student observation sheets, participants’ testimonials, dissemination platforms, eTwinning communication platform, project final brochure “STEM ideas for high school”. IMPACT Students and teachers develop personally and professionally. Through the project activities, the school’s image will promoted in the local community as an institution that prepares students for the future and aligns to the 21st century needs. The cooperation with the local community will improve through partnerships and agreements with local experts and businesses in the energy field. Local authorities will be invited to attend some of the project activities. These will create the basis for future cooperation among local institutions in other projects related to renewable energy or similar. The schools will acquire/develop an European dimension, which shows openness and flexibility to the ever-changing world of education. This will also increase our chances of developing new projects with current or future partners in the field of robotics, which is one of our next priorities.
CONTEXT The Renewable Energy Directive establishes a general policy for the production and promotion of energy from renewable sources in the EU. The EU is required to meet at least 20% of its total energy needs with renewable sources by 2020, to be achieved through the achievement of individual national targets. Given this broader context, we created this partnership with the aim of raising students' awareness of the need to increase the use of renewable energy sources, which is expected to increase by 7% over the next 10 years across Europe (according to the revised Renewable Energy Directive renewable energies). Our students gained a deeper understanding of how these energy sources are used. We have drawn, through STEAM and PBL, their attention to the advantages and disadvantages of all energy sources. In a creative context, students collaboratively evaluated, researched and analyzed and produced tangible results. GOALS The project laid the foundations for the 5 partner countries to cooperate and share practices in the field of renewable energy resources and sustainable production and consumption through activities designed for students which aimed to: 1. develop your understanding of scientific concepts and processes in sustainable energy production; 2. develop their general awareness of alternative energy sources and how their use can be improved; 3. improve skills and competences through interdisciplinary projects in the STEM field; 4. improve collaboration, teamwork and communication skills of students and teachers; 5. develop transversal skills - critical and analytical thinking, creativity - in order to promote student employability; 6. allow teachers to share models and school practices in the fields of STEM, ICT, coding, robotics that can be transferred to their schools; 7. improve the self-awareness and intercultural awareness of young European citizens, as well as promote European citizenship and EU policies in the field of the use of renewable energy. ACTIVITY C1 Traditional and alternative energy sources – consumption and impact on the environment C2 Water energy and STE(A)M C3 Wind Energy and STE(A)M C4 Solar energy and STE(A)M C5 Sustainable energy in the future: designing green and intelligent city models PARTICIPANTS 120 students aged 15 to 18 from general education high schools and 40 accompanying teachers of English, IT, physics, science, etc. participated. RESULTS - presentations on renewable energy sources, statistics and trends from the 5 partner countries; - Campaign posters encouraging European citizens to use solar energy more; - presentations on alternative construction systems; - building models that use alternative types of insulating materials; - simulations of power plants; - STEM projects – anemometers, weathervanes, solar cookers etc. - research data and conclusions; - simulations/models of sustainable cities. Teachers will produce exchange reports in which we will include data measuring the quality of the activities, the impact of the activities on the participants, photos and videos taken during the exchanges. Other deliverables: Europass mobility documents, initial and final evaluation forms, feedback forms, self-evaluation sheets, student observation sheets, participant testimonials, dissemination platforms, eTwinning communication platform, final brochure of the “STEM Ideas” project for high school." IMPACT Students and teachers have grown personally and professionally. Through the project activities, the image of the school was promoted in the local community as an institution that prepares students for the future and aligns with the needs of the 21st century. Cooperation with the local community has improved through partnerships and agreements with local experts and companies in the energy sector. Local authorities were invited to participate in some of the project activities. These have created the basis for future cooperation between local institutions in other projects related to renewable energy or similar. Schools have acquired/developed a European dimension, which demonstrates openness and flexibility to the constantly evolving world of education. This has also increased our possibilities to develop new projects with current or future partners in the field of robotics, which is one of our next priorities.