Science United Project supports teachers who work with refugee, migrant, and asylum-seeking children by providing safe, ready-to-use science kits, training, and mentoring designed for experiential learning, an approach that strengthens language acquisition, problem-solving, and socio-emotional skills in displaced learners.

The organisation also coordinates the Science United Festival, an annual peer-learning showcase where pupils share short videos of hands-on projects and receive feedback from scientist-mentors, many of whom have displacement backgrounds themselves. 

A Compact, Purposeful Placement

Over four weeks, Evangelia and Eleni joined the SUP team during a busy preparation period. Their remit combined administrative support, program logistics, and education-facing tasks linked to science-as-experiential-learning for displaced students. Both were also involved in on-site activities in the Malakasa refugee camp on selected days, experiencing the pivot from planning to delivery. 

What They Actually Did

• Helped source, sort, and prepare materials for science experiments, ensuring kits were safe, complete, and replicable for teachers and learners. 
• Contributed to administrative workflows that keep the programme running: communication, scheduling, and documentation. 
• Assisted with face-to-face activities at Malakasa, gaining first-hand insight into facilitation with multilingual groups and varied prior schooling. 
• Developed original classroom materials to carry forward into their own Early Childhood practice, an enduring output of the internship.

Learning in Context: Early Childhood Meets Experiential Science

The internship bridged early years pedagogy and hands-on science. For Evangelia, the core was activities for refugee children, which she approached with cooperation and adaptability. For Eleni, the focus included learning and then teaching experiments across maths, physics, and biology, coupled with designing educational visual materials, and taking part in Saturday sessions with displaced students. 

What Changed for the Students

• Confidence & Transferable Skills: Both students reported growth in communication, collaboration, and task ownership within an NGO context. 
• Practice-Ready Outputs: Each produced teaching materials they can repurpose in their future classrooms, an authentic assessment of learning. 
• Context Awareness: Observing learning in a refugee-camp setting sharpened their sensitivity to access, safety, language, and pacing, key to inclusive Early Childhood practice. 

What Worked and What We’ll Do Next

• What worked: Strong communication, clear mentoring, and a professional culture that welcomed new educators into real programme work. 
• What to improve: Ensure abundant hands-on materials are on hand; expand the hybrid component to deepen camp-based facilitation skills.

Erasmus+ Value Added

Within the Erasmus+ framework, this e-internship delivered structured, short-cycle international collaboration with tangible outputs, measured via dual evaluations (host and interns). It showcased how digital-first placements can still create community-level impact, especially when paired with targeted in-person moments.

Voices from the Experience

“Great communication… professional environment, comforting and relaxed despite all the work.” – Intern  

“Remote flexibility matched our preparation period; a hybrid version would be even more effective.” – Science United Project 

Conclusion

A month was enough to learn the ropes, contribute meaningfully, and leave with tools the interns will keep using as Early Childhood educators. For SUP, it was an opportunity to amplify preparation for hands-on science learning with displaced students, work that continues through teacher training, science kits, and the Science United Festival.