Science Survival Kit Summer School

Split, Croatia

July 15th - August 25th, 2019

Science Survival Kit Summer Semester - in short

About The Science Survival Kit Modules

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  • 5 modules

    to help you learn the science essentials and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue research and entrepreneurial projects.

  • Continuity

    Modules need to be taken sequentially, as they gradually build up the knowledge and skills.

  • 2 levels

    Introductory modules give you the foundations for interdisciplinary life science research, while advanced modules allow you to conduct open ended projects in a supportive environment.

Pedagogical approach

  • Learning by doing
  • Project-based learning
  • Learner-centered design, personalised learning
  • Interdisciplinary approach and design thinking
  • Active work with different systems, from molecules to ecosystems
  • Focus on science and society and UN sustainable development goals
  • Open science and sharing of processes and results
  • Peer-2-peer and self-assessments using real-time and online feedback forms
  • Intergenerational teaching and learning

Teaching tools

  • Online lessons (eLearning) + real-time lectures = hybrid courses
  • Personalised tutoring
  • Individual and team projects in the field and in the lab
  • Programming and hacking, using Python and Arduino
  • Social media science communication, using Twitter and blogging
  • Yearly Science Survival Kit Conference - autumn conference where the projects are presented in the form of talks, posters and short articles published in Proceedings

Research skills

  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Scientific communication
  • Database creation and usage
  • Bibliography
  • Reading and understanding articles
  • Lab notebook
  • Experimental design
  • Data analysis
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Digital literacy
  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Time and project management
  • Learning how to learn and transmit knowledge
  • Innovative and critical thinking
  • Leadership and cooperation
  • Knowing oneself, understanding one’s motivation and emotions

Words of wisdom

Science literacy is the artery through which the solutions of tomorrow's problems flow.

Foundations

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  • Module focus:

    Tools for interdisciplinary science

  • Leading questions:

    What is interdisciplinary science? How do we bring science to everyone?

  • Nature of the project:

    Individual project and Team project. Teams are formed randomly.

Learning objectives

  • Understand and apply basic concepts of programming with Python
  • Create simple electronic circuits using Arduino
  • Understand the difference between research articles, reviews and tertiary sources of knowledge
  • Discuss the epistemological, practical and ethical similarities and differences between experiments and models
  • Implement and keep a lab notebook during wet lab projects
  • Create a professional Twitter account and communicate about science
  • Propose interdisciplinary suggestions to improve museum exhibitions
  • Prepare a scientific communication announcement for general public

Research skills

  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Scientific communication
  • Database creation and usage
  • Reading and understanding articles
  • Lab notebook
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Digital literacy
  • Communication
  • Learning how to learn and transmit knowledge
  • Innovative and critical thinking

Words of wisdom

The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.

Thermal Wars

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  • Module focus:

    Thermodynamics in living systems

  • Leading questions:

    How does temperature influence life on Earth? How do we perform experiments?

  • Nature of the project:

    Team project. Teams are formed randomly.

Learning objectives

  • Understand time and space scales and apply this understanding to experimental design
  • Read an interdisciplinary article and write a short summary of it
  • Practice proposing interdisciplinary research questions
  • Construct data visualisations using Python
  • Create a thermometer using Arduino
  • Propose and perform a one-day project
  • Report the project findings as a presentation and a blog post for the general audience

Research skills

  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Scientific communication
  • Database creation and usage
  • Reading and understanding articles
  • Lab notebook
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Time and project management
  • Innovative and critical thinking
  • Knowing oneself, understanding one’s motivation and emotions

Words of wisdom

Nothing in life is certain except death, taxes and the second law of thermodynamics.

LabSprint

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  • Module focus:

    Ecology and Microorganisms

  • Leading questions:

    How do we learn more about microorganisms? Why and when should we use hypothesis-driven and data-driven research?

  • Nature of the project:

    Individual project. Feedback sessions done in teams based on the common subject.

Learning objectives

  • Apply the laboratory skills in sterile working environment
  • Invent quantitative measuring tools
  • Understand the basic techniques in field work
  • Determine the organisms collected during a field trip
  • Plan an experimental project using limited resources and time
  • Visualise the acquired data using Python
  • Report project findings as a presentation, as a poster and as a report for the scientific audience, and a blog post for general audience

Research skills

  • Scientific communication
  • Bibliography
  • Lab notebook
  • Experimental design
  • Data analysis
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Time and project management
  • Innovative and critical thinking
  • Knowing oneself, understanding one’s motivation and emotions

Words of wisdom

If you don't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.

Biosensors - Advanced module, available in summer 2020

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  • Module focus:

    Sensing the Environment and Biomimicry

  • Leading questions:

    What is the difference between electronic and biological sensing? How do apply biological knowledge to improve artificial systems?

  • Nature of the project:

    Team project. Teams are formed randomly.

Learning objectives

  • Determine and compare the characteristics of electronic and biological sensors
  • Propose scientific questions to gain insight into how different systems sense the environment, from bacteria and plants, to humans
  • Practice leadership and different team roles in different teams
  • Apply programming and engineering skills to develop prototypes using Arduino
  • Acquire quantitative data and visualise / analyse data with Python
  • Document and share project material openly on the web
  • Continually report on the project advancement using live tweeting
  • Report the project findings as a presentation and as a blog post, for the final project also as a poster and as a report for the scientific audience

Research skills

  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Scientific communication
  • Bibliography
  • Experimental design
  • Data analysis
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Digital literacy
  • Communication
  • Time and project management
  • Innovative and critical thinking
  • Leadership and cooperation
  • Knowing oneself, understanding one’s motivation and emotions

Words of wisdom

Science is about knowing; engineering is about doing.

SeaSprint - Advanced module, available in summer 2020

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  • Module focus:

    Ecology and Marine Life

  • Leading questions:

    How can we learn about marine life and environment with minimal perturbations? What can we do to raise awareness about environment using science?

  • Nature of the project:

    Team project in the field. Teams are formed based on interests/motivation.

Learning objectives

  • Propose a marine life project focused on observation in the field
  • Investigate and apply scientific concepts from different disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology)
  • Develop needed tools to execute the project
  • Implement rigorous quantitative data acquisition protocols
  • Perform statistical analysis of data
  • Document and share project material openly on the web
  • Continually report on the project advancement using live tweeting
  • Report the project findings as a presentation, blog post, poster and report
  • Organize a science outreach event to share the findings with the general audience (local community and tourists)

Research skills

  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Scientific communication
  • Database creation and usage
  • Experimental design
  • Data analysis
  • Responsible conduct in science

Transversal skills

  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Time and project management
  • Learning how to learn and transmit knowledge
  • Innovative and critical thinking
  • Leadership and cooperation

Words of wisdom

The ocean is this beautiful, unexplored place. Why on Earth everyone isn't down there, I don't know.