InSSTER

InSSTER, Innovative STS (Science, Society, Technology) Education Research Centre, is a dynamic multidisciplinary research hub that brings together passionate educators and scholars from diverse fields within the field of education. Our collaborative team includes faculty members and researchers from the Department of Education at the University of Nicosia. Together, we explore the intersection of inclusive research education, science, society, and technology, with a strong emphasis on innovative and inclusive practices.

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Vision

InSSTER promotes research in education focusing on innovative and inclusive practices in Science, Society, Technology education. This involves transforming schools to cater to all children, including marginalised groups, aiming to eliminate exclusion. It also emphasises cultivating skills for global problem-solving, ensuring inclusive education, and addressing gender equality in digital skills. InSSTER aligns with the Digital Education Action Plan for comprehensive and high-quality digital instruction and training (European Commission, 2020).

Objectives

  • 1

    Conduct state-of-the-art research under the umbrella of innovative and inclusive education with links to science, society and technology;

  • 2
    Participate in competitive EU calls and receive external funding for projects
  • 3
    Establish a national and international network with relevant, researchers, schools, and policy makers;
  • 4
    Engage with society on issues related to inclusive science and technology education, and
  • 5
    Offer continuous training on skills, methodologies and technologies to its members and beyond.

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Research

The members of InSSTER are involved in funded research under the umbrella of Innovative and Inclusive education with links to science, society and technology.

  • Democratic Dialogue at school: an online game based training tool on Democratic Dialogue for Teachers, (DD@S)

    • Start: 11/2021
    • End: 05/2024

    Local Principal Investigator

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts (EhB), Brussels

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-SCH - Cooperation partnerships in school education

    Budget
    395.917 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2021-1-BE02-KA220-SCH-000032794

    Website
    https://ddasproject.eu/

    The DD@S project believes in the strength of dialogue to tackle intolerance and discrimination at school to stimulate inclusive education all over Europe. Therefore, this project contributes in the professional development of teachers to acquire effective dialogue skills to cope with ethnic, religious and multicultural conflict situations at school. A gamification based online training in democratic dialogue, a toolkit with tools and good practices including content managed system and guide to help teacher teams in developing their own specific training cases, teacher modules and a guide for implementation and policy recommendations will be organized and implemented to tackle this challenge.

  • ProSTEM: European collaboration and mobility in professional development of pre- and in-service STEM Teachers

    • Start: 02/2022
    • End: 01/2025

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Evi Kostantinidou, Kyriakos Demetriou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    Erasmus 2027

    Budget
    1495323 EUR

    Agreement No.

    Website
    https://icse.eu/icse-academy/

    ProSTEM supports the EU’s endeavours to minimize the amount of low-performing STEM learners. It does so by investing in a new era of a high-quality STEM teacher workforce by innovating based on existing best practices teacher education and transnational exchange strategies.

  • INCLUSIVE HE: Designing and supporting inclusive practices in Higher Education

    • Start:
    • End:

    Local Principal Investigator

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Åbo Akademi University, Finland

    Ref.
    ERASMUS +1 KA2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices KA203 - Strategic Partnerships for higher education

    Budget
    252660 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2020-1-FI01-KA203-066572

    Website
    https://inclusivehe.eu

    The InclusiveHE project focuses on developing practices that support the inclusion of people with different abilities, diverse ethnic, cultural and migration background in higher education institutions. OBJECTIVES
    • Support higher education providers to design, implement, and monitor effective inclusive policies and practices.
    • Improve the supply of high quality inclusive higher education opportunities for all.
    • Develop and offer a systems approach toolkit for administrators and policymakers.
    • Develop and offer a training course for HEI staff.
    • Offer an online platform and MOOC with gamification characteristics.
    • Raise general awareness concerning inclusive practices that foster inclusion.

  • VRnSight: “Boosting Virtual Reality Learning within Higher Business Management Education”

    • Start: 01/2018
    • End: 12/2020

    Local Principal Investigator

    Participants
    Efi Nisiforou

    Coordinator
    Fachhochschule des Mittelstands FHM

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA3 Strategic Partnerships for higher education

    Budget
    292025 EUR

    Agreement No.

    Website
    https://www.vrinsight.org

    The project VRinSight aims to roll-out Virtual Reality learning in Higher Education and in the teaching of business management across Europe through a partnership between education and industry. The project runs over a 2 year period co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ program. An EU Survey of SMEs & Higher Education Institutes was conducted in an effort to understand the challenges involved in introducing VR learning techniques in business management education. The project will offer a complete VR integration guide to educators through a unique VR Training Program and accompanying VR Training Curriculum. Additionally, the project offers a comprehensive Green Paper on Virtual Reality Teaching & Learning giving educators, business and policy makers across Europe an insight on how VR technology can be embraced.