A new ESERO opens in Romania
Following ESA’s recent launches of European Space Education Resource Offices (ESEROs) in Poland and Portugal, Romania has become the latest country to open an office that will use space to support teaching and learning of science and technology in primary and secondary schools.
Launched on 13 May 2014, during the Romanian Space Week, ESERO Romania is based at the headquarters of the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) in Bucharest, and is co-funded by ESA and ROSA - an independent public institution under the auspices of the Romanian Ministry of Education.
With ESERO Romania, school teachers will learn how to use space in the classroom to make their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) lessons more inspiring and effective. They will be given new ideas, inspiration and knowledge that will help them engage their students and raise their interest.
Teachers will be offered a great variety of information and classroom material, as well as training courses and workshops for their continuous professional development. Activities will take advantage of the wealth of space-related resources already made available by ESA.
By using role modelling, ESERO Romania will enable pupils to meet with space experts, helping tobridge the gap between theoretical science in the classroom and real space practices and professions. This will in turn help to inspire students to choose scientific and technical careers. The office will also raise awareness of the European and national space programmes, as well as ESA’s Education Programme and the Romanian institutions active in education.
“Education is an important mission both for ROSA and the European Space Agency. Romania, as a full ESA Member State, has the responsibility to implement this mission, which we consider to be crucial for our country’s future", said Marius-Ioan Piso, President of ROSA, during the launch event.
“ESERO is a project that aims to respond to the specific needs of each country,” said Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Head of Relations with the Member States Department in the ESA Director General’s Cabinet. “We believe the best way to achieve this is to join forces with the national education institutions in order to inspire young generations and help build the scientific and technical workforce of tomorrow.”
Background
In addition to ESERO Romania (www.esero.ro), ESERO is present in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland), Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Romania became ESA’s 19th Member State on 22 December 2011. The ESA Education Office supported the launch into space of the country’s first satellite (Goliat) – developed by students of the University of Bucharest and the Polytechnic University of Bucharest under the supervision of the Institute of Space Science and ROSA - in the framework of the ‘Cubesats on the Vega Maiden Flight’ education project. The ESA Education Office supported the Goliat student team in the final testing of their satellite, during the entire launch campaign, and provided the launch opportunity on 13 February 2012.
The launch event of ESERO Romania took place during the 2014 Romanian Space Week (RSW), organised by ROSA between 12-16 May. The programme, held each year in Bucharest, is dedicated to presenting the current status of projects funded through the Programme for Research, Development and Innovation for Space Technology and Advanced Research (STAR), which aims to improve Romania’s industrial competitiveness in the European Space Agency’s programmes.
For more information
Virgiliu Pop, ESERO Romania Project Manager
virgiliu.pop @ rosa.ro
