Education Programmes

Scientists, teachers and communicators work together on this initiative to bring nanoscience into the classroom, co-led by the ICN2 together with the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and CESIRE.

This programme, awarded the 2018 National Science Communication Award (FCRi and Generalitat de Catalunya), includes the design and production of an experiment kit related to the world of nano. These so-called NanoKit are distributed to schools throughout Catalonia via the Catalan Ministry of Education to offer teachers a set of interactive experiences in nanoscience linked to subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and even Philosophy.

In 2021, the yearly contest for schools and educational courses to train high school teachers were cancelled due to the pandemic situation. Still, the ICN2 kept on working on activities adapted to a hybrid educational format, seeking a greater impact. The online activities to be used in the classroom together with the existing nanokit will be launched in 2022. This initiative is possible thanks to the funding from the ICN2 Severo Ochoa Programme, the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT-MICINN) and the Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRi).

The Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences (MMRES), run by the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and its centres, is back despite the epidemiological context. This master has a special focus on gaining experimental skills. It provides a unique opportunity for student to get hands-on research training and experience in the labs of the BIST centers.

The Master program and format was adapted to COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts were made to offer online content and virtual visits to the research spaces, as well as research collaborations in very small groups. The experimental work at the labs still was part of the Major Project of the master.

A new training opportunity is offered to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in pursuing a research career in quantum science and its practical applications. The University of Barcelona (UB), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), ICFO, BSC, IFAE and ICN2 announced in March 2021 the launch of a new Master in Quantum Science and Technology in Barcelona.

This educational programme is aimed at students with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Physical Engineering or equivalent who are willing to specialize in this expanding field of research. They will study quantum physics, quantum materials, computing, simulation methods, communications, sensing, and other applications of quantum science, all topics aligned with major pillars of the European Quantum Flagship Project.

Students will be able to develop their end-of-programme research projects (Master’s thesis) at the institutes involved. The ICN2 offers them the opportunity to work within one of the many research groups that carry out research on various relevant topics in this field, including spintronics, quantum transport, phononics and photonics nanostructures, ultrafast dynamics, theory and simulation of topological matter and Dirac systems. The ICN2 also funded an internship, providing a living allowance for a student undertaking their Master’s Thesis with one of its research group. ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche, leader of the ICN2 Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience group, is a member of the coordinating team and will give a course on Quantum Materials.

The Fundació Catalunya / La Pedrera has developed a programme to open the doors of the region’s top research institutes to outstanding secondary school students in different subjects. The ICN2 and IFAE have coordinated the six editions of the series of events devoted to Physics. Students participating in the first edition of Crazy for Physics (Bojos per la Física) are now entering the first stages of their formal research careers.

In 2021, 25 High School students interacted during over 10 online work sessions with researchers from all the participating excellence centres offering exciting experiences that explored the biggest and the smallest scales of the universe. Coordinated from the ICN2 and the IFAE, Crazy for Physics also involved UAB, ICMAB, ICFO, ICE, UB and Alba Synchrotron. The idea is to provide participant students experiment-based experiences while conveying a sense of what it is like to be a physics researcher.