Support of the Development of Educational Tools and Material
FuseNet supports the development of new tools for the benefit of fusion education and training. Calls for funding proposals will be made available here, such as plans for upgrading or moving experiments or making them remotely available, the development of new classroom and teaching material, as well as e-learning tools.
The calls that are open are indicated below.
Call for (remotely) accessible experimental hardware (CLOSED)
As part of its activities, FuseNet supports the accessibility of experimental hardware for educational purposes. In the past successful applicants have used this funding to increase accessibility of existing fusion-related experiments and develop novel hands-on experiments. Such examples can be found in the Educational Materials browser under Experiments.
In 2022, FuseNet is launching a new call for (remotely) accessible experimental hardware. This call is aimed at applicants that want to build a new experiment, upgrade or relocate existing experiments and at applicants who want to make their experiment remotely accessible and operable through the internet.
The call will be open during the year until the allocated budget is consumed. Applications will be reviewed periodically at the Board of Governors meetings. These meetings take place approximately every 2 months.
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, we highly encourage you to have a prior informal discussion with the Executive Office (feo@fusenet.eu)
Details like eligibility criteria, the type of support and the application procedure can be found in the call document:
Older calls in 2021 (CLOSED)
Call for production of primary-level educational material
FuseNet believes that everyone in Europe should have access to fusion education, appropriate for their role in society. However, research shows that while most children have a positive attitude to science by age 10, interest wanes over the ensuing 4 years (DeWitt, Archer & Osborne, 2014, DOI). While interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by no means guarantee a career in nuclear fusion, they are a vital precursor.
FuseNet wants to develop several educational units that improve science education for children at the end of their primary school careers (age 10–12) to nourish their budding interest in STEM. The concrete scope of this call is the development of three one-hour educational units based on three prescribed topics. A more detailed description of these topics as well as details like the type of support and the application procedure can be found in the call document:
Older calls in 2020 (CLOSED)
Call for the development of classroom material (ISCED3)
To equip teachers in upper secondary level with material, such as slides, assignments and exercises, FuseNet calls in its network for contributions. As a response to this call, a proposal for the development of material for (a set of) mentioned learning objectives can be submitted.
Actual costs can be claimed, as well as worked hours (100%), and the proposal should contain a time indication.
Call for the production of an educational movie (CLOSED)
The current status and challenges in nuclear fusion demand a diverse workforce, the development of which is stimulated by an influx of students understanding the bredth and depth of the field. For this purpose, a classroom movie is deemed helpful to introduce the topic in an attractive and inspiring manner.
FuseNet calls for proposals to produce new footage about the developments and story of fusion, suitable for presentation in classrooms. For a demonstration at a teacher event in June, a first teaser should be delivered in an early stage.