Aug22136 Best Educational Administration Program Company - Copenhagen Education is life-long – learning never truly stops, after all. Education is also at the heart of the LIFE Foundation, as it endeavours to innovate the Danish landscape. On the back of its well-deserved success, we spoke with the LIFE Foundation’s CEO, Christine Antorini, to find out more. Learning. Ideas. Fascination. Experiments. Together, those form the foundation of LIFE Foundation, which aims to reinvigorate the STEM education sphere (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for the entirety of the Danish population, regardless of age and background. Its missions are threefold, designed around the attainment of a higher level of scientific learning, the promotion of motivation among children and adolescents to engage in STEM, and the promotion of an interest in choosing an education with the natural sciences. Christine offers some more insights into how LIFE has endeavoured to change the face of STEM education in Denmark. “We develop and offer enquiry-based science education courses free of charge for schools across Denmark. In a LIFE teaching course, the school class works with real-life cases that are developed together with businesses and research institutions. The courses can take place in the classroom and/or in one of our advanced laboratories with LIFE teachers. Today we have a learning center at our headquarters, three mobile laboratories drive around the country visiting schools and the construction of our first stationary regional laboratory has just begun. This way, we are making LIFE available for all pupils in Denmark.” Moreover, LIFE works alongside other STEM initiatives to create a robust space within the country that drives for greater STEM onboarding – a crucial pursuit that invests in future innovation driven by new generations. It’s no secret that access often stymies growth and uptake of STEM courses, and here LIFE aims to ensure easy access to laboratories and teaching courses with teaching materials in a box – a “LIFE Kit”. “It is simple to book – as you don’t have to apply for them – it is free of charge and is sent directly to the school, where it is also picked up again after completion. The LIFE courses are developed with business and research institutions, which gives the pupils the opportunity to work with real-life cases and equipment like scientists within companies’ R&D departments. “We are established and financed by The Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has approved a financial frame of up DKK 1.9 billion (app. EUR 255 million) until 2030. Such a huge and long-lasting grant is truly unique and gives us fantastic opportunities to reach our goals.” With the COVID-19 pandemic mostly behind us, securing the future of STEM has become, simply, crucial for populations around the world. “The need and demand for people and workforce with scientific learning and science capital is stronger than ever before. Due to the crises, we face these years – such as COVID-19, energy supply uncertainty and cyberattacks – we clearly need people with STEM competences in our society as well as in companies. Therefore, it is important that at growing number of children and youngsters are attracted to STEM,” Christine adds. With that in mind, the future of LIFE Foundation hinges on capitalising on the post-COVID-19 landscape to invigorate and drive their offerings. “Our ambition is to develop courses for all grades in primary and lower-secondary education or uppersecondary education. Also, we intent to develop courses for pre-school kids. We have several laboratories in our pipeline. In addition to our learning center, we are planning to have five mobile laboratories on the roads as well as four stationary laboratories to cover all of Denmark (one stationary and one mobile lab for each of the five Danish regions). Our first and second stationary laboratories will be built during 2023. “The stationary laboratories will be located at University Colleges that offer science teacher educations, which gives us opportunity to inspire science teacher students to the teaching method of enquiry-based science. At the same time, we can position ourselves as an attractive workplace for future teachers.” Company Name: LIFE Foundation Contact Name: Kenneth Rønholt, Press & Communications Consultant Address: Biologiens Vej 5, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark Web Address: www.life.dk Contact Email: [email protected] Nov 653
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