Cell Explorers Presents the GROWS Project at EUSEA 2023!

Dr. Kristin Anderson, GROWS (Giving Real Opportunities to Widen Participation in STEM) Project Manager, recently presented updates on the project at this year’s European Union Science Engagement Association (EUSEA) Conference in Bolzano, Italy.

EUSEA is an international community of science communicators and public engagement professionals. The topic of this year’s conference was ‘Pathfinders on a Mission! Exploring Engagement in a Complex World’. The conference hosted many stimulating and engaging talks tackling the issues of today’s complex world – from climate change to youth outreach to trust in science to communicating with multiple stakeholders.

A major theme across all the talks and posters was the idea of co-creation, where multiple stakeholders create solutions together as we work within an every increasingly interconnected world. This message strongly resonates with Cell Explorers and the GROWS project as everything has been created with many collaborators, leaning on expertise within communities and from experts in field. These include Foróige, National Youth Council Ireland, TULSA, University of Sanctuaries, University of Galway Access Centre, Kinderburo, and more.

Kristin’s presentation was titled: ‘Giving Real Opportunities to Widen participation in STEM with novel approaches and partnerships’. Her talk highlighted the GROWS project - what we have done during the Fall and Spring semester, and what we discovered along the way. The GROWS project entails the Science Club and Cell Explorers Escape room. The projects work to address the barriers in reaching underserved communities with informal science education programs.

Overview of the GROWS Project Dissemination across County Galway, with a zoom into Galway City below. The markers mark locations where we have run the Science Club and CEER (Cell Explorers Escape Room). Total number of students reached at the date of the conference was 76 in Science Club and 367 in the CEER. Data and experiences from these events were discussed at the conference.

Following the talk, there were great conversations about our ethos, our collaborations, and how the informal science education community can work together to continue to make improvements.

It was a great conference, with many Irish networks and programs present! Not to mention – it took place in an absolutely beautiful city with great weather and with lots of Italian coffee! We look forward to following the progress of all presentations and presenters!

GROWS Project Funding:

The dissemination of the Science Club is supported by the Medtronic Foundation, under the Giving Real Opportunities to Widen participation in STEM (GROWS) project.

About Medtronic Foundation:

The Medtronic Foundation partners to improve lives for underserved and underrepresented populations worldwide, and support communities where Medtronic employees live and give. For more information, please

visit medtronicfoundation.org.