The ECS Co-Design Process in Action: Introducing the Updated eu-citizen.science Platform and API Training

We are thrilled to announce the "ECS Co-Design Process in Action: Introducing the Updated eu-citizen.science Platform and API Training", an event set to redefine the way we view the eu-citizen.science platform. This 150-minute engagement taking place on July 27, 2023, from 12:00 - 14:30 CEST, is your gateway to understanding the next generation of citizen science.This event is uniquely split into two main sections, offering flexibility to attend one part, or both, based on your interests and needs.The first part (12:00 - 13:15 CEST) is a comprehensive exploration of the ECS Co-Design Process. With an accessible and interactive format, we will delve into the details of the updated eu-citizen.science platform. Opening with a brief presentation on the overarching ECS project, we will then focus on the Co-Design Process' first cycle results, which birthed three novel services: the Project Visualisation Map, the Improved Event Section, and the Enhanced Search Engine. Each service will be presented in detail, offering a practical understanding of their functions. We invite all attendees to contribute to an engaging discussion period where we will entertain queries, comments, and thoughts on these services, as well as our next steps. This is your chance to interact directly with our platform's architects, including members of the ECSA Platform Working Group.Following a brief intermission (13:15 - 13:30 CEST), we continue with a highly informative, practical training session (13:30 - 14:20 CEST). This workshop is designed to explain API handling concepts, providing a foundation for anyone interested in unlocking the true potential of the eu-citizen.science platform. With no advanced knowledge required, the session is ideal for those wishing to establish interoperability between platforms and to use our platform's content for data visualisation exercises. This training session is particularly suitable for researchers and those looking to develop other citizen science platforms.Registration is made simple through an online form, allowing attendees to choose between attending one part, or the complete event. Whether you're a casual browser, a co-design process participant, a dedicated platform user, or an API enthusiast, this event promises something for everyone.Join us in this exciting journey as we embark on a new era of citizen science with the upgraded eu-citizen.science platform. We look forward to seeing you there.

Impactful Citizen Science in the social sciences and humanities – a hands-on workshop exploring Participatory Research practices and a new tool to support them

Participatory research/ citizen science in social sciences and humanities disciplines usually involves small-scale, intense collaborations between members of academic institutions (universities and other research institutions) and members of non-academic organizations that work directly with the community (community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil associations, small businesses etc.). The VERA platform serves as a “collaboratory” where participatory research/citizen science projects can be realized and new collaborations can be established. Through its profiling and matchmaking tool, its project management features and its funding database, VERA helps projects get started, stay organized, and find the necessary funding. At this interactive workshop, participants will share their experiences about the various dimensions of practicing participatory research/ citizen science within the social science and humanities domain and will get guidance on how to use the newly published VERA platform to best serve their project’s needs. The VERA developers and community manager will be onsite to collect valuable feedback from participants on how we can improve VERA before the final version is released in December 2023.

Workshop: Gedeelde uitdagingen in citizen science

Bij het opzetten van citizen science komen heel wat unieke uitdagingen kijken. Op 31 mei organiseert Scivil drie workshops om deze uitdagingen te bespreken en samen mogelijke oplossingen te bedenken. De drie parallelle workshops focussen zich op 1) musea, bibliotheken en archieven, 2) lokale besturen, 3) citizen science ondersteunen in je organisatie. Heb je nog weinig ervaring met of kennis van citizen science? Geen nood, we beginnen de namiddag met een lunchpresentatie waarin we de algemene principes en inspirerende voorbeelden uit de doeken doen.

2023 Citizen Science Association conference

The 2023 Citizen Science Association conference, C*Sci 2023, will be held from May 22-26 on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Arizona (Phoenix metro area). This event convenes conversations across disciplines, roles, and perspectives. Together, we seek and share the traditional and innovative practices that lead to powerful partnerships for discovery, learning, and action. The conference will be interdisciplinary in scope, inviting abstracts for cross-cutting symposia, interactive workshops, engaging talks, and dynamic posters. Over the past few years, the CSA Conference Team has also piloted innovative ways to convene across boundaries of space and time. The 2023 event offers us the first opportunity since 2019 to connect in person, and the program leans into the unique ways we learn from one another in a shared space. A light hybrid program will also be available to ensure that travel is not a barrier to contributions.

Citizen Science in the North

This event addresses the emerging form of co-creation between researchers and communities known as citizen science. As a compelling form of engagement and inclusivity for societal change, citizen science has emerged as a powerful tool for engaging communities in scientific research, yet its potential in the Arctic region has yet to be fully explored. This one-day workshop will showcase existing work within Northern communities, bringing together several speakers to explore the opportunities and challenges of citizen science in Northern contexts. This will serve as a basis for deepening connections between the work of different colleagues doing citizen science research across the Nordic countries and Europe. Topics include local perspectives on citizen science; best practices from ongoing projects; the use of new technologies in data collection and analysis; and the role of citizen science in addressing the particular environmental challenges of the Arctic region. The workshop will provide a unique opportunity for researchers, students, practitioners, and community members to share their experiences and insights and to network with others working in this exciting field. The event is funded by the ENVIROCEN project (Nordic Council of Ministers) and the Biodiverse Anthropocenes research programme (Academy of Finland).

European Science Engagement Conference 2023

On the 3rd and 4th of May 2023 the European Science Engagement Conference 2023 will take place in the Tyrolean city of Bolzano in Italy. Get ready for a swirling programme with exciting keynotes, mind-opening workshops and challenging debates. #EUSEA23 will be held at Eurac Research Headquarters in partnership with EUSEA and the team from Eurac Research Communication. Have a look at the two-day conference programme: https://eusea.info/eusea2023/eusea23-programme-day_1/ Information about the registration process is available here: https://eusea.info/eusea2023/2023-registration/

Joint ICTP-IAEA Advanced School/Workshop on Machine Learning in Citizen Science

Citizen Science involves the public in scientific projects and can play an important role in generating large datasets. The convergence of data-driven Citizen Science projects and machine learning techniques can help tackle scientific and societal challenges. The lectures cover the following topics: Introduction to Citizen Science Introduction to Open Science Basic concepts/tools for Machine Learning techniques Challenges and opportunities of using Machine Learning in Citizen Science Ethical aspects of Machine Learning in Citizen Science Machine Learning for nuclear sciences and applications Using Machine Learning and Citizen Science to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals

ECS Satellite event on Science Communication

The 2023 Annual Conference of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) will be held in Cordoba (Spain) on 24-25 February 2023. The day before the Conference - 23 February 2023 - a Science Communication Training Workshop will be held as a satellite event, organised by the European Citizen Science (ECS) project in collaboration with the MCAA Communication Working Group. The overall objective of the European Citizen Science (ECS) project is to enlarge, empower and strengthen the European Citizen Science community through training, capacity building and awareness raising activities which encompass the whole range of needs and challenges. As a member of the project consortium, the MCAA is taking part in several work packages and tasks. More specifically, through the ECS project, the MCAA will support the co-creation of the European Citizen Science Academy by designing training for educators, trainers, and researchers. As part of the ECS project, the MCAA is organising the training workshop “Science Communication: How to create a successful research blog.” Blogging is a powerful and effective way to communicate research to a wider audience and engage citizen into the science endeavour. Within the general framework of citizen science, in this workshop participants will learn the ins and outs of what it takes to explain their research in a popular science blog that can be understood by anyone. The one-day full-immersion workshop will be highly interactive and aims to teach by doing. It will also be an introductory course into science communication for researchers with and without prior experience. During the training workshop, participants will: - have an overview of citizen science and the ECS project - learn how science communication can positively impact society as well as a researcher’s career - write a short popular science blog that can be published after the workshop - learn to adjust the text to the communication goals and audience - learn how to reduce the scientific complexity and make scientific insights accessible and interesting The training will be guided by Science Matters, a leading European science communication agency led by scientists, with extensive experience in supporting universities, companies, media, and museums. The training workshop is open to both MCAA members and non-MCAA members. In order to make it as interactive as possible and provide personalised feedback, the workshop is limited to only 30 participants. The deadline for registration is 30 January 2023, 23:00 CET. Selection of participants will be done on a rolling basis, until all 30 seats are filled. Thanks to the support of the ECS project, participants will be able to attend the workshop paying a fee of 150 Euro, which corresponds to a 50% discount on the full price.

Driving changes to embed Citizen Science at your institution

Join this TIME4CS online interactive workshop to learn how you can contribute to fostering the adoption of citizen science as research methodology within your organization through the use of institutional roadmaps. You will have the chance to: - Discuss challenges and opportunities for citizen science in your institution - Learn about using institutional roadmaps as a tool for change - Co-create your own Grounding Action with the TIME4CS Reflection Tool! Hands-on session using our tool, designed to support the development of personalized action plans: reflect on the big vision for your organization, identify relevant stakeholders, define success criteria and necessary resources, and make your action plan. Takeaway for participants: - Identify institutional resources and support needed for CS - some concrete examples and suggestions on how to stimulate institutional changes to promote CS

Citizen Science Networking Day - Flanders (Belgium)

Scivil, the Flemish knowledge center on citizen science, is organizing a networking and learning event at the BMCC Bruges on November 15, 2022. We offer you an inspiring keynote speaker, a series of fascinating talks and workshops on different aspects of citizen science and a networking lunch. During this event, we will launch our latest guide, a guide on citizen science in education. The event runs in parallel to the Digiwijs event for Flemish teachers. We hope to create an exciting cross-pollination between citizen science practitioners and education professionals, both during the session 'citizen science in the classroom', and during the networking lunch. There will also be a focus on the topic of citizen science data, with lectures and workshops on data visualisation, data management, data-driven policy and privacy. During lunch, you can ask all your data questions at the Scivil stand, where data stewards of the Flemish Open Science Board (FOSB) will be happy to help you. There will be both sessions in Dutch and in English. Meanwhile, our program is finalized and registrations are open!

Identidades Comunes: II National Meeting of Citizen Science Social Sciences and Humanities in Zaragoza (Spain)

"Identidades Comunes" is a space for cooperation and co-creation between project managers, researchers and participants in Citizen Science, social sciences and humanities projects. The national meeting to be held in Zaragoza on 20 September. Researchers, managers of Citizen Science projects, participants or members of associations working to generate knowledge in the field of social sciences and humanities, you are invited to participate with your initiative in this meeting. There are two options: one is present the project you are involved in through a 6-minute face-to-face talk. Up to 12 projects from all over the country will be presented and other is present your Citizen Science initiative in the form of a poster. There will be two panels discussion: The Gestation of Bottom - Up projects and Heritage digitalisation through Citizen Science The day will be completed with co-creation and prototyping project workshops.

Fostering Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Integrating Open and Citizen Science in Higher Education Institutes

Join the INOS Project for our final project event: Fostering Change: Challenges and Opportunities for integrating Open and Citizen Science at Higher Education Institutions. The workshop will celebrate and share the work of INOS on assessing the social impact of Higher Education Institutions as knowledge hubs, and look to the future of how HEIs can better situate their role in current demands for civic engagement, and societal impact and open learning opportunities. The event will take place in person at Leiden University Library on 31st August, from 9:00AM-13:00PM CEST. There will also be the opportunity to join parts of the event online.