Dr Carine Steyn, Flora Olivier, Professor Werner Olivier, local teacher Leena Kuorikoski and University of Jyväskylä’s Dr Kristof Fenyvesi.
Thousands of Level 6 children with their teachers from Finnish schools around the country are visiting this exhibit and are exposed to the South African Math Artworks.
These form part of a joint STEAM research project to promote inclusive education and experiential learning outside formal classrooms.
Professor Werner Olivier, Director of the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre (GMMDC), recently visited and collaborated with the Innovative Learning Environments Research Group situated within the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at Jyväskylä University in Finland.
Prof Olivier received a JYU Visiting Fellow Programme Grant in 2023 for the collaboration over two months.
The collaboration has also seen the emergence of this innovative national MathArt project in schools, promoting trans-disciplinarity and real-life connections between mathematics and art.
This initiative has attracted international attention and enjoys the support of provincial and national stakeholders in South Africa. It also forms part of a Finnish education research project.
Prof Olivier’s visit as Guest Professor in Finland consolidated recent STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) research collaboration with the group and paved the way for further collaboration.
Joint research funding opportunities were also explored to support the integration of Techno-Blended STEAM Education models in schools for sustainable development.
Since 2017, Prof Olivier has cultivated a robust and fruitful research and development partnership with Dr Fenyvesi and his research team.
This collaboration has borne significant fruits and has resulted in numerous joint research initiatives, scholarly publications, and innovative STEAM development projects.
Prof Olivier is the founder of the GMMDC, and his scholarly endeavours focus on the research and development of bespoke techno-blended instructional models.
These models have been meticulously designed to facilitate the effective teaching and learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects within the South African public education.
Dr Carine Steyn and Flora Olivier, from the GMMDC, also visited Jyväskylä during this time to participate in various activities associated with STEAM education, such as teacher and learner workshops, educational conferences, and immersive visits to Finnish schools.