April 11 will be the first edition of the International Day of Children's Universities, a day dedicated to universities that, feeling a duty of greater commitment to the younger generation, systematically offer outreach activities and programs for kids and teenagers such as guided tours, seminars, workshops, exhibitions and fairs. The initiative is launched by eucu.net – the European Network of Children’s Universities. Children's Universities provide a crucial bridge between academia and the younger generation, promote open and constructive dialogue between the youngest and the scientists, and help ensure that children's needs and perspectives are not overlooked in the rapidly changing world.
With the SISSA for Schools program, dedicated to schools of all levels and active for more than a decade, SISSA is actively involved in this movement and is a partner in the international network eucu.net (https://eucu.net/), which brings together Children's Universities from around the world.
On April 11, to celebrate the International Day of Children's Universities, SISSA is offering a special session of SISSA for Schools aimed at two classes from the Alessandro Volta High School in Trieste. Students will be guided by Meriem Behiri, a doctoral student in astrophysics and cosmology at SISSA, to discover "Signals from Deep Space." After the seminar, the students will have the opportunity to visit the building accompanied by exceptional guides: the actual researchers at SISSA. A valuable opportunity to interact directly with people who do science on a daily basis, discovering what it means to study and do research in an international academic environment.
SISSA for Schools is not limited to April 11: throughout the school year it offers students of all ages a unique opportunity to get close to science through seminars, games and interactive activities. The visits take place every Thursday morning and involve hundreds of students each year, ranging from math to physics, neuroscience to data science. They are designed and implemented by volunteer SISSA researchers, with coordination by SISSA Medialab staff. The visits are in high demand and each year the calendar fills up within minutes of opening, usually in June.
To stay up-to-date on the activities SISSA offers to schools, one can subscribe to the SISSA for Schools newsletter: https://bit.ly/S4Snewsletter.
Learn more about International Children's Universities Day: https://eucu.net/idcu/.