Modernized laboratories for students in nine model schools, with EU support

Around seven thousand students from nine model schools in the Republic of Moldova will study physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in fully modernized laboratories, thanks to financial support from the European Union. Each institution has benefited from investments totaling over 150,000 euros, an amount that covers renovation works as well as new furniture and laboratory equipment. In total, 38 STEAM laboratories and mathematics classrooms have been renovated and equipped.

The initiative is part of the project Promoting quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP and UNICEF.

The laboratories are equipped with modern, flexible furniture, laboratory instruments, microscopes, wireless sensors, document cameras, and robotics kits. Each model school received PASCO sensor kits, which enable the collection and analysis of real data for physics, chemistry, and biology – from measuring oxygen concentration to analyzing light or conductivity.

The new equipment allows a shift from theoretical learning to experiment-based learning. Students can carry out high-precision experiments, use sensors to measure temperature, pressure, light, or movement, observe biological and chemical processes under the microscope, work on STEAM projects, and integrate robotics into their lessons using Arduino and Ozobot kits.

At the same time, in two of the nine beneficiary institutions, Grigore Vieru Lyceum in Briceni and Mihail Ceachir Lyceum in Ceadîr-Lunga, the school libraries have been renovated and reconceptualized. Their renovation and equipping were carried out with the support of UNDP Moldova and a banking institution, within Moldova for Education partnership launched by the Ministry of Education and Research, aimed at attracting support from the private sector for future model schools.

The libraries of the two institutions have been transformed into modern educational spaces, adapted to students’ needs and to new trends in education. Each library now includes a work area equipped with computers, partitioned desks, laptops, a multifunction printer, and a bulletin board.