The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), a BIST centre, has created a digital, interactive and multidisciplinary activity that keeps ICFO’s doors virtually open. Thanks to the ICFO Decide Game, children and adults can meet ICFO scientists and immerse themselves in the realm of photonics from wherever they are.
What is the ICFO Decide Game?
Imagine being part of the commission that has to decide how to invest the money for photonics research in Europe over the coming years. Knowing that photonics benefits society in many different ways, how would you distribute funds among different fields photonics research?
With the ICFO Decide Game, you are put into the shoes of the policy makers responsible for research and innovation. Throughout the activity, you will obtain the essential information to discuss photonics and the importance of science and research in our lives, discover cutting-edge scientific projects that are being developed at ICFO, talk to the scientists who work there, and make a strategic decision in agreement with the rest of the group.
The activity is composed of six phases: in each one of them, you will discuss a different aspect that will help you reach the final decision. The ICFO Decide Game is designed for people over the age of 14.
How you can participate
The ICFO Decide Game is designed for a maximum of 42 participants divided into small groups of 4-6 people. You can sign up individually to a public session (you will be assigned to a group at the beginning of the session) or – if you are a teacher or a group coordinator – you can book a session for your group or class. You can also discover ICFO at your own pace by downloading the materials for the ICFO Decide Game and do it whenever you like.
If you are a teacher or coordinator of a group of people over the age of 14, you can book an ICFO Decide Game session facilitated by the ICFO outreach team.
Each session takes two hours to complete, and can be done in two 1-hour sessions if necessary. There is no prior work required for participants and groups can either join completely online, or gather together and join a video call to ICFO.
Teachers or group coordinators will have access to all materials and additional information in advance.
Book a group session here. If there aren’t any available sessions, you can join the waiting list selecting one of the full sessions or try to facilitate the ICFO Decide Game yourself using the materials and instructions available here.
More information can be found on the ICFO Decide Game webpage.