ICSE Academy
Description
The ICSE Academy, an international consortium of 13 higher education institutions and research institutes in Europe, is dedicated to enhancing professional development for STEM teachers and translating it into effective practice. It promotes exchange and research, aiming to deepen understanding of STEM teacher professional development and its broader impact on STEM education and society. By aligning with EU initiatives, the ICSE Academy aims to reduce the number of low-performing STEM learners and stimulate interest in STEM careers essential for addressing societal challenges. Through innovative approaches rooted in best practices and cross-border collaboration, it aims to cultivate a high-quality STEM teacher workforce, fostering mobility and collaboration among teachers to instill a robust European dimension in STEM education.
We provided these formats of professional development:
Job-shadowing (hybrid), European workshop series (online), and international summer schools in Czechia and Netherlands for pre- and in-service teachers, researchers
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Basic information
Coordinator
ICSE, https://icse.eu/
Partners
- University of Klagenfurt, Austria
- Charles University, Czech Republic
- University of Nicosia, Cyprus
- Pädagogische Hochschule, Germany
- University of Athens, Greece
- Vilnius University, Lithuania
- L-Università ta´Malta, Malta
- Utrecht University, Netherlands
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
- Constantine the Philosopher University, Slovakia
- Universidad de Jaén, Spain
- Jönköping University, Sweden
- Hacettepe University, Turkey
Programme
Erasmus+ (programme-erasmus-plus)
Project Acronym
Target groups
education authorities, policy makers, researchers, teachers, trainee teachers, university students, university lecturers
Topic
Gender in STEM, Education, Other
Start year
2022
End year
2025
Contact person
Anna Blattmann, anna.blattmann@ph-freiburg.de
The ICSE Academy integrates research and policy development to improve STEM education across Europe.
Key research activities include:
Three international Policy Round Tables: Bringing together stakeholders from policy, academia, and schools to discuss future challenges in STEM education.
Research Case Studies: Innovative teaching approaches such as inquiry-based learning, real-life context integration, interdisciplinarity, and diversity.
Development, implementation, and evaluation of impactful professional development concepts.
Further details and publications are available on the Policy & Research section of the ICSE Academy website: https://icse.eu/icse-academy/policy-research/
Papers
ICSE Academy offered a variety of professional development activities tailored to teachers at different career stages:
Regional Level: Online European Workshop Series for pre-service and in-service teachers, developed in a co-creation process by higher education consortium members to enhance STEM education quality.
European Level: Summer schools and job-shadowing programs that connected educators, institutions and teachers within Europe. Events like the Educating the Educators (ETE) conference (e.g., in Cyprus, May 2025), which bring together teachers, researchers, and policymakers to address 21st-century STEM education challenges.
The project also provides high-quality teaching materials that were evaluated and refined through classroom practice. These materials support interdisciplinary, inquiry-based, and context-rich STEM learning: https://icse.eu/materials/