SuperScienceMe: ResEArCH in your REACH - European Researchers' Night

Project Information

SuperScienceMe

Grant agreement ID: 819167

DOI

10.3030/819167

Project closed

EC signature date 5 July 2018

Start date 15 May 2018

End date 14 January 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 561 250,00

EU contribution

€ 160 000,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA DELLA CALABRIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SuperScienceMe (SuperScienceMe: ResEArCH in your REACH - European Researchers' Night)

Reporting period: 2019-03-15 to 2020-01-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

SuperScienceMe involves the entire Calabrian territory: 3 universities, 6 Institutions of National Research Council, and Calabria Region. The activities are based on the successful format of the Unical Researchers' Nights previous editions extended to the regional territory, involving Calabrian research/innovation system.
The claim – Research in your reach - synthetizes in a few words the issue to be addressed: to fill the gap between research and society, in order to implement real and effective co-designed and shared growth.
Since 2014, the format has been based on high involvement of local stakeholder and the general public (family, pupils, high school and universities students, researchers, policymakers, volunteer) to bring research in several environments (schools, hospitals, museums).
The overall objectives are:
• to bring the researchers closer to the general public to increase awareness of researchers’ work on daily life;
• to encourage youth to embark on scientific careers;
• to motivate researchers to communicate their passion for research and their results to the public as the first step to increase awareness of people, in order also to improve the support of local and EU policies on research;
• to inspire all students to embrace research career as an action to improve local growth and to support Europe global competitiveness;
• to strengthen the visibility of the activities of researchers involved in projects deriving from the opportunities offered by the European Commission (i.e. Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions);
• to reduce gender inequalities in research employment and career choice;
• to encourage the regional research/innovation network to create a replicable and scalable network model based on sharing scientific dissemination strategies.

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

Awareness campaign main results (2018-2019):
The WP1’s team carried out an awareness campaign reaching a multi-target of 1.369.680 people developing new tools and using the ROP 2014-2020 communications tools (a best practice in "Perceive-Horizon 2020 project”).
Communication tools used:
• off-line: promotional material, publication of articles, interviews, announcements in main local papers, clips/ads on main regional TV and radio channels, mailing and direct contact with educational institutions, pre-events, gadgets. Promotion material: 2.500 folders, 20.000 flyers, 30 roll-ups, 5 advertising sails 85x450cm, 700 posters, 40 press-kits, 500 promotional t-shirts and hats, 30.000 gadgets and 10.000 balloons, 300 maps of the event, 50 catalog of guided tours;
• on-line (project website, links with other project partners', institutional and popular websites, social networks profiles: Facebook, Twitter, newsletter, web TV, and web radio. Promotion materials: banner, ads, websites, link to relevant EU websites and social networks;
• 1 informative video on Calabrian cultural heritage.

Activity during the Night main results (2018-2019):
• Researchers involved in NIGHT’s activities: 509 (2018 ed.), 1059 (2019 ed.);
• Experiencing research: 408 laboratory’s experiences and demonstrations bookable online (189 (2018 ed), 219 (2019 ed);
• Research exhibition: 145 stands and n.17 Thematic Corners showing research results and dissemination of EU project results (60 stands in 2018 ed., 85 stands in 2019 ed.);
• Experiencing in the hospital: 2 visit to the Department of Pediatrics of Cosenza’s Civil Hospital;
• Discover Museums: 63 simultaneously pre-events in regional museums were organized by involving more than 7,000 people during “Discover Museums” in three days (2nd September 2018, 22th May and 2nd June 2019);
• Imagine the research: 2 photo/video thematic contest;
• Help the research n. 2 accompanying and supporting operative plan;
• Research without barriers: n. 2 accompanying and supporting operative plan for the disables participants;
• Recreational cultural program: n. 2 cultural programme organized, with the participation of several artists.

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)

Impact assessment main results (2018-2019)
-Collection, processing and analysis of feedbacks based on pre and post event surveys, face to face flash interviews, google analytics on website, sentiment analysis of social network.

Main results of the project:
• People attended the activities of the NIGHT: 20,091 (2018 edition), 21,387 (2019 edition,)
• Anonymous questionnaires (online and paper) for students and general public:1,366 (2018 ed.), 1,654 (2019 ed)
• Followers on Facebook page: 4,540 (2018 ed.), 6,127 (2019 ed.).
• Interaction on Facebook Page: (36,929 (2018 ed.), and 38,603 (2019 ed.). The Gender analysis shown that the main trend was of female post (34% men, 66% women);
• 60.000 visualizations and 2500 interaction were observed during NIGHT in the ROP 2014-2020 Calabria Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PorCalabria/)
• Hits on Website (Google analytics): 18,263 (2018 ed.), and 20,735 (2019 ed.). We observed the interactions with several countries intra-EU (UK, DE, ES, FR, PT, IRL, PL,S), extra-EU (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Canada, Australia, India, Iraq, Turkey, Japan, Tunisia, Ivory Coast )

Main conclusions :

• More than 80% of researchers declared that NIGHT is a fundamental event to share knowledge within the academic communities.
• More than 85% declared that it is important to define a strong relationship between research and civil society.
• More than 32% of young people would like to have a scientific career in the next future.

The videos show that all respondents are happy to participate in the NIGHT activities. The students said that " The European Researchers' NIGHT help them to identify future careers”; the pupils said " thank you Europe! "and the teachers said that "the initiative is useful for showing scientific results and reducing distances between citizens and Europe".

Super hero/heroina solving daily people’s problems being in their reach