Motivation
Since 2012, Informatics Europe has been proactively working on the matter of Informatics Education in Schools. Beyond the publication of several reports, IE is a founding member of the Informatics for All Coalition and a member of the Steering Committee of the ACM ITiCSE conference. The IE Education Research Working Group started in 2022, aiming to advance and establish a more formal forum for collaboration across Europe, particularly in Informatics Education Research.
General Goals
- Establish Informatics as a fundamental discipline to be taken by all students in school, recognised by all as a truly foundational discipline that plays a significant role in education for the 21st century.
- Build and maintain a European network of Informatics education researchers.
WG Operation
- Chair: Jan Vahrenhold, University of Münster, Germany
- Secretary: Stefan Pasterk, University of Klagenfurt, Austria
- Monthly online meetings (10:00 to 11:00 am CET. On every second Monday in odd month and on every second Tuesday in even month) and one annual physical meeting/workshop in association with the ITiCSE conference (agenda will be provided on the Friday before).
- OneDrive for the exchange of information, including meeting minutes.
Recent Objectives and Related Activities
- Organise the annual International summer school on Informatics Education Research (third cohort on 7-11 Sep, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. Further details here).
- Report on academic/industry collaboration in Informatics Higher Education, including a description of the status quo and good practices, as well as a framework and contact points for implementation (as defined during ECSS 2024 Education WS, in Malta).
- Collaborate in joint EU project proposals, aiming at strengthening the Informatics Education Research Network and related policies.
- Promote the Informatics Reference Framework for School (IRF4S).
- Advisory support to the European Commission and other international organisations.
AI in Informatics Higher Education Task Force
Established within the Working Group, this Task Force examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI), including generative AI, is transforming Informatics education across Europe. It focuses on the impact of AI on teaching, learning, assessment, competencies, and curriculum design.
In its initial phase, the Task Force is conducting a survey of academics across European Higher Education institutions and will produce a landscape report to inform the community and support discussion at ECSS 2026.
The Task Force is intended as a continuing initiative, with potential future activities including follow-up studies to track developments over time, expanded data collection and community engagement, and development of recommendations and good practice guidelines.
Get Involved
Would you like to join us in our current education research initiatives or suggest a new task force to promote Informatics Education Research? Join our Working Group and/or Task Force here.
Visit our Education Webpage to know more about initiatives and outcomes on the topic by the Informatics Europe community.
Current members:
- Jan Vahrenhold, University of Münster, Germany (Chair)
- Stefan Pasterk, University of Klagenfurt, Austria (Secretary)
- Oana Andrei, University of Glasgow, UK
- Erik Barendsen, Radboud University, the Netherlands
- Géraldine Brieven, University of Liège, Belgium
- Sara Capecchi, University of Turin, Italy
- Michael E. Caspersen, It-vest – networking universities
- Camelia Chira, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania
- Morgan Ericsson, Linnaeus University, Sweden
- Ana-Belén Gil-González, University of Salamanca, Spain
- Tatjana Jevsikova, Vilnius University, Lithuania
- Maria Kallia, University of Glasgow, UK
- Michael Lodi, University of Bologna, Italy
- Violetta Lonati, University of Milan, Italy
- Ernestina Menasalvas, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain
- Kim Mens, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
- Enrico Nardelli, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy
- Keith Quille, TU Dublin, Ireland
- Gabriel Parriaux, Haute école pédagogique (HEP) du canton de Vaud, Switzerland
- Magda Tsintsadze, Iv.Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
- Abuzer Yakaryilmaz, University of Latvia, Latvia
Past Chairs:
- Michael E. Caspersen, It-vest – networking universities (2022-2023)
- Enrico Nardelli, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy (2022-2023)
- Second International Summer School on Informatics Education Research (SCHIER)
Read More
Date: September 2025
Details: Description of the second edition of the SCHIER, held in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium from 8 to 12 September 2025.
- ECSS 2024: "Academia/Industry Collaboration in Higher Education" Workshop
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Date: October 2024
Details: Workshop description and presentation slides from the ECSS 2024 workshop, held in Malta on 30 October 2024.
- First International Summer School on Informatics Education Research (SCHIER)
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Date: September 2024
Details: Description of the first edition of the SCHIER, held in Zurich, Switzerland from 2 to 6 September 2024.
- Second International Summer School on Informatics Education Research (SCHIER)
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