Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OPENRESEARCHERS (Open Researchers)

Teaser

‘Open Researchers’ is designed to increase the awareness of research as a solution to the numerous challenges faced by citizens all around the world and mainly in Europe. According to the European project Stimula, Europe is suffering a decline in the study of science and...

Summary

‘Open Researchers’ is designed to increase the awareness of research as a solution to the numerous challenges faced by citizens all around the world and mainly in Europe. According to the European project Stimula, Europe is suffering a decline in the study of science and technology. Especially, Spain is suffering a serious “vocational scientific crisis”: the Research Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CRECIM) showed that students who have chosen scientific and technological careers are 15% fewer in the last decade. Particularly, the proportion of women choosing science and technology studies still remain below men and the choice of discipline is highly gender dependent. In addition, there is a lack of awareness of the role and activities of scientists nowadays. Reasons are the limited access to scientific culture for children, young people, and ordinary people and to do not see science and technology as career options from the professional point of view. Therefore, the Night looks for furthering recognition to scientists work and to their responsibilities and opportunities for contributing to the solution of daily problems.
\'Open Researchers\' aims precisely to become a platform for the public to have easy access to research and its protagonists, people who devote their life to research. The aim is to promote an activity to allow open access to researchers, free of gender stereotypes, with transparency so that research and science are nearby and accessible by the public.
European Researchers’ Night common main objective consists of “bringing researchers to the general public and increasing awareness of research and innovation activities, with a view to supporting the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers\' work on citizen\'s daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on scientific careers”. The ‘Open Researchers’ project specific objectives are:
• To awake scientific vocations in young and enhance scientific careers trying to impact on female and under-represented minority students.
• To promote a scientific education and culture in Andalusia, involving schools and policy makers in the action.
• To approach Andalusian researchers who have contributed with their work to the development of Science and stimulate interest in our society for research and for whom building it every day.
• To disseminate the objectives and strategies of Horizon 2020 and different aspects of research in Europe through the ‘European Corners’. Promote a sense of belonging to Europe.
• To visualize the importance of women in science and innovation in Andalusia.
• To offer the citizenship the opportunity to discover the \'human face\' of research through

Work performed

Overview of the results WP1
o Conception, realisation of promotional material;
o Graphic and audio-visual coverage of the activities, production of 61 promotional videos and news, official acts...
o Public advertising: billboards, city lights, display of promotional material in streets, public spaces, both static and dynamic (bicycles);
o Advertising in public places and public transport;
o Direct promotion during other public events;
o Airing of announcements/advertising/programmes/interviews on radio and TV stations: national and regional stations, media partnership with regional radio and TV station RTVA;
o Mailings and phone calls to institutions, opinion leaders, researchers from participating institutions;
o Sending of the detailed programme to 300 mass media;
o Pre-events:
o Visits: schools, regional/local institutions, educational institutions, teachers centres, associations;
o Meetings with institutions and companies ;
o Organisation of 8 press conferences;
o Publication of press releases and press notes displayed to Andalusian cities prior to the event;
o Setting up and dissemination of a general press dossier and of 8 specific ones for each province involved;
o Publication of 340 on- and off-line articles, interviews, announcements, advertising in the main newspapers of the cities;
o Revamping, constant updating of the project website www.lanochedelosinvestigadores.es (national) and Andalusian
www.lanochedelosinvestigadores.fundaciondescubre.es (ERN features, characters, schedule, witnesses, news, programme…);
o Links with popular and institutional websites, notably those of participating institutions;
o 99.486 visits and 329.026 pages visited on the official site;
o Revamping and constant updating of social networks profiles, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube;
o 492 new likers on Facebook, over 11.000 friends;
o 694 new followers on Twitter;
o 61 videos uploaded on YouTube;
o Announcement of the event in on-line agendas of universities and participating institutions, as well as scientific, leisure and cultural guides and institutions;
o Sending of newsletters;
o About 2,9 million people made aware of the European Researchers\' Night and its objectives.

Overview of the results WP2
o Offer of the activities as described in the Annex I Part B to the Grant Agreement, namely:
o Most activities displayed through streets;
o Strong support from major public and private institutions of every city participating;
o Doubling of the number of venues (activities in research centres and in the most emblematic areas of the cities, where families, young people and thousands of people walk by every day);
o 248 hands-on experiments, science shows and workshops;
o 100 debates and micro talks with researchers;
o 87 hands-on experiments for kids;
o 14 guided visits and tours;
o 19 leisure activities;
o European corners;
o Active involvement of 1.876 researchers (increase by 28,49 % compared to 2015), amongst whom:
o 51,12 % male and 48,88 % female;
o 36 having benefitted from MSC scheme;
o 166 having benefitted from another EU support (FP 7, HORIZON 2020);
o 68.019 attendees having taken part in the activities offered, distributed as follows:
o Almería: 10.000;
o Cádiz: 3.000;
o Córdoba: 8.519;
o Granada: 14.000;
o Huelva: 4.500;
o Jaén: 6.000;
o Málaga: 10.000;
o Sevilla: 12.000;

Final results

Overview of the results WP3
o Collection, analysis and processing of 5.316 feedbacks;
o Main conclusions:
o Typology of visitors: 42 % under 18, broad age range, 56 % male and 44 % female, 75 % having higher education background, 92 % accompanied, 46,5 % by family members , 45,7 % by friends, 7,5 % on their own, 62 % newcomers, 28 % attending an activity linked to science for the first time;
o Overall positive feedback on the events themselves (activities-93 %, interest-94 %, contacts with researchers, locations and venues, concrete organisation, scheduling...);
o General intention to take part in future similar activities (96 %);
o Scientists involved: 47 % newcomers to the event, 13 % not having participated in science public communication before, 8,2 /10 as satisfaction rate, general intention to participate next year (94 %);
o Most activities successful both for attendees and staff, average satisfaction level: 8/10 (increased compared to previous events);
o General impression that the activities of scientific dissemination are sparse and that they lack support from public institutions, while 87% of attendees and 89% of researchers consider scientific dissemination as very important;
o Regret from both attendees and researchers: too low a frequency of similar events ( 87% attendees and 53% researchers);

Website & more info

More info: https://lanochedelosinvestigadores.fundaciondescubre.es/.