ScieNcE Together

Project Information

NET

Grant agreement ID: 101162609

DOI

10.3030/101162609

Project closed

EC signature date 18 June 2024

Start date 11 March 2024

End date 10 March 2026

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 774 988,11

Coordinated by

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NET (ScieNcE Together)

Reporting period: 2024-03-11 to 2026-03-10

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Rome has been a leading centre for culture and science, and still today the city and its environs are home to Italy’s largest concentration of research centres, laboratories and universities; in fact one of the largest concentration in Europe. In 2019, the ScieNcETogether NETwork was established, primarily just by those roman research organizations that had a long-standing tradition of interaction and cooperation among them and with international scientific contests and wanted to lay the foundation for an active collaboration also in science dissemination. In these four years of joint work taught us that to make the Night a more engaging and inclusive experience and address a large number of citizens and young people, joining forces and collaboration is key and brings added value. Consequently we have developed a formula to celebrate the Night: a major event with researchers from all NET partners institutions and representative of the stakeholder groups in Rome (the NET village) but, at the same time, we are also aware that celebrating the ERN means feeling part of a larger European community. So, on the one hand we are inviting the partners’ branch laboratories and research centres scattered all over Italy (20 cities from north to south Italy) to share NET’s objectives and contribute to a national celebration, on the other hand we have searched for partners/project stakeholders outside Italy that could help us enhance the European and international dimension of the ERN. Having based our communication strategy on Marie Slodowska Curie as NET Night goodmother, it has been almost natural to look at Poland (Polish Academy of Sciences), France – (Marie Curie Museum) and Sweden (special virtual tour of the Nobel museum), the three countries that sort of represent three different stages in the scientist’s life. The methodology through which we have expanded our NETwork is the basis on which we worked to contribute to the ERN outputs (events) and outcomes (public turnout). To turn outcomes into longer terms impacts, though, we need to get beyond the one-shot event approach. So, throughout the duration of NET, we aim to produce a large framework which integrates various experiences.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

For the NET 24-25 proposal, we were aware that the Researchers at School initiative was providing us with an opportunity to engage with young people on a different basis: not a one-shot encounter during the ERN, but being part of their learning experience in their learning environment. To take on such a challenge we envisaged that our experienced researchers would mostly need some support in the organizing process rather in defining themes and content of their dissemination. WP3 was then conceived as a coordination and support tool to help researchers joining the Researchers at School initiative as part of the NET project. For the proposal, a preliminary scouting of all activities that the NET partners experienced over the past years was carried out, which provided us with basic information to arrange activities in different tasks according to the different coordination actions they required for their successful implementation. According to their objective, the tasks can be grouped as:
• Tasks addressing students: Welcome to the lab (all school level); Researchers give lessons (all school level); Streaming the researchers (mostly 2 level secondary schools); PCTO (only 2 level secondary schools); Students’ calendar contest (only primary schools);
• Task addressing teachers: Researchers meet teachers (all school levels);
• Task addressing NET stakeholders: Special events with stakeholders;
2024 The NET Science Week took place in the last week of September, leading up to the European Researchers' Night on September 20-28. This initiative focused on engaging citizens of all ages and backgrounds with science and research methodologies, showcasing the work and life of researchers, along with the European Union's missions and role in research. During the week, various activities were organized, including the reopening of partner facilities and laboratories to the public after being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided tours and laboratory visits provided unique opportunities for attendees to interact directly with researchers and gain insights in the places where the research is conducted (All the activities are included in a dedicated section of the NET portal:https://www.scienzainsieme.it/category/notte-24/tipologia-2024/net-science-week-2024/). The program offered a wide range of events including guided tours of the research centres, facilities and laboratories, special openings, seminars, educational workshops, and science-based excursions and trekking. On September 27 and 28, 2024, the main events dedicated to the NET European Researchers' Night took place. The main venue was in Rome at Città dell'Altra Economia in the NET Village. The event also occurred at other partner locations in Rome, Viterbo, La Spezia, Livorno, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Venice, Chioggia, Livorno, Milazzo, Grottaminarda and Palermo. Rome NET Village: September 27 and 28, 2024 Città dell’Altra Economia in Roma became the “NET Village”, a science village open to all citizens with presentations, interactive sessions, laboratory-based activities, initiatives dedicated to children, talks and meetings with researchers to bring the general public of all ages closer to science.
2025: The NET Science Week took place in the last week of September, leading up to the European Researchers' Nights on September 19-25, 2025. This initiative focused on engaging citizens of all ages and backgrounds with science and research methodologies, showcasing the work and life of researchers, along with the European Union's missions and role in research. The promotion of the various scheduled events was planned and organized in close collaboration with WP6. The publicity of the initiatives began in June 2025 to ensure maximum visibility of the activities before the various summer closures and was carried out through social media, mailing lists, and press releases. Many activities were specifically targeted at primary and secondary schools, mainly from the Lazio region. The program offered a wide range of events including guided tours of the research centres, facilities and laboratories, special openings, seminars, educational workshops, and science-based excursions and trekking. ROME NET VILLAGE: September 26 and 27, 2025 Città dell’Altra Economia in Roma became - the heart of our project - the “NET Village”.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

2024: During the period of the NET project here considered 47296 attendees participated in the events according to the information available, distributed against pre-events (those held in the project period until September 23th 2024, NET science week events including NIGHT events (those held in two ERN days, 2024-September, 27-28, and school activity. A total number of 2000 researchers were involved in the activities. These numbers are encouraging and confirm the efficacy of the project activity. OVERVIEW OF THE RESULTS: Overall, the results of the surveys indicate very high levels of satisfaction among attendees and a positive contribution to their views of scientific research. Moreover, the impact was an increase in scientific knowledge throughout the public and a greater understanding of the researcher's work (30% and 25%). We made 37% of students think for the first time of pursuing this career, and in 27%, we strengthened it.
2025: 58693 attendees participated in the NET events according to the information available, distributed against pre-events (detail in D6.1) NET science week events, NIGHT events (those held in two ERN days, 2025-September, 26-27 (detail in D7.1) including NET Village at Rome and other National NET NIGHTs, and NET activity for School (described in detail in D8.1 reporting about WP8 activity). A total of 2316 researchers were involved in the activities. These numbers are like those obtained during the activities of the first year of the project and confirm the efficacy of the project activity.