Future-oriented education

New, innovative learning methods which address university and high school students, pupils and children are one of the core interests of SIMKU Leuven Education. In line with Industry 4.0, a number of projects have focused on the use of novel immersion tools such as games and AR/VR in the education of children, students and process operators. In those projects, the students and pupils are often invited to co-create the content in order to best match their educational expectations.

SIMKU Leuven continuously seeks partners who are interested to join innovative education and learning projects in the field of sustainable materials management. We have experience in preparation, coordination and dissemination of educational projects funded by the EU and EIT Raw Materials and we invite research institutes, companies and academic institutions to reach out to us to establish the collaboration.

Future-oriented education

INNOVATIVE LEARNING

EU MSCA-ETN CHARMING

Recent developments in immersive learning technologies are providing exciting new tools for teaching and training programmes, yet they remain underutilised in science & technology education, and nowhere is this more true than in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering. CHARMING, the European Training Network for Chemical Engineering Immersive Learning, takes on this challenge by developing learning strategies, content and prototypes for the application of games and virtual/augmented reality for motivating, teaching and training children, students and employees in chemistry, chemical engineering and chemical operations.

  • Project duration: 01.11.2018 to 31.10.2022
  • Programme Funding: Horizon 2020

EIT Raw Materials Academy MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provide training for citizens that aims to empower them to learn, by informing them on the topics related to circular economy. https://eitrawmaterials.eu/eit-rm-academy/online-learning/

AWARENESS-RAISING EDUCATION

AWARE PROJECT

Raising public awareness on electronic waste as a source of valuable materials. The focus of the project is on education and involvement of school children, both to raise the awareness of end-of-life electronics as a resource, and through them to bring the message into families and the society as whole. The aim of the project is to increase the share of waste ending up in official take-back systems instead of loosing the resource to waste disposal or incineration plants and collection outside official take-back systems. The idea is to engage school teachers to be involved in new learning topics, and to distribute information on the circular economy of end-of-life electronics in primary, secondary schools and also high education schools in novel, interesting forms (e.g. games and videos or phenomenon based learning). The main target group for the project is school children with open minds for actions and interest to protect the environment. The project is funded by EIT Raw Materials.

  • Project duration: 01/01/2019 – 31/12/2020.

GAMES PROJECT

Great Adventures with Materials: Education for a Recycling Society (GAMES). To increase the awareness of the importance of recycling (and the separation steps that precede it), this project develops an attractive mobile game for the education of the wider society on the recycling of materials. These games will be accessible and fun for inexperienced players, i.e. people having no affinity with recycling or games, as well as for experienced players, e.g. chemical/material engineering students. By playing on these two levels, not only the general public but also youngsters and children are reached, with a view to raising enthusiasm for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and a Recycling Society. The project is a Wider Society Learning project which is funded by EIT Raw Materials.