Today at 24 of July 2020 director of the State Education Development Agency (VIAA) Dita Traidas and director of Ventspils Digital Centre Elina Kronkalne signed an agreement on the implementation of financial instrument programme of the European Economic Area and Norway (EEA/N), which includes the development of education programmes for children and young people, as well as equipment for teachers and implementation of interactive educational activities at the future Science and Innovation Centre in Ventspils.
Over the course of next three years the EEA/N project “Foundation of an Innovation Centre in Ventspils” aims to develop and implement 20 interest education programmes and a variety of interactive measures to ensure the progress of the knowledge of children, pupils and students of pre-school age, as well as the evolution of teaching skills for educators in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and science and information technologies (IT). “This project already stands as a serious example of the sustainable development of youth science centres and their role in society. The centre will provide an opportunity to increase the interest of young people in STEM areas, so I hope that its creation will attract children and young people of different ages and strengthen their knowledge and choice of career in the science field,” says VIAA Director Dita Traidas.
The project implementers will form 16 programmes in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics for four phases of education – pre-school, primary school, elementary school, secondary school and university. Whereas four educational programmes will be developed to improve teachers’ knowledge and skills in working with children and young people by providing knowledge of STEM subjects. For interactive practice and experiments, there will be a purchase for mobile demonstration equipment. During the project, 12 interactive educational activities will be created and will include technically creative workshops and science shows.
The project will also evolve a variety of experience exchange activities, such as the employees of Norway’s Bergen Science Centre VilVite will train and share the experience with employees of the Ventspils Innovation Centre, both in the implementation of interest education programmes and in matters relating to the day-to-day operation of the centre. At the same time, the creation of business incubator, business accelerator and universal office space for attracting and supporting young entrepreneurs and creating new jobs will be another significant creation in the building of Innovation Centre.
The project “Foundation of an Innovation Centre in Ventspils” is financed by the EEA/N Grants programme “Research and Education”. The projects total cost is EUR 2 011 676,00, of which EUR 1 538 931,80 is co-financed by the Norway Grants, EUR 271 576,20 – co-financing of the Latvian State budget, and EUR 201 168,00 – co-financing by the municipality of Ventspils. The Ventspils Digital Centre project will be enacted in close cooperation between the partners involved in the project – the Bergen Science Centre VilVite in Norway and the University of Ventspils, as well as other science and innovation centres in Latvia. The plan is to finish the Ventspils Science and Innovation Centre by January 2022.
Subscribe to news
Receive notifications of the latest contests, news and news events in programs that are important to you!
Report Irregularities
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and mismanagement in the EEA and Norway Grants. We strongly encourage you to share your concerns and report suspected irregularities.