INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION IN UNDERPRIVILEGED AREAS: THE CASE STUDY OF THE ALL-GIRLS “SCHOOL OF ASTRONOMY AND PHYSICS BY MIRWAT” IN PAKISTAN AND VIRTUAL VISITS TO THE VIRGO INTERFEROMETER

Abstract

As the world witnessed a swift change in every walk of life during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic, flexibility and adaption remained the key components for staying relevant in the field of science education. However, beyond the need for quick adaptation and acquisition of digital skills by both teachers and students, the digital transformation in education has opened up a window of opportunity making global and remote engagement possible for everyone. This paper presents the good practice of Virtual Visits to Virgo Gravitational Wave Detector coorganized by EGO-Virgo, the FRONTIERS and REINFORCE EU funded projects and the “School of Astronomy and Physics by Mirwat” with the participation of high school girls from Islamabad and remote regions of Pakistan. This paper presents the prospect of international collaboration for STEM education, early exposure to research environment to build the deeper understanding of the functioning and working of large research infrastructure, building science identity by informal science experiences and to empower the high school students by engagement in content creation activity. The experience indicates a positive outcome and improvement in understanding of students as well as a step towards building a science identity among them.