The first ChemTeach summer school for secondary school students was held in the period from August 26 to 30, 2024 at the Secondary Vocational Chemistry School (Stredná odborná škola chemická) in Bratislava.

Chemistry students and teachers from three secondary schools from Banja Luka, the Gymnasium, Medical School, and Technological School, and two secondary chemistry schools from Slovakia and the Czech Republic had the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills in the field of chemistry, as well as social and language skills through joint work and exchange of experiences with colleagues from other countries. This is the first of three summer schools to be implemented in the ChemTeach project.

In this year’s summer school, the participants were engaged in cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical chemistry, combining classic laboratory exercises and innovative learning methods, to acquire practical and theoretical knowledge that will be useful to them in further education. Activities for teachers included various workshops aimed at improving chemistry teaching and educational methods in secondary schools and increasing international cooperation between educational institutions through various projects. One of the workshops was dedicated to the inclusion and proper use of artificial intelligence in the teaching of chemistry, as a tool for improving learning activities.

The summer school was attended by Prof. Dr. Milica Balaban and Dejana Savić, teaching assistant, as representatives of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka. In addition to representatives from the University of Banja Luka, the summer school was also attended by representatives of the Slovak Technical University from Bratislava, which is also the project coordinator. The next ChemTeach summer school is planned for August 2025, where the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka will be the host.