EUropean CERamic MATerials


The aim of the European Ceramic Materials (EUCERMAT) project is to significantly contribute to changing

the general opinion about ceramics materials in Europe :

  • new modern ways of teaching ceramic science and technology in the European universities,
  • strongly correlated research projects between universities and industries,
  • innovative ways of communication towards the general public and the high schools.

 

Those actions leading to the creation of a new methodology based on a relevant functioning of the knowledge triangle in the domain of ceramic material.


5 Universities

2 Research Institutes

4 Companies

1 Federaction of National ceramic societies

1 High-school



News


PORTUGAL - Implementation of the Materials Science Teacher Demonstration Kit
The Elementary and Secondary School of the Anadia Group of Schools became the first high school in Portugal to receive the Materials Science Teacher Demonstration Kit.

From left to right: Professor Paula M. Vilarinho, DEMaC, UA, and Teachers Aníbal Manuel Marques da Silva, Isabel Maria Boiça da Costa, Anabela dos Reis Nunes and Fátima Maria da Costa Branco of the Elementary and Secondary School of the Anadia Group of Schools.



Kits for Portuguese schools are still available !

DEMaC expects in the near future to implement more of these Kits in other portuguese schools!

If you are from the teaching staff of a Portugues school and you want to receive the Kit to implement it to your classroom, please contact Paula Maria Vilarinho () and Ana Ribeiro ().

The outreach activities of the Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering (DEMaC) of the University of Aveiro (UA) marked an important moment on May 8, 2019.

As part of the EUCERMAT project within the activities for the innovative promotion of ceramic science, and supported by the JECS Trust of the European Ceramic Society (ECerS), and System Ceramics (Italy) the first Materials Science Teacher Demonstration Kit was delivered to the Elementary and Secondary School of the Anadia Group of Schools, in Portugal.  The delivery ceremony took place took place at Maker’s Lab (of the Electroceramics Group) at DEMaC.

This is an important moment, since from now on, and in an integrated way, experimental work on materials and materials science can be incorporated into the curricula of the basic science disciplines of secondary education: these are usually absent in the teaching of these subjects.

The Materials Science Teacher Demonstration Kit was originally created by the American Ceramic Society to help teachers to teach Materials Science subjects, in an interactive and engaging way for both the student and the teacher.

The objective of the Kit, besides facilitating education in the subject of Materials Science, by making scientific concepts relevant, interesting and appealing, is also intended to alert young people, many of whom are in the decision making phase on what to study at the university, to the subject of Materials Science and its importance for current and future societal challenges.

DEMaC develops regular outreach activities with elementary and secondary schools. However, in its portfolio of activities, it lacked this fundamental tool, which is a set of demonstrators of Properties and Applications of Materials that can be easily implemented in secondary school laboratories.

What's in the Kit?

The Kit contains:

– A set of experiments on Materials for 9 demonstrations and lab activities for multiple uses
– The Teacher’s Manual, an illustrated guide that includes background information, learning objectives, keywords, materials lists, safety precautions, detailed instructions, demo delivery hints, teacher discussion questions, and student question handouts
– A thumb drive that contains an introductory PowerPoint presentation, an electronic version of the Teacher’s Manual, instructional videos for each demonstration and lab activity, and study guides for each chapter of The Magic of Ceramics

For further information about the Material Science Teacher Demonstration Kit click here

Final Dissemination Event, 23/05/2018, Brussels

EUCERMAT: a bridge between education, research and industry in the field of ceramic sciences

Représentation de la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine à Bruxelles
21, rue Montoyer – 1000 Brussels

9h – 14h

The event aimed sharing and disseminating the final outcomes of the project:

  • Good practices to promote ceramic sciences in Europe

  • Implementation of a common Master programme in blended mobility : How to design or re-design teaching units for blended delivery? How to implement a common module in Master Degree?

  • Strengthening of the knowledge triangle in the field of ceramic science: Creation of a dedicated Industrial Network gathering universities, research institute and companies across Europe; Elaboration of a chart giving the general terms and conditions of functioning of the network; Implementation of tutored projects of research for students organised between companies and universities.

  • New roadmap of emerging industry requirements in ceramics science.

During this meeting, the project’s outputs have been presented in detail. The contents of this meeting is of interest for universities, entreprises and research centres involved in ceramic activities as well as in other fields of science. Beside, relevant well known speakers in the field from across Europe have given talks and share good practices in their field of expertise.


Sustainibility and recycling, 08/03/2018, Ilhavo (Portugal)
Prof Doutor João Labrincha, DEMaC, Universidade de Aveiro

Under the auspices of EUCERMAT, and in conjunction with ENG4F, Agrupamento de Escolas de Ílhavo, Escola Profissional de Aveiro (EPA), and the University of Aveiro, Prof Doutor João Labrincha, DEMaC, Universidade de Aveiro will present a lecture on March 8 at Ílhavo Secondary School, under the theme of Sustainability an Recycling.

This activity was targeted to students of the 5 to 9th grade of High School aiming to raise the awareness of high school students and lecturers of materials, ceramics materials and their current importance in a modern society.


What are Nanotechnologies?, 25/01/2018, Ilhavo (Portugal)
Prof. Paula Maria Silveirinha Vilarinho, DEMaC, University of Aveiro

Under the auspices of EUCERMAT an ERASMUS + Project, and in conjunction with ENG4F, Agrupamento de Escolas de Ílhavo, Escola Profissional de Aveiro (EPA), and the University of Aveiro, a lecture was held on January 25 at Ílhavo Secondary School, under the theme of Nanotechnologies.

This activity was targeted to students of the 5 to 9th grade of High School aiming to raise the awareness of high school students and lecturers of materials, ceramics materials and their current importance in a modern society.

Within this context Professor Paula Maria Silveirinha Vilarinho, from the University of Aveiro, presented a talk on Nanotechnologies.

The approximately 80 students that attend to the talk, were introduced to concepts such as the manometer scale, how big is a manometer, materials properties at the nanoscale, what is expected to achieve with their use, such as clean, safe and low-cost energy; stronger and lighter materials; more effective medical devices and medicines; among others. It has also been shown that its use raises important issues in the health. There is now a great debate about the extent to which nanotechnologies will be beneficial or maleficent to health.

In conclusion, it was said that Nanotechnologies have come to stay and are the new revolutionary force.


ENGINEERING AND BIOMATERIALS, 14/12/2017, Aveiro (Portugal)
Prof. Maria Helena Fernandes, DEMaC, University of Aveiro

Under the auspices of EUCERMAT, and in conjunction with ENG4F, Agrupamento de Escolas de Ílhavo, Escola Profissional de Aveiro (EPA) and the University of Aveiro, a workshop was held on December 14 at Ílhavo Secondary School, under the theme of Engineering and Materials.

The program included activities targeted to students of the 5 to 9th grade of High School aiming to raise the awareness of high school students and lecturers of materials, ceramics materials and their current importance in a modern society.

Within this context Professor Maria Helena Fernandes, from the University of Aveiro, presented a talk on Biomaterials. Following the talk and discussion on the topic, laboratory experiments related to the subject of materials using the “American Ceramic Society Materials Science Kit” were carried out.

This working day raised the awareness to the world of engineering and its importance today, to promote a professional career in technology and engineering, and at the same time to attract more young people for these same areas.


65th Congress of the UDPPC, 30/10/2017, Limoges (France)
Pedagogical Kit’s presentation and demonstration

The French union of physics and chemistry professors (UDPPC), founded in 1960, aims at studying and improving the training conditions in sciences of physics and chemistry by gathering and then disseminating all the pedagogical data and processes in this field. The union is composed of several thousand members from the 28 French Academies and representing all the educational levels (high-schools professors, academics, researchers, etc.). 

The 65th congress took place in Limoges by 28-31 October 2017, during which the EUCERMAT project has been first presented during the plenary session of the meeting,  with150 members attending. Then, 3 workshops of 1h30 were organized with small groups of less than 15 participants to present good practices able to raise the awareness of high-school students regarding the opportunities offered by the field of ceramics for applications and research.

The main tool presented was the Pedagogical Kit developed by The American Ceramic Society and improved by the EUCERMAT partners.  Following this workshops, many teachers have demonstrated a specific interest in the kit’s experiences and are ready for a potential implementation within their own classes. The Université de Limoges is currently under discussion to allow them to use this tool which had a great success


Integration week, 23-27/10/2017, Limoges (France)
Master programme 2017-2018

As every year the EUCERMAT Master programme has been launched by Integration Week organised in Limoges gathering together the students involved on the curricula.

This week allowed the second cohort of EUCERMAT students to meet each other, but also to meet and to exchange with the industrials, teachers and researchers involved in the program.

Main menu: general overview of the project (objective, expected results, target groups, etc.), visits in the field of ceramic materials, introduction to the e-learning training, interviews with industrials in order to be selected for a Master thesis in a foreign company, etc.

Calendar 2017-2018

  • Integration week: 23-27/10/2017
  • E-learning course: 06-24/11/2017
  • Practical lab course: 26/02/2018-02/03/2018
  • Tutored project: From March 2018 to at the latest August 2018 

Workshop, 27/09/2017, Aveiro (Portugal)
Establishing the good practices for the Education of Materials and Ceramics Science and Engineering

On September 27th, in the framework of the EUCERMAT project, the Universidade de Aveiro has organised a workshop to establish the good practices for the education of materials and ceramic science and engineering. Throughout talks, working groups, brainstorming and experiments demonstrations, allowed to :

  • Define good practices on new modern ways of teaching in Europe via strongly correlated project between high-schools, universities and industries; and by innovative ways of communication towards the general public and schools.
  • Establish how to introduce this topic in high-school curricula
  • Create an European network in the field
  • Present the Pedagogical Kit from the American Ceramic Society

The workshop gathered fifty experts on the field of education (primary and secondary school teachers, academics, technological centers, guidance conselors, etc.).


EUCERMAT Master programme
An illustration of the strengthening of the knowledge triangle

Within EUCERMAT five European universities and around fifteen industries work together offering a meaningful and unique learning experience for master students through high level international training courses in the field of the science of ceramic materials and processing.

In 2016-2017, the EUCERMAT programme counts with thirteen top level master students currentkly taking part to the blended mobility, a mix between physical mobility abroad, and virtual mobility, thanks to on line courses.

This modern way of teaching aims to strengthen the knowledge triangle (education, research and industry), training students to become researchers able to reach industrial innovation in accordance to the ceramic material market expectations.

The year has been launched by the organization of an integration week held in November 2016 in Limoges. The whole week has been organized around the existing bridge between teachings, students and industries.

EUCERMAT Master programme

The applications for the EUCERMAT programme 2017-2018 are closed. For further information click here.

EUCERMAT is co-funded  by the Erasmus + programme. Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train gain experience, and volunteers abroad.