EVALUATION

The project began on September 1, 2019, with an end date scheduled for August 31, 2021. However, the Covid-19 paralyzed all mobilities (only the one in Portugal could be carried out before the pandemic), forcing us to extend the project 12 more months. This decision allowed us to carry out all the planned activities, although in a short space of approximately 6 months.

During this final stretch of the project, the main problem we faced was the lack of host families. Undoubtedly due to the pandemic, all of us, parents, students and teachers, were more reluctant to share spaces, as we thought it appropriate to form a bubble group among the Erasmus participants and avoid contact with others as much as possible. Therefore, we decided to stay in hotels. In all mobilities we manage to be all the countries housed in the same hotel to continue sharing lunches, dinners and free time. The balance we got was positive, since the bonds of union that were created between the participants were strong. In addition, always advised by the students and teachers of the host country, we try to spend our free time getting to know the culture, environment and gastronomy of the region in which we were, thus compensating for not staying in family homes.

Another incident took place, since the meeting in Belgium had to be canceled three days before its beginning due to the notorious increase in Covid cases and the measures that the Belgian school was forced to adopt (online/semi-face-to-face modality). The economic losses were not significant in comparison to the preparatory work hours and student displeasure. For this reason, an attempt was made to set another date for its execution, but the different school calendars together with the pending meetings in Italy and Spain prevented it. Consequently, Italy agreed to host both the biology congress planned for Belgium and its own environmental sciences congress.

Nevertheless, apart from the inconveniences that the pandemic caused, the project was carried out with total normality. The objectives established from the beginning were met:

  • students with good academic results participated, as well as students at risk of dropping out and with special needs (the latter to a lesser extent),
  • interest in STEM subjects increased (as shown by the results of the surveys),
  • resulting didactic units managed to enrich the curriculum of all the subjects of all the participating centers at a qualitative, experimental and contextualized level (as contained in this book),
  • the place of women in the scientific world was recognized and the majority of the participating students were girls (as shown by the results of the surveys).

The scientific congress format chosen for all the meetings turned out to be key in this change in methodology. In fact, the same participants and organizers saw how each congress surpassed the previous one, both at an organizational and executive level and without neglecting the contents shown and learning obtained. Participation in the Experimenta Fair was the final culmination of this project, and both teachers and students proved to be up to the task of said public competition, even receiving an international mention from the organizing committee. Obviously, not only the congresses, but also the rest of the activities carried out in each mobility (lectures by scientists, scientific workshops, training visits to universities, museums and companies, and closing ceremonies with delivery of participation certificates) propitiated the scientific and real environment.

Regarding the results of the project, the surveys’ results were favorable and useful, as described in the corresponding tab. The present website, for its part, brings together all the information and products resulting from the project. We trust in its usefulness and future source of inspiration for other centers and projects. Finally, the digital book also contains all the details and products of the project, surely making them more accessible and attractive, and undoubtedly ensuring their longevity and spread. With social networks, however, we were not as persistent and did not use them as much as we would have liked. The project, instead, became more known from the different social networks of each center.

To conclude, the analysis we draw from the project is highly positive. Without a doubt, the benefits have always outweighed the drawbacks and we managed to regain interest in STEM subjects among the participants. We do not know how far the benefits of this project will reach the students; perhaps it is the reason for choosing a scientific university career, or it represents the first steps of a future scientist, but surely none of the participants and close agents ever forget that Science is all around.