Researchers Communicate (Forskerne Formidler)

Grantee: Vibeke Hjortlund, Videnskab.dk

Amount: DKK 2,500,000

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

Videnskab.dk will further develop the existing initiative Forskerne Formidler (Eng. Researchers Communicate), now with an expanded international focus. The overall purpose of Forskerne Formidler is to provide easy access for the public to the science that shapes the world, directly from the scientists themselves. With a continuation of the program and platform it will focus on the development of three different areas: new genres and improvement of quality for existing, courses and training in dissemination for scientists, and international distribution, collaboration and network within academic journalism.

Videnskab.dk is Denmark’s leading popular science media with around 1 million monthly users. The media is an independent source of daily science news, features and other quality content in many different formats.

Forskerne Formidler is supported by the LEO Foundation alongside the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation, and the Augustinus Foundation.

Read more about Forskerne Formidler

Full of knowledge (Fuld af viden)

Grantee: Anne Engedal, Videnslyd A/S

Amount: DKK 1,500,000

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

Fuld af viden is a continuation of the well-established science podcast series ‘Kraniebrud’ from Videnslyd. The podcast will investigate interesting phenomena and topics from a fact-based perspective through discussions with invited scientists and visits to their labs and studies. The series will be hosted by experienced science journalists, who will present the listeners to all kinds of phenomena from a different unexpected perspective. The weekly episodes will have an increased focus on younger scientists and their research. It’ll optimize the auditory experience and create shorter episodes that are better suited for the podcast format than the original series.

Visit Videnslyd’s website

Children’s books: Max and Meta (Max og Meta)

Grantee: Troels Gollander, Forlaget Meta

Amount: DKK 225,000

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

The ‘Max og Meta’ children’s book series targets 4-12-year-olds with a cartoon-like format presenting stories revolving around natural science phenomena. The series is created by an experienced duo, author Troels Gollander and illustrator Lars-Ole Nejstgaard. The project covers two new books in the series, focused on the sensory system and the body, a website targeting primary schools with free educational material related to the two new books, and a podcast exploring the topics of the book series.

The books aim to stimulate STEM interest in children and pre-teens with an educational format that is both ‘family-friendly’ and relevant for lower secondary school.

Visit Meta Publisher’s website

Biotech Academy Camp 2024 – Microbiology

Grantee: Victoria Francke, Biotech Academy (DTU Bioengineering)

Amount: DKK 211,260

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

Biotech Academy Camp is an annual recurring event where 30 high school students from all over Denmark attend a week-long science camp. The purpose of the camp is to introduce potential students to theory and laboratory work and to spur young people’s interest in STEM in an engaging and practical way.

This year the theme is microbiology, and it is free for high school students to participate. Biotech Academy Camp is run by students at the Technical University of Denmark – DTU and the University of Copenhagen.

Visit Biotech Academy Camp’s website

Photo exhibition: My Beautiful Skin (Min smukke hud)

Grantee: Charlotte Näslund Koch, Herlev-Gentofte Hospital

Amount: DKK 210,000

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

My Beautiful Skin (Min smukke hud) is the name of a photo project that aims to address the stigma of skin diseases and promote a more inclusive and natural beauty ideal. The recognized photographer Marie Hald has been commissioned to take a series of art photos, depicting 20 patients with different skin disease.

The photos will be exhibited at Department of Dermatology and Allergy – Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, accompanied by evidence-based information about the relevant skin disease. The photo exhibition is driven by clinical researchers in collaboration with the hospital’s communication team.

Digitalt univers til databearbejdning af citizen science-genererede forskningsdata i gymnasiet

Grantee: Marie Rathcke Lillemark, Statens Naturhistoriske Museum

Amount: DKK 1,811,250

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

The Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen will establish a free online platform for high schools to support the education of ‘data literate’ citizens with hands-on skills in answering interdisciplinary questions through scientific methodology. The platform will provide free access for Danish high schools to data obtained in the Next Generation Lab initiative, an ongoing citizen science initiative in which students analyze archaeological findings at the museum’s lab using scientific methods, thereby generating large amounts of raw research data. The portal will enable students from all over Denmark to work directly with this data, guided by new educational material that supports its relevance within or across topics such as biology, biotechnology, chemistry, history, Danish language and literature, physics, and social studies.

Visit the Natural History Museum of Denmark’s webpage

Astronomy and natural science for kids (Astronomi og naturvidenskab i børnehøjde)

Grantee: Mille Marta Andersen, Go Zebra

Amount: DKK 978,420

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

Go Zebra, a non-profit organization dedicated to stimulating children’s curiosity and bridging it to problem-solving and societal challenges through educational material with a special focus on engineering and innovation, joins forces with astrophysicist and science communicator Tina Ibsen in developing a free educational course on astronomy aimed for 4th-grade teachers and pupils. The developed material will become available for free on MeeBook (the learning platform most widely used by Danish schools), and classes participating in the project will have workshops facilitated by Go Zebra at their schools.

The overall ambition is to instill confidence in children that they can understand the world and have the capabilities to solve problems.

Visit Go Zebra’s webpage

Sustaining the Voice of Science: Increase the Impact of STEM Communication Activities at DTU Skylab

Grantee: Christian Daniel Koldbech, DTU Skylab

Amount: DKK 998,333

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

DTU Skylab will produce two video series, in total ten videos, to promote interest in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship. One of the series will consist of documentaries presenting the most significant innovations that have been realized within the DTU Skylab framework. The other series will consist of interviews with in-house experts and Skylab-based student entrepreneurs sharing their experiences and advice for students.

The videos will provide behind-the-scenes insights into the nature of scientific and technological innovation and entrepreneurship.

Visit DTU Skylab’s webpage

The dermatologist’s table (Hudlægens bord)

Grantee: Vibeke Hjortlund, Videnskab.dk

Amount: DKK 1,262,415

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2024

Geography: Denmark

Videnskab.dk will produce a podcast series of 12 episodes that disseminate science-based knowledge to the public, about skin health and skin/venereal diseases. The series will be hosted by an MD in dermatology and will address several topics selected by a medical panel to reflect frequently asked questions from patients. Each episode will introduce novel research within the field with potential for enabling new or improved treatment, facilitated by Danish researchers. The podcasts are supplemented with popular science articles and short videos.

Visit Videnskab.dk’s webpage

On track (På sporet – elever i 2. klasse lærer tal og algebra med læringsspor)

Grantee: Charlotte Skott, Professionshøjskolen Absalon

Amount: DKK 2,500,872

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

This project aims to apply a new research-based approach to enhance the teaching of mathematics in Denmark (called learning trajectories or Læringsspor in Danish), involving second-grade students and their mathematics teachers in all the public schools of Kalundborg as a first case. Learning trajectory constitutes an approach to numbers and algebra which has achieved promising results in international research. During the project, the Kalundborg mathematics teachers will learn about the approach and learning trajectories and be involved in developing educational material suited for a Danish context.