The sailboat has a strong power of attraction over youth because it conveys an ecological message and produces a feeling of freedom and adventure. The practice of sailing helps developing values such as rigour and team spirit  and provides practical learning of multidisciplinary skills. Besides, the marine environment around the sailboat is an open laboratory for studying life sciences. 

ERASMUS MARIS
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The Erasmus Maris provides a framework for the design and run of EU-wide scientific studies co-created by teachers of upper secondary schools (age 15+) within the scope of preserving the marine environment

The Erasmus Maris concept encompasses three main phases
  1. The design of a Citizen Science study to be implemented at an EU-wide scale
  2. The implementation of pedagogical and scientific activities carried out both within the schools and their nearby aquatic environment (rivers, lacs or seas)
  3. The organisation of an inclusive transnational event called "Erasmus Maris Week". 
 
The goal of the Erasmus Maris Week is to allow cross-communication between schools from different countries to exchange their experiences and discuss their data and results with scientists. 

Two EU-funded pilot projects were launched so far to understand the challenges before replicating activities on a larger scale.


First Pilot project: October 2018- June 2020  The Pedagogical Sailboat Project  

Second Pilot project: February 2022- January 2024:  RAISE-CS: RAISing Education sails through Citizen Science

 

The participation of students to authentic scientific projects that address questions for which the answers are not known in advance are likely to be more engaging for students than pre‐prepared school experiments that run year after year [1].
Role of the sailboat within the Erasmus Maris :
  • A means to acquire transversal competences (leadership, team spirit etc.).
  • A motivation factor for students to carry on studying science subjects;
 Erasmus Maris 
A bottom-up approach in three steps
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1 Create a network of stakeholders from different sectors:
  • Scientific research
  • Education
  • Sailing
  • Public administrations
  • Sustainable industry








​2 Run pilot  projects   
The aim is to forge lasting partnerships ​and prepare the way for replication and up-scaling. 
 


                                           
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​3  Extend and generalise the activities at a larger scale in Europe
[1] Paige K., Zeegers Y., Lloyd D. & Roetman P.(2016) Researching the effectiveness of a science professional learning programme using a proposed curriculum framework for schools: a case study. Int. J. Sci. Math. Educ. 14, 149–75.