• the applicants’ names, institutions and a 2-page CV for each
• the names of the local organizing committee members
• the proposed location of the conference (with a description of the venue)
• assurance that the summer could be run in person, on-line or virtually depending on the Pandemic
• details of previous involvement of the organizers in ESERA events (particularly previous summer schools)
• a rationale (500-1000 words) indicating why the proposal should be chosen

Things to know:
• The board is interested in locations accessible (both geographically and financially) to a large number of European Science Education PhD students.
• Locations where the Summer School has not previously been held are encouraged to apply.
• The principal organizer is expected to attend the summer school prior to the summer for which they are bidding. This person will participate in the summer school and be financially funded by the Board.
• The Summer School is funded by student contributions (usually less than 400 euros) as well as an ESERA Board contribution. These funds pay for room and board for all students and staff, venue costs if not donated by the sponsoring university and a social function during the summer school week. Depending on the country and location of the summer school, additional funds, perhaps 15,000 euros) donated from a local agency may be needed. These funds may not be necessary if local room, board and venue expenses are covered by student and Board contributions.
• The maximum that students should have to pay has ranged from 350€ to 400€ for lodging and food. Forty-nine students will be selected to attend. Two of the 49 are selected by NARST each year and also funded by NARST.
• A venue at or near the organizer’s university facilities is preferred since it helps with planning and organization and saves money.
• The Summer School needs a lecture hall for 80 persons (for a daily plenary, but this is not required for the full duration of each day); seven group rooms with projection (nine persons in each room) and three or four workshop rooms (25 persons in each room).
• Meeting rooms and participant residences close to one another are highly desirable.
• At least 2/3rds of the residence rooms should be single rooms with some doubles for students who prefer to share and save money. Staff should be accommodated in single residence rooms in the same or a near-by facility.
• Wi-Fi needs to be widely available and strong enough for simultaneous use by many participants in all meeting rooms.
• A balance of male and female plenary facilitators and staff (mentors and workshops) is needed and will be decided along with the ESERA Board. All staff members will be selected from applicants with from 14 to 18 per summer school, depending on local costs. Each staff member will be expected to fulfil two roles … usually as a mentor and plenary facilitator or workshop leader, but final roles are determined by each organizing committee based on a matrix of applicants and roles, with final approval by the Board.
• Poster space at the coffee break area for informal browsing is desired.
• Digital capabilities among the organizing group need to be able to handle, if needed, a hybrid or virtual summer school. Some elements of even a fully site-based summer school will also require digital skills, such as digital presentation and review of posters. The local organizing group may also want to post a unique web-site for their summer school, using their own university expertise.
• The number of student and staff applicants varies greatly from year to year. Recent ranges have been from 60 to 100 PhD students and from 25 to 40 staff. An important task for the organizing committee is to arrange for the review of the student applications by ESERA members and then for the committee to make final student choices. They will also develop a matrix of staff based on the applicants and final Board approval.