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15 March 2007 - Belgian polar scientists testimony about the excitements in their job during dream day

To develop itself on professional area, young people need dynamism, motivation and venture sense. They look for reference points and examples to orient themselves. Both the education and the economic world play an important role in the training of young people. School and company are however still two separated worlds.
In order to bring these two worlds together, DREAM is organising an event 'DREAM DAY' where students can enjoy life testimonies and can discuss with dynamic professionals.

Also the science community is pretty far separated from the educational world. Therefore, in the frame of the International Polar Year, polar scientists will testimony about their fascinating experiences in their job.

When? 15 March 2007
For who? Students (age 16-19), secondary school (all directions)
Where? in laboratory (our at school)
Participating polar scientists: Dr. Samyn Denis (Glaciology Unit, University of Brussels), Bart Van de Vijver (Department of Cryptogamy, National Botanic Garden of Belgium), Annick Wilmotte (CIP, Institute of Chemistry, Université de Liège)

More info is available under the DREAM website.

19- 25 March 2007 - Going Extreme in Printemps-des-Sciences 2007

Belgian polar scientists will participating in the Printemps-des-Sciences, an annual event stimulating the outreach of research activities performed in different universities of the French speaking community in Belgium. The 2007 edition of the annual will be dedicated to Extreme Sciences.
Several actions are proposed and will soon be announced on the dedicated site of the Printemps-des-Sciences.

23 August 2006 - Polar research present in ‘Congrès pluraliste des Sciences’

During the annual Congrès Pluraliste des Sciences BE-POLES will present an info stand on polar science in Belgium. The focus will be put on the polar work performed at the Center for Protein Engineering at the Université de Liège (ULg-CPE) by the group of Dr Annick Wilmotte. Teachers will be shown how to envisage the microscopic, pigment, and genetic diversity of polar cyanobacteria.

The ‘congrès pluraliste des sciences’is an umbrella organisation that covers three associations of scientific teachers : la Fédération des Professeurs de Géographie (FEGEPRO asbl), l'Association des professeurs de biologie (PROBIO asbl), and l'Association Belge des Professeurs de Physique et de Chimie (ABPPC asbl). This organisation aims to inform scientific teachers about education tools, methods, subjects and activities to be used in secondary schools. Prior to the school year they organize annually a symposium to inform teachers about latest teaching aids.

This year the congres will take place from 22 until 24 August at the university Louvain-la-Neuve. The main theme of the programme is focused on ‘education and health’.

Complementary resource:
- Info for teachers (in French)

23-25 March 2006 - BE-POLES 3-day workshop devoted to Polar Science in Belgium

Invitatie

Complementary resources
- final programme of the BE-POLES workshop
- summaries of talks and posters about polar science performed in Belgium
- participating polar scientists

13–19 March 2006 - BE-POLES at the Printemps-des-Sciences

BE-POLES takes part into the Printemps-des-Sciences
During one week professors, researchers and students mobilise themselves to put sciences at the range of all. By an anthology of activities and playful experiments, the objective is to stimulate the interest and the curiosity of the young people and to make the world scientific more accessible and more alive. This free initiative is made possible thanks to a close cooperation between the universities and the high schools of the French Community, as well as many partners.

5 partners from the BE-POLES cluster invite secondary school students to discover polar science in the Walloon region and in Brussels.

Complementary resources
- Programme of the BE-POLES contribution to Printemps-des-Sciences

12 November 2005 - BE-POLES at the Flemish annual assembly of scientific teachers

The Flemish congress for sciences teachers is an initiative to inform teachers in science about the latest news and events on the science side. It aims at helping the teachers to find new tools for use in class rooms. The congress is an action organised by the teacher associations VeLeWe and VOB and is supported by the Flemish Community.

This year the congress is at its 11th version. It takes place at the VUB (Vrije universiteit Brussel). Also BE-POLES participates. During a 2 hours session (morning and afternoon), the teachers from 2nd and 3rd degree ASO will be informed about Belgian research and activities to the North Pole and the South Pole trough three different presentations:
1. Louis Beyens : Wetenschap en avontuur op de toendra: de UA - scholieren/studenten expeditie in Spitsbergen.
2. Jean-Pierre Henriet: Class@poles: Stel een vraag, ontwerp een expeditie!
3. Frank Dehairs: Specifieke fysico-chemische en biologische processen bepalen het unieke karakter van de Antarctische Oceaan en zijn centrale rol als klimaatsmodulator
BE-POLES has also a stand in the exhibition room.

Complementary resources:
Info for teachers (Dutch)

12 April 2005 - Pole-position: a contest for Belgian students from secondary schools

Pole-position is the new contest for Belgian secondary schools (ages 13 - 18 yrs). This contest is an initiative of the Federal minister of Science Policy, Mr. Marc Verwilghen, in cooperation with the Federal Science Policy, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, The International Polar Foundation and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
The contest will start at the beginning of the next school year (2005-2006). A dedicated website is available on: www.poleposition1.be.

Complementary resources:
- contest website
- foldersin Dutch and French

Class@poles (school year 2005/6)

Class@Poles is an educational contest within the Belgian network of polar research BE-POLES. This competition, organized by the Renard Centre of Marine Geology runs over the school year 2005-2006. It paves the way to polar research, ‘accessible’ to school classes with an entrepreneurial spirit. Classes from the second level of secondary education are invited to (1) formulate a question dealing with a topic from a wide spectrum of polar research, and (2) design a project and expedition(s) to seek the answer.

Complementary resources:
- folders in Dutch and French