The members of our alliance organise a myriad of activities in public engagement.
Below, you will find an incomplete but hopefully inspiring activities in constant evolution that identify different options for mutual learning and collaboration.
This overview is intended to be dynamic. Hence, Public Engagement activities that were not yet identified in our initial survey can still be submitted HERE.
{slider Outreach Programmes}
Most universities have implemented outreach programmes which focus on attracting future students (which is an additional incentive for them to employ these activities). These programmes can range from pure marketing to science communication and PER-activities; either focusing very direct on the target groups (final years secondary school) or on younger children and their parents (creating a scientific culture).
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UGent |
Educational activities and tools for pupils and teachers |
School Support |
Department of Communication and Marketing |
|
|
RUG |
Discovery Truck |
Mobile Science Centre for Outreach |
Science LinX |
|
|
Education program primary schools |
Outreach |
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health |
www.rug.nl/aletta/public-engagement/ern-2021/education-programme |
|
|
UGOE |
School Laboratory and Children University |
Outreach |
{slider Online Information Services}
Online information services can be social media channels on which there is more than just a one-way flow of information. If people can respond to messages, share, like, a form of engagement develops. These activities could emerge to become online discussion forums.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UGent |
durfdenken.be |
Website |
Department of Communication and Marketing |
|
|
FUTUREproef |
Green Office |
|||
|
UPV/EHU |
Mapping Ignorance |
Blog |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
|
|
Mujeres con Ciencia |
Online Information |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
||
|
Cuaderno de Cultura Científica |
Online Information |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
||
|
Zientzia Kaiera |
Online Information |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
||
|
UT |
Corona Conference |
Information on Corona Research (Online) |
All Faculties |
|
|
UU |
Crush Covid |
Information on Corona Infection Numbers (website); does make use of volunteers who report on their own status in an app |
Medical Sciences |
{slider Public Lectures and Informal Dialogue Events}
Many members of our alliance organise public lectures and informal dialogue events, after which there is time for Q&A. In some cases, there is more emphasis on dialogue, such as in Science Cafés. These are also quite common now in the portfolio of public engagement activities.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UGent |
Science bar |
Science Café |
Science Communication Unit |
|
|
Science cafes |
Science Café |
Science Communication Unit |
||
|
RUG |
Aletta's keuken (Aletta’s Kitchen) |
Talk show. |
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health |
|
|
Public Academy for Law |
Public Lectures |
Law Faculty |
||
|
UU |
Upptalk Weekly |
Online Conversation |
Faculty for Science and Technology |
|
|
UGOE |
Science for Peace and Sustainability |
Conference Series |
Public Relations Department / Third Mission + Green Office division |
{slider Science Festivals and Exhibitions}
It is also common to find science festivals and exhibitions. These can be small or large, short or long, and are sometimes part of European events, such as European Researchers Night, or connected to local cultural festivals. During these festivals there is usually a range of activities, from showcasing research results or equipment (lectures, exhibits, shows), workshops for kids, or informal dialogues.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UGent |
Participation in the 'Day of Science' (Dag van de Wetenschap) |
Science Festival |
Science Communication Unit |
|
|
UPV/EHU |
Naukas Bilbao |
Science Festival |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
|
|
RUG |
Chronically Healthy |
Traveling interactive exhibition |
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health |
www.rug.nl/aletta/public-engagement/exhibition-little-troublemakers |
|
Weekend of Science |
Science Festival |
Many Departments |
||
|
UPV/EHU |
European Researchers´ Night |
Science Festival |
Office of the University |
|
|
Zientzia Astea (Science Week) |
Science Festival |
Office of the University |
||
|
UU |
SciFest |
Science Festival |
Domain of Science and Technology |
|
|
UGOE |
Night of Science |
Science Festival |
Public Relations Department / Third Mission + Green Office division |
{slider Consultancy Services}
Next to the aforementioned consultancy through Science Shops and similar, there are a number of other interesting consultancy services within ENLIGHT.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UT |
Ask the researcher (COVID) |
Online Interaction |
Researcher with support from Communication Team |
|
|
Mask testing |
Free testing of face masks |
Environmental Physics in UT |
||
|
UU |
Aimday |
Online Consultancy |
Innovation Partnership Office |
{slider Hackathons}
Hackathons are events in which teams of participants work non-stop to come up with solutions for cases presented within a short period of time. Challenge prizes offer a reward to whoever can first or most effectively meet a defined challenge. They act as an incentive for addressing a specific problem, rather than being a reward for past achievements. A challenge prize can incentivise innovation, focus attention on a particular issue and unlock financing and other resources.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UBx |
Wikipedia Editathon |
Online Science Communication |
University Library |
|
|
Climackathon |
Hackathon |
Innovation Department and TRUST (department in charge of sustainability and social responsibility) |
www.u-bordeaux.fr/Actualites/De-la-vie-de-campus/Climackathon-une-premiere-edition-reussie |
|
|
UPV/EHU |
Ciencia Clip |
Video Contest |
Chair of Scientific Culture |
{slider Service-learning}
Service-learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs (Wikipedia). These projects aim to have mutual benefit; for the students and the community involved. It can be voluntary (as e.g. at University of Bordeaux) or as part of the curriculum (such as in Ghent and Galway).
They are different from Science Shop projects in a sense that Service Learning does not necessarily involve research.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UBx |
Services civiques |
Student Volunteering |
||
|
UGent |
Community Service Learning |
Service Learning |
Department of Educational Policy |
|
|
NUIG |
Service Learning |
Service Learning |
Community Knowledge Initiative |
{slider Citizen Science}
Citizen Science is the inclusion of lay persons in scientific research, usually by collecting or analysing data as part of a scientific project. Citizens are actively engaged in scientific work, so that scientific research is being done by the citizen and not just for the citizen. Nowadays Citizen Science is an organized, and in many cases hierarchical, process meaning that citizen science projects are mostly (not necessarily) initiated and supervised by professional scientists.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UBx |
SPINE |
Citizen Science |
Labex TRAIL and Innovation Department |
|
|
UBx & UPV/EHU |
Ocean i3: BLUE SKILLS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BLUE ECONOMY IN THE BASQUE-AQUITAINE CROSS-BORDER COASTLINE |
Citizen Science |
DIPE - Direction of partnerships and innovation |
|
|
UGent |
Citizen Science Projects |
Citizen Science |
Individual Researchers |
|
|
CU |
Occurrence of the Aesculapian snake in Bratislava |
Citizen Science |
Faculty of Natural Sciences |
|
|
Conservation of European Ground Squirrel |
Citizen Science |
Faculty of Natural Sciences |
broz.sk/en/projekty/conservation-of-european-ground-squirrel/ |
|
|
Bees and Fish Project |
Communication of results |
Faculty of natural Sciences (partner in international project) |
||
|
RUG |
Speech Lab |
Makes use of volunteers as research object |
Faculty of Arts |
|
|
CurioUs |
Citizen Science |
Science LinX, Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and Forum Groningen |
||
|
UU |
Crush Covid |
does make use of volunteers who report on their own status in an app |
Medical Sciences |
|
|
UT |
Estonia/Europe is searching for cowslips |
Citizen Science |
Landscape biodiversity research group at the Faculty of Ecology and Erath Sciences |
landscape.ut.ee/what-we-do/citizen-science-campaign/?lang=en |
{slider Living Labs}
Next to the multi-disciplinary schools or e.g. the projects of Science Shops, there are more public engagement activities that focus on co-creation. Living Labs use an actual place and its users to together solve issues, such as sustainability, in an action research way.
|
University |
Activity |
Type |
Unit |
|
|
UPV/EHU |
Campus Bizia Lab |
Living Lab |
Direction of Sustainability and Social Commitment |
|
|
CU |
Support for teacher education |
User Committee |
Faculty of Mathematics physics and informatics |
|
|
RUG |
Prevention Accelerator |
Co-Creation |
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health |
{/sliders}