WissenSchafftZukunft in der KielRegion Nacht der Wissenschaft 2016/2017

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SCIENCE4FUTURE (WissenSchafftZukunft in der KielRegion Nacht der Wissenschaft 2016/2017)

Reporting period: 2016-12-01 to 2017-11-30

Having opened their doors to the public in Kiel in 2016, all of the region’s 14 research organisations joint forces this year and left their usual places of work to showcase their researchers and work in the four surrounding cities of Kiel.
The overarching objective of SCIENCE4FUTURE is to give the general public an opportunity to meet the researchers who work in our region, to appreciate their invaluable contribution to our every-day lives and to understand the social, economic and environmental importance of science and research for our region.
In the short term, SCIENCE4FUTURE will achieve the following objectives:
•break down stereotypes about researchers and their careers as well as increase appreciation for researchers’ work through personal interactions with researchers
•spark interest in research in young people, especially those from socio-economically disadvantaged or academically-distant backgrounds, through a professional media campaign involving a celebrity youth science presenter, a careful selection of activities and suitable venues
•develop an understanding that research has an impact on every aspect of our daily lives through theme-based activities presented by researchers
•give public an overview of the wide range of research projects happening at our doorstep and the various benefits they generate by including all research organisation in the events
In the medium term, SCIENCE4FUTURE will achieve the following objectives:
•increase the uptake of regular practical research-related activities in homes, nurseries and schools by training teachers, nursery staff and parents during the NIGHTs in simple “take-home” experiments
•improve coordination between research organisations and regional/national initiatives that aim at increasing awareness of science in schools and nurseries
•achieve international visibility for our as a hub for excellent research by participating together with around 40 other cities in the European Researchers’ Night
In the long term, SCIENCE4FUTURE will achieve the following objectives:
•increase the uptake of research careers, by increasing the number of pupils with university entrance qualifications and increasing the number of students enrolled in our universities
•establish an annual regional ERN in the Kiel Region

AWARENESS RAISING CAMPAIGN
o Development of promotional material such as posters, postcards, leaflets, booklets to local schools (nursery, primary and secondary) addressing both pupils and teachers, as well as to pre-school and primary school children, which was distributed in nurseries and schools across the region and used as a give-away at the NIGHT;
o Production of a promotional video (displayed through YouTube);
o Airing of announcements, promotional spots, through radio and TV stations;
o Publication of articles in newspapers and free City magazines;
o Updating visual project identity from 2016 to 2017;
o Organisation of five distinct press conferences on 4/9/2017 to launch the programme of the event
o Setting up and constant updating of the project website ;
o Promotion through the official partners’ and partner cities’ websites;
o Increased promotional action (compared to 2016) through social networks, such as YouTube and Facebook;
o Due to the extension of the event into the surrounding cities of Kiel, more than 1 million people were made aware of the ERN.
ACTIVITIES DURING THE NIGHT
Offer of the activities as described in the Grant Agreement Annex I B, namely:
oConcurrent official opening by in Kiel Minster-President Daniel Günther, in Eckernförde Mayor Jörg Sibbel , in Plön Mayor Lars Winter, in Preetz Mayor Björn Demmin, in Rendsburg Mayor Pierre Gilgenast at 2pm; this was a joint event realised through a live broadcast between the five locations
o Closing of the event around mid-night in all four surrounding cities with an entertaining pub-quiz presented by popular local radio presenters
o Activities in the CITTI Park shopping mall throughout the day until 8 p.m.;
o Offer of over 150 activities:
o Specific kids programme (indicated with special icons);
o Hands-on and interactive sessions specifically addressing the young audience;
o Return of the highly popular “learn a language in 10 minutes” sessions from 2016;
o One mini-lecture series in each location;
o In Rendsburg activities linked through a free shuttle service;
o Theme-based focus in each location (Kiel = health, Eckernförde = sustainability, Preetz = mobility, Rendsburg = innovation);
o Showcasing of importance of EU funding for the region’s research through large exhibition of EU-funded research projects in 3 locations (Kiel, Plön and Rendsburg);
o Special focus on innovation with exhibition and active participation in panel discussions of research-based start-up and established research-intensive companies of the region;
A special science battle developed and designed by local education experts bringing together all five cities and pitting secondary school students against researchers, involving:
o Schools from all surrounding cities for a pre-competition
o A preparatory course for the winners of the pre-competition
o At the battle itself set up of a number of different quiz rounds and a live experiment completed by students teams against a team of researchers;
o Inclusion of the battle in the concurrent opening ceremonies with one team in each location and broadcast live in the five locations
o Reward of the winning team with a cash prize;
Active involvement of over 250 researchers, of whom 10 having benefited from MSC schemes and 29 having benefited from another EU support;
12.837 visitors took part

o Collection, analysis and processing of 908 feedbacks based on a survey conducted in the mayor venues of the participating cities, by 2 senior researchers namely Prof Jörg Kilian, expert in stereotype research at Kiel University (CAU), and Prof Elke Kronewald, expert in media and communication studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel (FHK)
o Training of researchers on how to use their own mobile devices to record short videos for a documentation of the event , which proved very popular and effective;
o Reward of the participation in the exercise by give away (pencils, experiments booklets)
o Main conclusions:
o Typology of visitors: 52 % female, 47 % male, average age 37, most aged “under 18” (21 %, followed by “aged 45-54” (20%) and “aged 35-44” (18 %), about 53 % having completed or being currently in tertiary education, 49 % having a researcher in their family, having had knowledge of the event mostly via the word of mouth (friends) for 19 % followed by newspapers (18 %);
o Overall positive feedback about the event itself (activities, contacts with researchers, venues, concrete organisation, scheduling…);
o Survey confirmed stereotypes about researchers. However, these were overwhelmingly positive (eg. hard-working, intelligent, precision, curious minds etc.) ;
o Feedback from researchers involved:
o Minor logistical and technical problems;
o Enthusiasm regarding the contact with a wider and more diverse audience than usual;
o Longer stay than initially planned;
o Overall positive feedback despite some regrets about longer journeys than usual (compared to their usual institution), in particular on the inspiring experiences resulting from the contacts and exchanges with another audience than their usual one (Kiel university city);
o General will expressed to re-organise event in future.

SCIENCE4FUTURE 2017, CITTI-PARK Kiel

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SCIENCE4FUTURE (WissenSchafftZukunft in der KielRegion Nacht der Wissenschaft 2016/2017)

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