Get Connected

Objetivo

With 'Get connected' we create the opportunity for researchers and citizens of Noord-Nederland to meet each other and interact in the 'European Researchers’ Night’ and ‘Researchers at Schools’ activities. Based upon the experience with the Nights in 2021, 2022 and 2023, the consortium of the University of Groningen (UG), Forum Groningen and their partners is eager to organise these events again in 2024 and 2025. At the heart of the consortium is the House of Connections of the UG, in which four UG Schools of Science and Society connect researchers and other stakeholders to find solutions for the societal challenges in energy, sustainability, health and digitization.

In Get connected we will organise an attractive mix of events. The main event is the Science Festival 'European Researchers’ Night’ Groningen, in which we plan to collaborate with other Night-organisers in Europe. In 2024 the theme is ‘Living in a Smart World’ and in 2025 it is ‘Create your Future’. Pre- and post-events are a Science Festival for kids, a Week of Connection with events of each of the UG-Schools, an interactive exhibit ‘Create your Future’ and participation in the World Cleanup Day. For the ‘Researchers at Schools’ initiative we will organise a science educational programme ‘Plastic, what a waste’. This programme for pupils of primary and secondary schools includes a citizen science project, visiting researchers and a travelling science truck.

With our programme we aim to engage the general public in Northern Netherlands with researchers’ work, with emphasis on people with low socioeconomic status, as they have higher risks in the societal transitions and less access to science. We expect to involve about 180 researchers and 30,000 citizens. We expect to engage a diverse public and hope to help people make better funded decisions for their daily life, feel more connected to regional and international policies and R&I initiatives, and to plant a seed in children for a scientific career.