QuarkNet began as a national outreach effort by the US particle-physics community, but it has since moved beyond its original borders. The United Kingdom, Austria, China and Georgia are all investigating setting up their own programmes. Taiwan founded its network in 2006, and Germany is three years into developing its version of the programme.
Netzwerk Teilchenwelt, led by Dresden University of Technology in Germany, involves 24 universities and research centres. Its cosmic-ray sub-programme is hosted by DESY, the largest particle physics research centre in Germany. While QuarkNet concentrates on educating teachers, Netzwerk Teilchenwelt is aimed at teachers and students.