24 Sept 2020, 15:00 – 17:00 CEST
Participation is free, but registration is required via this link.

The role of universities in fostering high quality citizen science is more and more visible. Citizen Science has clearly become a movement that involves citizens in scientific processes and knowledge, supporting research in a wide range of scientific topics. Creating synergies between universities, citizens and urban actors is of utmost importance for many reasons. Universities have always played a pivotal role in shaping the city or region where they are located, still, they are often perceived as ‘silos’ without sufficient links to the larger community surrounding them.

Recognising this higher education institutions are making greater efforts to reach out to citizens and involve them in scientific activities, with researchers acting as bridges between scientific and citizen communities. This bridging of communities can enhance trust in scientific research and foster greater cooperation between these actors. The importance of this cannot be overemphasised in the current context of pandemics, which has clearly demonstrated the dangers posed by the alarming spread of fake-news and scepticism in evidence-based research.

Speakers

Welcome: Luciano Saso, UNICA President; Joao Mario Grilo, Chair of UNICA, NOVA University of Lisbon; and José Moura, NOVA University of Lisbon

Caroline Nevejan, University of Amsterdam

Katarzyna Wojnar, University of Warsaw

Lia Vasconcelos, NOVA University of Lisbon

Maria Fernanda Rollo, NOVA University of Lisbon

Veronika Wöhrer, University of Vienna

Francisco Ferreira, NOVA University of Lisbon

Shane Bergin, University College Dublin

Full program details, including speaker abstracts, are available here.