Europeans welcome new science education web portal

A new, multilingual web portal has been launched that will help those involved in science education in the EU to share materials, resources and experiences. Called SCIENTIX ('The community for science education in Europe'), the portal was set up with funding from the Science in Society (SIS) Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The initiative is managed by European Schoolnet (EUN), a network of 31 European education ministries.

The website is aimed at all those involved in science education including teachers, researchers, policymakers, parents and young people. SCIENTIX provides a single point of access to teaching resources and reports that result from projects financed under the EU's Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, the Lifelong Learning Programme (which is managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture) as well as several national schemes.

For teachers, the portal gives them access to a wealth of teaching resources that can be used for their own lessons. Users can search for items by keyword, subject, language, and age range. Crucially, registered users can request that a resource be translated into any of the 23 official languages of the EU. In addition, teachers can also suggest new projects or events, and share their ideas and experiences with colleagues across Europe.

Meanwhile policymakers, researchers and project managers can benefit from a range of research resources and reports linked to their area of work. Thanks to the SCIENTIX research repository, they can also find background material for use when designing new projects or policy initiatives.

The site, which is available in six languages (German, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Polish), also features a news section and an events calendar.

SCIENTIX is more than just a web portal. Over the next few years, workshops will be held in a number of European countries that will both train users to get the most out of the portal and give them the opportunity to meet other people involved in science education in Europe. In addition, a monthly newsletter will alert registered users to the latest news from the science education community.

'SCIENTIX will allow every science teacher and student to benefit from excellent teaching materials developed by European and national research projects,' commented Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. 'So SCIENTIX will contribute both to inspiring young people with science and to maximising value for every euro Europe spends on science education. It will also be a place for everybody interested in science education to exchange news and views.