EXPEKT- Photonics Explorer - Developing a photonics educational kit for Europe's secondary schools.

EXPEKT aims to achieve a lasting, positive impact on the way photonics is taught in Europe’s secondary schools. Teaming up experts in photonics, scientists in pedagogy, specialists in gender-sensitive science teaching and experienced teachers from 10 European countries, EXPEKT will develop an intra-curricula photonics educational kit for secondary schools, namely the ‘Photonics Explorer’. This kit will be designed to excite, engage and educate pupils about working with light and showcase prospective photonics careers. It will contain class-sets of industry sponsored components for hands-on experiments along with a comprehensive didactic framework and a multimedia collection. The material will be designed to be easily integrated into the existing teaching syllabus. It will thus help teachers to reach their educational targets set by national curricula in a way that is more engaging and appealing for students.

Arguably the best way to raise young people’s interest in photonics is to give them the opportunity to experience the excitement of working with light first-hand – for instance by letting them conduct experiments with up-to-date components. This allows them to discover their own scientific abilities and to foster their research skills. Furthermore, these experiments will be embedded in an interdisciplinary didactic context that illustrates physical concepts with modern photonics applications, many of which the students use every day. Young people are thus made aware of how these technologies already affect their own lives, and how they can take part in shaping the future of these technologies when choosing photonics as their career path.

Project duration

Project website

Key Researchers

	Name	Robert Fischer
	E-mail
	Phone	+32 2 629 10 19
	Fax	+32 2 629 34 50

	Name	Amrita Prasad
	E-mail
	Phone	+32 2 629 10 18
	Fax	+32 2 629 34 50

	Name	Hugo Thienpont
	E-mail
	Phone	+32 2 629 35 69
	Fax	+32 2 629 34 50

	Name	Nathalie Debaes
	E-mail
	Phone	+32 2 629 10 18
	Fax	+32 2 629 34 50

Related Research areas

---