Overview

The EMBL Science Education and Public Engagement team in partnership with Merck invite European teacher trainers, secondary school science teachers, and informal educators to apply for  “Connecting the classroom with genomic research: train-the-trainer course”, taking place at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany between 7 and 9 October 2024. The course is free of charge and is held in English.

The 2.5-day train-the-trainer course empowers teacher trainers and formal and informal educators to deliver professional development courses for fellow educators on the topic of genomics. The course consists of a mix of seminars by EMBL scientists, visits to research facilities and training in the use of EMBL’s brand-new educational resource “From DNA to therapy”. Based on a real-life case study, the resource highlights the importance of the genetic code and the methods of sequencing and analysis that help researchers and clinicians develop personalised treatment plans. Participants will also be able to share experiences and best practise in teaching genomics. The scientific and educational content of the train-the-trainer course is based on the content presented during the virtual LearningLAB “Navigating the genomics landscape”, which took place in March 2024. Therefore, the course participants are provided with the tools and materials needed for delivering courses on the topic of genomics. By joining this course, the participants become EMBL Teacher Ambassadors who are enabled to promote the EMBL teacher training programme and deliver EMBLconnect courses on the topic of genomics in their local language for their community of teachers and informal educators in their home countries.

The train-the-trainer course will:

• Familiarise you with EMBL research on genomics, get you in touch with research scientists and take you on visits to EMBL’s scientific facilities
• Introduce you to the EMBL Teacher Ambassador Programme and the EMBLconnect scheme
• Prepare you to deliver courses for teachers and informal educators on the topic of genomics as part of the EMBLconnect scheme
• Provide you with access to materials to deliver the scientific and educational elements of EMBLconnect courses on the topic of genomics
• Familiarise you with “From DNA to therapy”, a computer-based teaching resource on genomics suitable for classroom use 
•  Provide a platform to network and share your experiences with colleagues from across Europe

Course organisers

Science Education and Public Engagement
EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office shares the scientific discoveries of EMBL with young people, teachers and the diverse public in Europe and beyond. Our education programmes convey complex, cutting-edge topics in life science research in an exciting and insightful way, fostering the discovery of current research trends, the scientific method, and scientific career paths. Our teacher training courses empower educators to bring modern life sciences into the classroom. Visit our website for further information about our activities.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 64,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2022, Merck generated sales of € 22.2 billion in 66 countries.

Ambassador programme

EMBLconnect scheme

The EMBLconnect scheme allows teachers, teacher trainers and informal educators (so-called EMBL Teacher Ambassadors) to run professional development training courses based on the successful EMBL LearningLAB model in their home country. These so-called EMBLconnect courses are part of EMBL’s portfolio of teacher training courses that complement those offerings directly run by the EMBL Science Education and Public Engagement office. The EMBLconnect courses provide teachers from EMBL member states with access to high-quality professional development training in the field of life sciences tailored to the needs of their school system and in their local language, allowing a wider community of teachers to benefit from the EMBL teacher training. 

EMBL Teacher Ambassadors work in close collaboration with the EMBL Science Education and Public Engagement office during the preparation of the EMBLconnect course. The Ambassadors are responsible for the course implementation. EMBL provides professional support to the Ambassadors while developing the agenda of the training and provides teaching and learning materials to cover the scientific and educational aspects of the course as well as feedback templates for course evaluation. These materials may be complemented with additional content provided by the Ambassador. EMBL supports the promotion of the course to the EMBL teacher network. There is a small budget available to cover some costs of the EMBLconnect course which can be used for expenses such as printing or basic catering. 

EMBL Teacher Ambassador Programme

The EMBL Teacher Ambassadors act as the gateway to EMBL professional teacher training for teachers in their home country.

The EMBL Teacher Ambassador programme supports teacher trainers, teachers, and informal educators in running a professional development course for teachers in an EMBL member state and enables them to disseminate information about all teacher training opportunities offered by EMBL. 

EMBL Teacher Ambassadors are trained by EMBL through a dedicated train-the-trainer course that gives them access to training resources that allow them to run teacher training courses termed EMBLconnect courses which are based on the successful EMBL LearningLAB model. After attending the train-the-trainer course, participants receive an Ambassador certificate. Additional certification about running any EMBLconnect courses would be issued accordingly. The Ambassadors receive guidance from EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office on setting up and running an EMBLconnect course. In addition to training and course support, EMBL keeps Ambassadors up to date with the institute’s activities for teachers and young learners. Ambassadors distribute relevant events and educational resources to their teaching and learning communities in their home country.

Benefits for EMBL Teacher Ambassadors

• Getting first-hand insights into EMBL’s latest research and education actions
• Receiving high-quality professional development training in the field of life sciences as part of an established and recognised scheme
• Developing as a professional by gaining first experience as a trainer for teacher professional development or building on your existing experience 
• Benefitting from utilising an established framework of a teacher training scheme linked to the cutting-edge life science research of EMBL
• Making a meaningful contribution to the professional development of teachers in your home country
• Expanding your professional network and becoming part of a dedicated, international community of EMBL Teacher Ambassadors
• Receiving certificates as EMBL Teacher Ambassador and trainer at EMBLconnect course

Please contact us if you have further questions about the Teacher Ambassador Programme or the EMBLconnect scheme.

Accommodation and travel

Location

The course will take place on the EMBL campus in Heidelberg, Germany.

Accommodation

Participants who do not reside in Heidelberg or the region will be provided with single-room accommodation and breakfast free of charge for 2 nights, 7 to 9 October (i.e. Monday to Wednesday) in The Heidelberg Exzellenz Hotel in Heidelberg. If you require accommodation, please indicate this in the application form. Please note that we can only book accommodation for you if you indicate this at the time of application.

If you require accommodation for additional nights/people, please arrange this directly with the hotel at your own cost.

Hotel contact details:
The Heidelberg Exzellenz Hotel
Rohrbacher Straße 29, 69115 Heidelberg
Tel: +49 6221 9150 
E-mail: info@the-heidelberg.de
Website: https://www.the-heidelberg.de

Travel

Travel to Heidelberg and EMBL 
Participants are responsible for organising their travel to and from Heidelberg. Some useful information can be found here: https://www.embl.org/sites/heidelberg/travel/

Getting to EMBL 7-9 October by the EMBL shuttle bus
For those staying in the hotel, a shuttle bus will transfer participants between the hotel and EMBL. Please wait for the shuttle if not otherwise communicated. There will also be a shuttle transfer taking participants from EMBL Heidelberg to the Heidelberg main train station at the end of the course on 9 October. A detailed shuttle schedule will be shared with the course participants before the course begins.

Participants are kindly asked to be on time for the pick-up/drop-off. 

Getting to The Heidelberg Exzellenz Hotel on 7 October
From Heidelberg main station (Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof), you have several options to reach the hotel by public transport:

• Bus line 32, direction “Universitätsplatz” – get off at “Seegarten” bus stop
• Tram line 5, direction “Schriesheim” – get off at “Seegarten” bus stop

You may also consider walking to the hotel: it is a 1.2km distance and it will take you around 16-18 minutes.

Bursaries

Travel expenses to and from the course location in Heidelberg, Germany need to be covered by the course participants.

We have a limited number of travel bursaries available to cover part of an individual’s travel expenses. These bursaries are aimed at participants who would have difficulties attending the course without financial aid. If you would like to apply for a bursary, please fill in the bursary section in the course application form. You will be notified about the success of your bursary application no later than 1st September 2024.

Bursary recipients will receive partial support for their incurred travel costs upon completion of the course. Only complete bursary applications received via the application form will be considered for review.

Eligibility requirements for a travel bursary

• All applicants must be either active in training secondary school teachers or teaching biology to 14-19-year-old students.
• All applicants must be willing to run at least one EMBLconnect course in their home country within 12 months of attending the train-the-trainer course.
• Candidates of any nationality may apply but must be residents of and work in a European country.

Bursaries will be awarded based on:

• Justification of the use of the funds to support your attendance of the train-the-trainer course
• Demonstration of involvement with national teacher/educator networks and a commitment to sharing course materials through these networks
• Commitment to running at least one EMBLconnect course within 12 months of attending the train-the-trainer course.

Application

Please ensure that you have read all course information and are confident that you can attend the train-the-trainer course if your application is successful.

To apply, please fill in the following application form: Application form

Application deadline: 1 September, 2024, 23:00 CEST

You will be notified of the success of your application beginning 18 August 2024. If your application is successful and you have been invited to the train-the-trainer course, we will ask you to confirm your attendance by completing our registration form by the end of September. Please make sure you have access to the internet and email during this period.

Maximum number of participants: 20. 

Minimum number of participants: 15.

Attendance & Cancellations

We ask participants to only apply if they are certain that they can attend the whole course. In case you need to cancel your attendance after having confirmed your participation, please notify us as soon as possible by email, so we can give your place to somebody on our waiting list.

Cancellation fees

Please note that cancellations and non-attendance might jeopardise the viability of the course for other participants, and we may charge a course cancellation fee. If you have indicated your requirement for accommodation, we would have booked a place for you in the course hotel. In the event of cancellation of a course less than 4 weeks prior to the date of the course and you have requested hotel accommodation, the hotel will charge you a penalty fee.

Course programme

Please find below a draft course programme. A detailed programme will be shared with the selected course participants.

07.10.2024_Day 1

• Welcome and introduction to EMBL & SEPE
• Introduction the the EMBL Teacher Ambassador Programme
• Networking
• Dinner at EMBL

08.10.2024_Day 2

• Scientific talks on genomics
• Scientific panel discussion and Q&A
• Introduction the EMBL teaching resource “From DNA to therapy”
• Hands-on: “From DNA to therapy”
• EMBL lab tours
• Dinner in Heidelberg downtown

09.10.2024_Day 3

• Introduction to the EMBLconnect scheme
• Workshop “The right EMBLconnect course for you”
• Best genomics teaching practices & resources
• Course wrap-up 
• Tour of “The World of Molecular Biology” exhibition (optional)