LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR DIE PADAGOGIKDER NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN UND MATHEMATIK AN DER UNIVERSITAT KIEL

Their core work

IPN is Germany's dedicated research institute for empirical science and mathematics education, based at the University of Kiel. Their core work is studying how science and mathematics are taught and learned — from classroom pedagogy and teacher professional development to public science communication and informal learning environments such as science centers. In H2020, they contributed expertise to projects using marine biology and marine mammals as engagement contexts to attract young people into science careers, and to building research frameworks for STEAM education centres that integrate ICT tools, interactive media, and entrepreneurship. They function as an evidence base for educational design, not as a curriculum publisher or training provider.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects fall within a narrow 2016–2017 window, so temporal spread is limited, but a meaningful shift is visible. The earlier Marine Mammals project used a specific scientific domain — marine biology — as a motivational hook for science education and career attraction, with teacher training as the delivery mechanism. The later CSRC project moved toward a broader infrastructure focus: establishing research frameworks for science centers, integrating ICT and interactive media, and adding entrepreneurship and innovation to the education agenda. This suggests IPN was moving from subject-specific pedagogical research toward building the institutional and methodological foundations for STEAM education at a systemic level.

IPN appears to be broadening from discipline-specific science education research toward systemic STEAM education frameworks that incorporate digital tools, science communication infrastructure, and entrepreneurship — making them a stronger fit for cross-sector education innovation projects than for single-discipline STEM initiatives.

How they like to work

IPN has participated exclusively as a consortium partner across both H2020 projects, never taking a coordinator role. This is consistent with their profile as a specialist research contributor — bringing empirical education expertise into broader European networks rather than leading project management. With 22 unique partners across just 2 projects, they join large, diverse consortia, which indicates they are comfortable operating in multi-actor coordination environments typical of CSA projects.

IPN has built connections with 22 distinct consortium partners across 10 countries from only 2 projects, reflecting active participation in broad European education and science communication networks. No single-country concentration is apparent, suggesting a genuinely pan-European collaboration footprint despite a modest H2020 track record.

What sets them apart

IPN is one of very few European research institutes whose entire mandate is the empirical study of how science and mathematics education works — not delivering education, but researching it. This gives them a rare evidence-generation role that most universities and education ministries cannot fill internally. For consortium builders needing rigorous evaluation, pedagogical framework design, or science communication research capacity, IPN brings institutional credibility and a long track record in German and European science education policy that far exceeds what their small H2020 funding footprint suggests.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Marine Mammals
  The largest-funded project (EUR 75,000) and the more unusual concept — using marine mammals as a scientific context to simultaneously attract youth to science careers and develop teacher training materials, a cross-domain approach that distinguishes it from generic STEM outreach.
• CSRC
  Broader in ambition than its small budget (EUR 20,000) suggests — aimed at establishing an entire research centre framework for STEAM education, science communication, and innovation, pointing to IPN's role in building European institutional capacity for science education research.