"la Caixa" Banking Foundation (FBLC) is a Spanish private foundation that has as mission to contribute to the advance of people and society. FBLC ranks among the top 10 world foundations considering either endowment or annual budget. Since 1982 FBLC manages prestigious fellowship programmes. FBLC will launch a new doctoral programme, INPhINIT, in October 2016 that will increase the transnational, inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary mobility of researchers, in line with the European Charter for Researchers, the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers and the EU Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training. With a budget of 19,489,896 EUR (25% EU contribution, 75% FBLC own resources) and a duration of 5 years, the INPhINIT programme will have two calls and recruit 114 Early-Stage Researchers of any nationality willing to join an excellent host organisation in Spain, in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), including Bio and Health Sciences, areas in which Spain excels and has a critical mass to have impact. Researchers will be enrolled in a Doctoral Programme and be hosted by one of the 51 centres that collaborate with the programme. Host organisations hold certificates of excellences issued by the Spanish Government. Selection process will be open, transparent and merit-based and count with independent experts from different countries and sectors, with diverse and relevant expertise, seeking gender balance. ESRs will enjoy 3-year employment contracts with the host organisation of their choice (bottom-up approach), with the corresponding social security provisions. Researchers will establish a personal development career plan including transnational, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility opportunities. COFUND support will allow INPhINIT to recruit a larger number of researchers and reinforce its impact, as well as to further disseminate the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions high standards for research training.

"la Caixa" Foundation (LCF) is a Spanish private foundation with a solid tradition as an innovative institution. LCF ranks among the top 10 world foundations considering either endowment or annual budget. LCF fellowship framework programme has awarded 4,771 fellowships since 1982. Junior Leader is an existing LCF fellowship programme addressed to excellent experienced researchers of all nationalities willing to join one of the outstanding research centres in Spain or Portugal in the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Junior Leader aims to train a new generation of researchers to become independent leaders, oriented towards both academia and industry, that will help to develop the European knowledge economy. LCF now is seeking support from the COFUND action with the aim to strength Junior Leader programme and the professional career development of the fellows. Thanks to the COFUND support, LCF will be able to enlarge the existing programme of 44 fellowships by adding 16 more fellowships, offering fellows an outstanding, more complete training as well as more networking possibilities thanks to a new secondment scheme. Junior Leader will award 60 fellowships divided into two calls. The programme will have a duration of 60 months. Fellows will freely propose a research project to be carried out at one of the 110 Spanish and Portuguese research centres certified as excellent that collaborate with the programme. Researchers will be selected by means of an open, transparent and merit-based three-stages selection process with independent evaluators. Junior Leader fellows will be offered 3-year employment contracts with the host organisation of their choice following a bottom-up approach.

With this project we want to bring the figure of the researcher and his work closer to the entire society. For this reason, we organize events in diferent areas of the country, we carry out actions in educational centers and we will organize activities in rural areas, disadvantaged neighborhoods, activities for people with special needs and specific activities of interest for elderly people. We want to include all areas and audiences of society. To do this, we present this project between 2 coordinators and an associated entity that complement each other. We include an entity with great experience in this project and actions to disseminate and bring science closer to society in general and an entity with a national dimension, which covers the field of culture, research and education throughout the country. All this is complemented by the participation of an associate, the Spanish association against cancer; that combines research and dissemination at the national level.

Our priority is that through this project all project partners will be collaborating with the youth workers and with the youth to engage them in informal education in relation to STEAM and science communication. Moreover, sharing the knowledge and experiences would enhance the projects' outputs; namely the interactive resource including a high quality video of a science show, and public speaking/ debate skills sets. Youth participation strengthens personal and social development, provides expertise for youth programmes and services, and promotes a more democratic society. In the context of complex inter-generational challenges such as climate change and sustainable development, it is increasingly important for scientists and policy-makers to actively engage with and support the meaningful participation of youth in policy and decision-making.Art, theatre and storytelling will be used as media for youth upskilling and engagement. The first phase of the project will involve a triangulation research with youth and the surrounding communities and a training programme by a well established cultural organisation in which together with the youth entity will provide a comprehensive upskilling programme for science communicators on collaborating with youth. Using the research and the training through several matchmaking sessions youth workers, science communicators, artists and the youth will work together to produce the interactive resource. Transnational meetings will be used for the science centres, youth agency and the artistic organisation to monitor progress and plan ahead. Upon its completion the interactive resource will be presented during the three non formal multiplier events named Youth Science Cafes. During these multiplier events youth will be actively involved in their organisation and will also actively participate in the science show and science cafe. These multiplier events will be targeting more youths through the participation from the surrounding communities. Through these cafes, youths are presented with the opportunity to speak about their involvement in informal education; in connection to science communication and STEAM subjects. Furthermore, the interactive resource would be freely available to the public on the Websites of science centres. The innovative aspect of this project is that the science show would be developed on the basis of research conducted as part of this project in collaboration with the Youth Agency, involving the youths. Further more, a concluding conference would be held in Malta bringing together representatives from stakeholders in non formal education, science communication, youth work, youths and the art sectors. The conference will enable sharing of best practices and experiences, dissemination of the project outputs through the active involvement of the youths and specific workshops.

Varios informes y estudios nos advierten sobre el declive de las vocaciones científicas en la última década. La educación en ciencias actual no es capaz de cambiar las actitudes negativas y la falta de interés de los estudiantes. La situación es alarmante desde una perspectiva de género, si tenemos en cuenta que las mujeres han pasado de una presencia del 35% en el sector tecnológico en 1980 a un exiguo 15% en la actualidad.Al mismo tiempo, un análisis más detallado de los procesos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes reveló que los estudiantes que reciben instrucción basada en la indagación (IBL-inquiry-based learning) participan, en gran medida, en procesos de elaboración relacionados con el razonamiento sobre las expectativas y la integración del conocimiento. Las actividades de aprendizaje cuidadosamente diseñadas fomentan actividades efectivas de construcción colaborativa de conocimiento.Por lo tanto, el objetivo principal de MissToHit es crear recursos educativos que entidades de educación formal, no-formal e informal puedan utilizar, relacionadas con STEM y basadas en objetos físicos siguiendo una metodología de aprendizaje basado en la indagación (IBL). Para lograrlo, se deben abordar varios objetivos:1) Analizar la actitud y habilidad STEM de educadores y estudiantes de nivel secundario.2) Diseñar y desarrollar experimentos basados en objetos físicos -lúdicos- siguiendo una metodología de aprendizaje basada en la indagación.3) Desarrollar un sitio web para compartir los recursos generados: unidades didácticas y modelos de objetos físicos en 3D para llevar a cabo los experimentos, listos para imprimir en una impresora 3D de bajo costo o similar.4) Diseñar y promover una metodología innovadora para contribuir al repositorio existente de actividades de aprendizaje, experimentos u objetos físicos por parte de la comunidad educativa.5) Evaluar la calidad y el impacto del proyecto, tanto en términos de actitudes y habilidades STEM, como la calidad de la metodología y los materiales desarrollados.Los principales destinatarios de los resultados del proyecto son Educadores y Estudiantes, en escenarios de aprendizaje formales (escuelas) e informales (por ejemplo, museos de ciencias). Dentro de la comunidad MissToHit, los estudiantes y educadores pueden adoptar varias funciones: a) consumidores de recursos de aprendizaje creados previamente; o b) proveedores de conocimientos de aprendizaje: conceptos erróneos, ideas de experimentos, sugerencias o nuevos enfoques. Los investigadores/as y otras partes interesadas (industria, organismos públicos, etc.) también están invitados a contribuir a la creación de materiales de aprendizaje que coincidan con la práctica diaria en museos y aulas.El consorcio está integrado por siete socios de tres países (España, Holanda, Italia). Hay tres entidades de I+D: Universidad de Deusto, ES (coordinador del proyecto); la Universidad de Twente, NL, e IBIMET-CNR, IT; dos museos de ciencia: NEMO, NL y Fundación La Caixa, ES; una empresa especializada en impresión 3D, Interzonas, ES; y una escuela secundaria con un fuerte énfasis en innovación tecnológica y de aprendizaje, Sensale, IT.Como resultado, se han desarrollado 10 unidades didácticas que abordan errores de conceptos en áreas STEM del currículum de educación secundaria (p.e. luz, efecto invernadero, conductividad, fuerzas, etc.). Las 27 actividades siguen un enfoque de aprendizaje basado en la indagación y utiliza objetos cotidianos para responder a las preguntas de investigación planteadas a los estudiantes. En algunos casos también se proporcionan modelos 3D para construir el set de objetos de experimentación, que se pueden imprimir en impresoras 3D del centro o entidades cercanas. Además, la innovadora metodología propuesta es la base para continuar desarrollando actividades STEM siguiendo este enfoque.Para obtener estos resultados, se han realizado las siguientes acciones:- Puesta en común de los currículum STEM de secundaria de los tres países participantes (España, Italia, Holanda).- Identificación y selección de los errores de concepto que se van a abordar, dentro de las áreas comunes del currículum STEM. Se ha consultado a más de 60 docentes para realizar la selección final de errores de concepto.- Diseño, desarrollo y revisión interna de cada unidad didáctica. En ciclos iterativos entre los diferentes socios se han ido refinando y mejorando las actividades planteadas, para ajustarlas al enfoque MisstoHit y para poder ser útiles a la comunidad educativa.- Pruebas externas, pilotaje con estudiantes y docentes fuera del consorcio. Esto ha permitido tener una visión más objetiva de los resultados, y mejorarlos con sus aportaciones.- Gestión y coordinación del proyecto: gestión administrativa y financiera, difusión, coordinación de los socios, etc.Todos los recursos generados, así como la web del proyecto, están en inglés, castellano, euskera, catalán, holandés e italiano. Son abiertos y gratuitos.