Native Scientist awarded research grant from the University of Tübingen

Last October, Native Scientist entered a new partnership with the University of Tübingen. By working with Tübingen’s renowned Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology and the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, Native Scientist will be able to evaluate and improve their innovative STEM+LANG outreach and enrichment programmes.

Native Scientist is now pleased to announce that it has been awarded a competitive grant from Tübingen’s Exploration Fund, which supports innovative and interdisciplinary research projects.

The Exploration Fund will provide financial support to evaluate how the Native Scientist workshops impact pupils’ attitude towards science and their heritage languages and the scientists’ motivation and perception towards their own work. The research will be conducted in collaboration with leading psychologists and linguists from the University of Tübingen. Over 200 migrant pupils, aged 6-14 years old, and 40 scientists participating in workshops delivered mainly in Germany and the UK, will be tested. The initial focus will be on Portuguese as a heritage language, with the possibility of expanding to Spanish, German, French and Italian migrant children.

Joana Moscoso and Tatiana Correia, founders and directors of Native Scientist, said: “Measuring and tracking the impact of our work has been a priority since day one, and we are thrilled that we will be able to do so in collaboration with leading scientists at Tübingen. We are very thankful to the University of Tübingen for their openness in embracing this project.”

Professor Patrick Rebuschat, Distinguished International Professor at Tübingen’s LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, who is a collaborator in the project and led the application to the Exploration Fund, added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for a first systematic study of the impact of the Native Scientist workshops on both pupils and scientists. We can use this important data to further improve the quality of the workshops and to prepare future large-scale studies.”

Professor Ulrich Trautwein, Director of the Hector Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology and of the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, and Dr Julia Schiefer, who are collaborators in the project, commented: “it’s a great starting point to get the evaluation of this concept of science plus language workshops a step forward.”

Native Scientist is an award-winning European-wide non-profit organisation that promotes cultural diversity in science, education and society. Native Scientist provides science and language workshops, science communication training, and bespoke projects for various institutions, including schools, universities and embassies. The work developed connects pupils with scientists to foster science and language literacy through role modelling and science and language integrated learning. Founded in 2013, their work reaches over 1,200 pupils a year and they count with a network of over 1,000 international scientists.

For more information, please email Joana (joana.moscoso@nativescientist.com).

In the photo, from left to right: Prof Patrick Rebuschat, Native Scientist R&D Advisor, LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen; Prof Jessika Golle, Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen; Dr Joana Moscoso, Co-founder and Director of Native Scientist; Dr Julia Schiefer, Hector Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen; Prof Ulrich Trautwein, Director of Hector Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology and of the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen.