Speaker
Description
Persistent inequities in access to science education continue to constrain participation in high-energy physics, particularly in resource-constrained contexts. Conventional outreach approaches, often episodic and weakly connected to formal education pathways, have shown limited long-term impact on progression into advanced scientific study.
This contribution presents a complexity-informed Science Education and Outreach model developed at Mandela University, anchored in the University’s core purpose and institutional ethos of service to society, and embedded within a dedicated Engagement and Transformation portfolio at executive level. The model supports capacity and capability building across the sciences, with high-energy particle physics and astrophysics serving as flagship beneficiary domains. High-energy physics and astrophysics are used as exemplars of frontier science requiring early pipeline development, sustained mentorship, and research-connected learning environments.
Science education ecosystems are treated as complex adaptive systems shaped by interacting agents, institutions, curricula, and material constraints such as uneven resourcing and limited access to advanced training environments. Evidence is drawn from university programmes, national physics education initiatives, continental capacity-building efforts, and emerging regional collaborations. By strengthening the continuum from science education to research, this approach contributes to the long-term sustainability of the global high-energy physics talent pipeline within the ICHEP community.
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