The Lab-on-a-Chip teaching kit, developed with the help of the technology company Micronit. |
The
fourth conference in the Twente Mastership series will be held at the
University of Twente on Thursday 26 January. This conference is intended
to build bridges between secondary and higher education. The theme of
the conference is “from research to teaching concept”. To mark the
occasion, Prof. Albert van den Berg will present the first
“Lab-on-a-Chip” teaching kits to Prof. Ed Brinksma, rector magnificus of
the University of Twente, and to the first school scheduled to test the
kit.
Lab-on-a-chip
technology is an important field of study in nanotechnology. Thousands
of researchers throughout the world are attempting to miniaturize
complex laboratory tests to such an extent that they will fit onto glass
slides measuring just a few square centimetres. Van den Berg, the
winner of the 2009 Spinoza Prize, has stated that this technology should
be given a place in education, so that schoolchildren can carry out
their own experiments on chips. Development work has now reached the
stage at which the first schools can start testing the teaching module.
This
teaching module and practical class set were developed by a TDT
(Teacher Development Team) led by Dr J.J. Wietsma, a secondary school
teacher at the Greijdanus College who also lectures at the University of
Twente. Within the context of the TDT, secondary school teachers
encounter experts from universities, universities of applied sciences,
and industry. The conference will include over 30 workshops at which
participants can learn to use this teaching resource in the Twente
Academy Schools Lab. The workshops provide both the in-depth knowledge
required for subject renewal in schools and a wider focus for general
themes such as entrepreneurship, use of voice, educational games,
connected learning, and the online learning environment.
