University of Cyprus

University of Cyprus (UCY) is a public university with around 6000 undergraduates, 1000 Masters and PhD students, and 350 faculty members. Its Department of Education offers undergraduate programs in primary and preprimary education, a pre-service postgraduate secondary education program, and seven postgraduate programs. As the country’s largest teacher training institution, UCY is the sole provider of pre-service secondary teacher training and leads national curriculum reform. It trains about 100 pre-service and 100 in-service teachers annually. The “Research in Science and Technology Education Group” (ReSciTEG) at UCY plays a key role in supporting STEM education in Cyprus, conducting research, curriculum development, and teacher training. Led by Prof. Zacharias Zacharia, ReSciTEG spearheads curriculum reform in science, technology, and STEAM education for K-12. The group is also active in teacher training programs on curriculum design, assessment, technology-enhanced learning, and inquiry-based STEM education. Additionally, ReSciTEG supports the Ministry of Education’s eLearning strategy through projects on multimedia environments for science education.

Role:  UCY will coordinate the efforts of training programme and learning material(WP3) while contributing to the development of the framework (WP2), to all training activities (WP5) and community building in Cyprus (WP4). UCY as a university that provides initial training for teachers is highly committed in updating its own education programme with the outcomes of the STEAM NEXT STEP Academy as well as with its accreditation.