Teacher Awards 2026: Share your best teaching practices
The Girls Go STEM Teacher Awards celebrate teachers who creatively use Girls Go STEM educational resources to inspire STEM learning.
Connect with educators across Europe, pick up fresh ideas along the way, and get the chance to win a trip to Brussels to join our Ambassador community.
Applications are open now. Simply share how you have integrated Girls Go STEM resources into your teaching. Applications close on 2 November 2026 (13:00 CET).
This year’s theme:
Materials and Materials Science
The 2026 edition of the Girls Go STEM Teacher Awards focuses on Materials and Materials Science and is organised in collaboration with the European Advanced Materials Academy.
Materials science looks at the substances behind the objects we use every day, from the touchscreen on a phone to the sole of a running shoe, and asks how they can be engineered to perform better and more sustainably. It sits naturally within chemistry, physics, and biology, but its reach goes far beyond the science classroom. From the economics of sourcing raw materials, to the geography of where they come from, to the role of new materials in sports equipment and product design, this is a theme that almost any subject can engage with.
Teachers are invited to design and deliver engaging classroom activities that introduce students to this topic, in whatever subject they teach, while encouraging them to complete the thematic course, The Power of Advanced Materials.
Who can apply?
We welcome teachers currently teaching at a public or private school in one of the participating countries.
- Teams of two or three teachers. You can team up with colleagues from your own school, or bring together different schools, countries, and subject backgrounds.
- Comfortable using English to communicate with organisers and prepare your application. Your classroom activities can be delivered in whatever language you teach in.
Why should you apply?
- Join the community: Every teacher who applies becomes part of the Girls Go STEM network and receives a Certificate of Participation.
- Get recognised: If you place in the Top 5, you receive a Certificate of Recognition for yourself and for your school.
- Exchange best practices: If you place in the Top 5, you will showcase your project to a Europe-wide audience of educators and exchange ideas and best practices with fellow teachers at a dedicated webinar.
- Win a trip to Brussels: If your team wins, you will be invited to an exclusive in-person Ambassadors Gathering, where you will have the opportunity to connect with peers, take part in workshops, and help shape the future of STEM education together.
What do you need to do?
Step 1
Form a team of two to three teachers and register on our learning platform as a teacher. Learn more below.
Step 2
Step 3
As part of your classroom activity, have at least 12 students across your team complete the following three Girls Go STEM online courses:
- A Quick Introduction: How to Stay Safe Online
- Introduction to the Circular Economy
- The Power of Advanced Materials
At least half of these students should be girls.
Step 4
Design and implement a lesson, classroom activity, or series of lessons introducing students to Materials and Materials Science and the Girls Go STEM thematic course The Power of Advanced Materials.
Activities may range from hands-on experiments to design challenges, problem-solving activities, or investigations connecting the properties of materials with real-world applications and emerging technologies.
Step 5
Reflect on the implementation of the designed activity and fill the Girls Go STEM Activity Template.
Step 6
Submit the required application materials before 2nd of November 2026, 13:00 CET via this form.
We cannot wait to hear from you!
Ready to dive in?
Download the activity template (PowerPoint), consent form and privacy policy.
How will your submission be evaluated?
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- Quality of the pedagogical approach: the effectiveness and creativity of the teaching methodology.
- Integration of Girls Go STEM resources: the extent to which the Girls Go STEM resources are meaningfully incorporated into the activity.
- Student engagement and participation: how effectively the activity promotes active student participation in the learning experience.
- Reflection: the quality of the reflection on the implementation and its outcomes for students.
- Transferability and potential for replication: the potential for the activity to be adapted and implemented by other teachers in different educational settings.
What happens next
Top 5 Announcement
The five highest-scoring teams are announced during the EIT Women and Girls in STEM Forum 2026 on 26 November, live streamed online.
Showcase Webinar
Trip to Brussels
Ready to apply?
Fill out the application form and attach the following:
- Certificate of teacher course completion for each teacher on your team (merged as one PDF)
- Consent forms from each teacher (merged as one PDF)
- Your completed activity template
We cannot wait to see your application.
FAQ
Who can participate?
Applications must be submitted by teams of 2–3 teachers. To be eligible, applicants must:
- Currently teach at a public or private school in one of the participating countries.
- Have a good level of English proficiency, as applicants are expected to communicate with the organisers and prepare the application in English. Classroom activities may be delivered in the local language.
Please note that teachers serving as Girls Go STEM Teacher Ambassadors in the current 2026 cohort are not eligible to apply. Teacher Ambassadors from previous cohorts are welcome to apply.
From which countries can participants apply?
Applications are open to participants from the following countries:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, and Ukraine.
What are the submission requirements?
To be eligible for evaluation, teacher teams must meet all of the following requirements.
1. Teacher Course Requirement
Each participating teacher must:
- Complete at least one Girls Go STEM Teacher Course.
- Submit the course completion certificate as proof of completion.
2. Classroom Implementation
Each teacher team must:
- Design and deliver the lesson, activity, or series of lessons related to the Materials Science topic.
- Complete the official Girls Go STEM Activity Template
- Submit the completed Activity Template and signed consent form as part of the application.
3. Student Participation
Each teacher team must ensure that at least 12 students in total (aged 14-19 and at least half of them being girls) complete the following three Girls Go STEM courses:
- A Quick Introduction: How to Stay Safe Online
- Introduction to the Circular Economy
- The Power of Advanced Materials
If team members teach in different schools, the minimum requirement of 12 students applies collectively across all participating schools.
How do I register on the learning platform as a teacher?
If you are not from our partner’s network, please write an e-mail to girlsgostem@eitrawmaterials.eu requesting access to the platform, and we will generate a unique school code for your school. In your request, please provide the following information:
- School name
- School Address
- City
- Country
- Private or Public School
After you get a school code from us, please create your account using your code and inform us that the account has been created. We will manually give you teacher’s rights on the platform.
Where do I find the teacher courses on the learning platform?
Once you are registered as a teacher on our learning platform, you can find teacher courses in “My Courses”
How can I obtain my certificate of completion for the teacher course?
You can download your certificates from the dashboard. Go to the dashboard tab, scroll down, and look for the “My Certificates” section on the left-hand side.
Questions about the Teacher Awards?
If you can’t find the answer in our FAQ section, feel free to get in touch. We are happy to help!
Please note that applications are only accepted via the official application form.