17. Calls on the Commission to investigate
how the teaching of sciences in the EU can be improved at all levels; deplores the lack of human resources in RD in many Member States, which may be attributed to a declining interest among the younger generation in following scientific curricula and engaging in scientific careers; proposes, therefore, the launching of initiatives which familiarise
schoolchildren with laboratory and field research; proposes, in addition, the promotion of activ
e and investigatory ...[+++]methods of teaching, using observation and experimentation, the creation of professor-researcher exchange programmes and the support of innovative training methods by local and regional authorities; considers that rapid developments in science risk creating a gulf between ordinary citizens and scientific and technological research; considers that there is a need to promote and support dialogue between scientists and society at large and that, accordingly, scientists should make the results of their research comprehensible to all and available to all;