Published: 17th March 2025 10:30 (UTC)

We are excited to announce the annual call for the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) Teacher Training Programme 2025. This is an opportunity for the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs), Astronomers, Teachers and anyone working in astronomy education, to submit a proposal to host a teacher training workshop in their country or region. One of the OAE’s objectives is to professionalise astronomy education, as such we are dedicated to developing and uploading a framework in which astronomy teacher training globally can be held and supported. For the 2025 edition of the TTP, the OAE is working on the Transparency Standards for Astronomy Teacher Training Workshops. These standards will serve as a guideline to help TTP proposers structure and refine their training programs.

We invite and encourage anyone working in astronomy education with their NAECs to submit proposals for financial support of up to 2000 Euros, to organise and run the teacher training and professional development workshop in 2025 or early 2026. In addition, this grant encourages an active collaboration between a NAEC team member, a local teacher, and an astronomer. This team will work together to create and conduct a teacher training workshop tailored to their specific preferences, where teachers will be empowered with the astronomy knowledge and skills they could use in their classrooms.

Collaboration with a NAEC team member is a prerequisite for submitting proposals, teachers and/or astronomers interested in leading a workshop are encouraged to connect with a NAEC in their country for potential collaboration. The OAE currently has NAECs in approximately 111 countries worldwide. Associate NAECs will be treated on par with the NAECs but need a co-sign of a NAEC team member of their country. In the previous year, OAE proudly supported 21 TTP workshops worldwide. Special thanks to OAE Center Italy, OAE Center India, and the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) for their dedicated funding support for primary school astronomy teacher training, TTPs in the Indian region, and TTPs in the African region, respectively.

Detailed information, including eligibility criteria and rules, can be found on our webpage. The application deadline is April 30th, 2025.

For any inquiries or clarifications, feel free to contact us at ttp​atastro4edu.org. We look forward to receiving your proposals!

         

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