Published: 10th February 2025 09:30 (UTC)

Calling all institutions who are interested in making a difference in astronomy education in schools, at an international level, the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) is announcing an opportunity for institutions with an excellent track record in astronomy-related education. Such institutions have the chance to become “OAE Centers” or “OAE Nodes”, in effect semi-independent branch offices of the OAE. The OAE is the International Astronomical Union’s service organisation in charge of supporting and coordinating astronomy-related education efforts for primary and secondary schools world-wide. Hosting an OAE Center or OAE Node is open to a variety of institutions, from universities and other institutions of higher education to museums, planetariums, science education centres or astronomical societies/associations.

All OAE Centers and OAE Nodes have an international scope, and are decidedly not merely regional offices. They collaborate with astronomy educators worldwide, including the OAE’s network of National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs). The difference between an OAE Center and an OAE Node is in the amount of resources – personnel and funds – the host institution contributes to the OAE mission.

In the words of OAE director Markus Pössel: “Our mission as the IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Education is an ambitious one: to help professionalise astronomy education world-wide, support the creation of excellent teaching resources in numerous languages, and to forge connections between the astronomy education communities in different countries. We couldn’t do this without our OAE Centers and Nodes: top-tier institutions committed to international cooperation in astronomy education who provide invaluable support for our joint mission. And we are happy to announce that now, additional institutions have the opportunity to join this select group!”

Institutions interested in hosting an OAE Node or OAE Center are asked to send a Letter of Intent to oae​atastro4edu.org, stating their intent and providing basic information about their institution (in terms of staffing, resources, recent activities) and its capacity for hosting an OAE Center or OAE Node. More information on applying to be a Center or Node can be found in the document below. For the current round of applications, letters of intent should reach the OAE by 31 March 2025, but this is an open call, and letters of intent reaching the OAE at a later date will be considered in due course.