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| Night of Researchers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Night of Researchers |
| Native name | Notte dei Ricercatori |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Public engagement, science outreach |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | Universities, museums, research institutes, public spaces |
| First | 2005 |
| Participants | Researchers, universities, science centers, NGOs |
| Organized by | European Commission, national research agencies, universities |
Night of Researchers
The Night of Researchers is an annual European public engagement initiative that brings together researchers, universities, museums, and cultural institutions to present science and scholarship to the public through interactive events, demonstrations, and performances. Modeled on science festivals and outreach programmes, the Night of Researchers fosters connections among participants such as the European Commission, European Research Council, European Union, CERN, University of Oxford, and Max Planck Society, while engaging audiences at venues including British Museum, Louvre, Centro Cultural de Belém, and municipal squares.
The event features collaborations among institutions like University of Cambridge, University of Bologna, University of Warsaw, École Polytechnique, Sorbonne University, University of Lisbon, and University of Barcelona alongside research infrastructures such as EMBL, ESO, ITER, ESA, and Eurostat. Activities often involve partnerships with cultural organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, Tate Modern, Museo Nacional del Prado, Berlin State Museums, and Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. Funders and stakeholders include the Horizon 2020 programme, Horizon Europe, national ministries of science such as Italy's Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, Spain's Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, and agencies like National Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and Agence nationale de la recherche.
Origins trace to European policy initiatives and science communication movements stemming from collaborations among the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and networks of universities including University of Milan, University of Turin, Trinity College Dublin, and Charles University in Prague. Early pilots involved research institutions such as CERN, INRIM, CNRS, and CSIC and cultural partners like Royal Society and Accademia dei Lincei. The format evolved from science nights and festivals pioneered by entities such as Science Museum Group, Royal Institution, Wellcome Trust, and international events like World Science Festival and European Researchers' Night calls.
Primary objectives align with policies promoted by European Commission programmes and scholarly goals pursued by organizations such as European Research Council and Marie Curie Actions: increase public understanding of research, stimulate interest in careers at institutions like MIT, ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, and KU Leuven, promote open science as advocated by Plan S and OpenAIRE, and strengthen links between citizens and researchers from bodies including CNES and EUREKA. Common themes include climate studies with researchers from IPCC, health research linked to WHO and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, digital innovation involving European Innovation Council, artificial intelligence research from DeepMind collaborators, and cultural heritage projects with UNESCO partners.
Organizers range from higher education institutions such as University of Edinburgh, University of Leiden, University of Athens, and Charles Darwin University to municipal authorities like City of Paris, City of Lisbon, City of Barcelona, and Municipality of Milan. Participation typically involves research groups from institutes like SISSA, Pasteur Institute, Fraunhofer Society, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, and National Institutes of Health, as well as professional societies including Royal Society of Chemistry, IEEE, European Geosciences Union, and European Physical Society. Media partners often include broadcasters such as BBC, RAI, Arte, and RTVE.
Typical formats include interactive workshops run by laboratories like Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Leibniz Association, live demonstrations by teams from CERN and JRC, panel discussions featuring speakers from European Commission, OECD, World Bank, and European Investment Bank, science shows reminiscent of productions by Bill Nye collaborators or exhibits curated by Science Museum Group staff. Other formats include hackathons with partners like GitHub and Mozilla Foundation, citizen science projects coordinated with Zooniverse, evening lectures at venues such as Royal Institution, guided laboratory tours in institutions like Karolinska Institutet and Rijksmuseum, and artistic residencies with collectives associated with European Cultural Foundation.
Evaluation studies often reference methodologies from OECD reports and assessments by national bodies like CNR, INSERM, MRC, and CSIC to measure outreach outcomes. Media coverage from outlets such as The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel, and Corriere della Sera has highlighted impacts on public attitudes toward institutions like European Research Council grantees and career uptake at universities including University of Helsinki and University of Zagreb. Independent evaluations cite increased enrolment in STEM programmes at institutions like Politecnico di Milano and enhanced partnerships among museums such as V&A and research centres.
National forks adapt formats to local institutions: Italy emphasizes regional networks centered on CNR and INAF, Spain coordinates through CSIC and regional universities like Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Poland leverages the Polish Academy of Sciences and universities in Kraków and Warsaw, and Portugal features collaborations between Universidade do Porto and Universidade de Coimbra. Regional versions incorporate festivals and institutions such as Cambridge Science Festival, Frascati Scienza, Brussels Expo, and municipal science centres like CosmoCaixa and Exploratorium.
Category:Science festivals