Initiated seven years ago, the SDG Summer School offers students a framework for engagement and training in sustainability issues through the prototyping of solutions to concrete problems. For several years, this training program has been carried out in partnership with the University of Geneva This immersion program supported by the Institute of Challenges, co-founded by the Learning Planet Institute and the Université Paris Cité, will run from June 24th to July 19th. It is exclusively based on project-based learning and will be taught mainly in English. It is intended for students of legal age enrolled in a higher education institution in France or abroad. The diversity of profiles is an asset, so participants coming from natural sciences, humanities, medicine, computer science, design, gaming or arts are encouraged to apply.
Let’s imagine training for facilitators in citizen science projects!
ECS and ECSA will be present at the Ecsite conference 2024 (https://ecsite.wildapricot.org/Programme/). Discover and share skills and training methods to facilitate participatory research and citizen science projects. Science centers and museums, universities and third-places are key players in participatory citizen science projects. These programs aim to give citizens their place in the production of knowledge, and can range from the simple collection of scientific data to the co-construction or even co-governance of research projects. In recent years, these approaches have beenstriving to become a mainstream approach to scientific research well beyond the classical topics connected to environment and biodiversity. But citizen science faces many challenges, such as reliable data, recruitment and participation of citizens or reluctance to use this approach by scientists and researchers. A less discussed issue, and perhaps a solution to some of these challenges, is that of the skills needed to facilitate this type of project. Indeed it is essential to create the conditions for dialogue and work for all stakeholders (research teams, citizens, partners, associations...). They need support to create together, transform their perspectives, adapt tools to their context, stay involved, understand each other in depth…What specific skills, knowledge and attitudes do facilitators need in these participatory projects? Could a training programme in facilitation and participation help? This session will offer a feedback from institutions involved in citizen science (inter)mediation and facilitation training. These short presentations will break down the problem into several sub-questions. They will form the basis of the workshop, during which participants will collectively identify the list of skills and training methods that are most relevant for the people in charge of facilitating particpatory citizen science projects. Speakers: Catherine Oualian (Universcience, France), Claudia Aguirre Rios (Groupe TRACES, France), Aoife Taylor (Trinity College, Ireland), Simona Cerrato (ECSA), Paul Boniface (Groupe TRACES, France).
[OneAquaHealth] Webinar: Citizen Science in Environmental Observation and Health Research
OneAquaHealth aims to identify early warning indicators and enhance environmental monitoring with digital tools such as a Citizen Science App, to raise awareness and engage all relevant stakeholders to jointly achieve thriving ecosystems and healthier communities for the future. Thus, citizen science has a pivotal role in OneAquaHealth participatory research approach and contributes to shape the way in which data will be collected, shared, and used in the project to deliver accurate monitoring and decision support tools. OneAquaHealth aims to collaborate with projects and initiatives that tackle similar issues to promote healthier communities. Therefore, OneAquaHealth project and and Wise Angle Consulting S.L (OneAquaHealth work package leader) are delighted to invite you to a webinar dedicated to share experiences and viewpoints on the most successful engagement strategies in Citizens Science projects and the usage of Mobile Applications. This webinar will cover two main themes. The first part will focus on Citizens Science Approaches, featuring presentations from publicly funded projects, namely OneAquaHealth, DRYvER, and E4WARNING. Specifically, it will explore how these projects have engaged with citizens to achieve successful participation for the collection of feedback, which is crucial for the development, diffusion, and utilisation of the projects’ digital tools. The second part will delve into Mobile Apps – Challenges and Solutions, with presentations from PHArA-ON and Invasoras.pt Apps, exploring common hurdles faced in promoting the apps or designing them to be user – centric.
Let’s discuss data and the eu-citizen.science platform with and for the citizen science community!
The ECS project invites everyone from the citizen science (CS) community to a joint event featuring the launch of the latest updates of the eu-citizen.science platform on April 24th, followed by the Cluster event on data infrastructure, services and practices on April 25th, 2024. On April 24th, from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST, we will present the eu-citizen.science platform's latest features, designed to benefit the CS community. Plus, there will be a training session to demystify the use of metadata generated by CS platforms. This session will use an interactive approach to describe and better understand the communities behind these platforms, enhancing your ability to engage with and contribute to the CS community. On April 25th, from 9:00 to 12:30 CEST, we will hold the Cluster Event on data practices, services and infrastructures in CS. The first part of the event will include presentations and Q&A sessions with key speakers in the field. The second part of the event will enable participants to discuss their needs and challenges in terms of data visualisation and analysis, qualitative data infrastructures and services as well as data ethics and policies. Key speakers are: - Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Open Science and Research Infrastructures, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission - Karel Luyben, President of the EOSC Association - Giovanni Maccani, Research Director, Ideas for Change - Dr. Pierre Bonnet, Botanist, CIRAD, BIOS Dept., UMR AMAP and Scientific coord. of the Pl@ntNet citizen science platform - Dr. Gefion Thuermer, Head of Research, Open Data Institute - Alessia Smaniotto, Citizen Science Officer, Operas See here the full agenda for both days: https://tinyurl.com/p3yb77w9 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/mp4yrrjx
Pathways to increase the uptake of citizen science generated data by local policy makers
Join SOCIO-BEE for an online workshop dedicated to exploring how to leverage the impact of CS-generated data, particularly in the realm of air quality, on local policy-making. Rosamund Adoo Kissi Debrah from Ella Roberta Family Foundation, will give a keynote talk on, ‘The importance of personal stories in creating global change’, and you will hear about the experiences accumulated by the EU Horizons SOCIO-BEE and CitiObs projects. Following this, participants will have the opportunity to engage in interactive sessions aimed at exploring strategies to overcome challenges facing CS projects related to accessibility, scalability and data quality.
Peyresq, Thorame-Haute, Castellane, Alpes …
Alternet Summer School: Biodiversity and Society: science, policy and transformative change
Open to graduate and postgraduate scientists (as well as professionals in related fields), the Alternet Summer School creates an innovative atmosphere for considering and resolving the sustainability challenges that society is currently facing. Peyresq, a picturesque village in the Haute-de-Provence Alpes, provides an unparalleled setting for dynamic discussions and transdisciplanry learning. This year’s programme theme is entitled: Biodiversity and Society: science, policy and transformative change. Registration is open from 1 March – 15 April.
Citizen Science Summer School: Transforming research through public participation
What are the potentials of citizen science for increased dialogue between science and society? How can citizen science contribute to solving societal challenges and transforming science? How do I improve equity and inclusion in and through my participatory research project? What skills and competencies do researchers and citizens need to do citizen science? The Citizen Science Summer School tackles these and other issues from 04-09 June 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland. We welcome researchers from all research institutions and disciplines. However, we also encourage practitioners who work in the field of citizen science to apply! The School is organized by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. The fee of 290 CHF incl. tax entails access to 5 days of lectures and practical course work, accommodation, lunch and coffee breaks. In cases of special financial burden, we are able to grant a participation fee reduction of CHF 100 for a limited number of applicants. Apply by March 1st, 2023!
Ethical and legal aspects of Citizen Science
This webinar will provide participants with a specific Citizen Science case study, which implies different levels of ethical and legal challenges, including GDPR compliance and various ethics dimension (i.e. research integrity, gender perspective, open access, public engagement, etc.). The moderators will take care of presenting the case study as a whole, highlighting the most sensitive aspects of its implementation to focus the participants’ attention on the needed interventions.
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).
Why do citizen science? The tension between data and engagement
Citizen Science is an increasingly popular approach to scientific research that involves collaboration between professional scientists, societal actors, and the public. One of the challenges of Citizen Science is balancing the need for accurate and reliable data with the desire to engage and involve as many people as possible in the research process. This co-organised Hot Pot will feature a panel of experts in Citizen Science who will discuss their experiences and perspectives on how to balance data quality with community engagement in Citizen Science projects. The panelists will cover topics such as the importance of community engagement in Citizen Science, the challenges of ensuring data accuracy and reliability, and strategies for achieving a balance between these two goals. The event will include time for audience questions and discussion, providing an opportunity for attendees to share their own experiences and insights
Abdus Salam International Centre …
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.