On Friday 30.09.2016 the European Researchers’ Night -events bring researchers among the general public and invite people of all ages to discover science and research. The events include a possibility to solve crimes with chemistry, spend a night at a zoological museum and have a conversation with a robot. During the night you might also ran into an astronomer from the 18th century.
Since 2005 the European Researchers’ Night has been organized in hundreds of cities in different parts of Europe on the last Friday of September. In Finland European Researchers’ Night has been celebrated a few times before, but this year the event is organized for the first time altogether in thirteen localities around Finland. European Researchers’ Night events are free charge.
The program includes workshops, lectures, shows and visits to laboratories and researchers’ work places. Hundreds of researchers from different research disciplines participate in the events. They will address this year’s Change-theme through their own field of study. How does inequality appear in society? What can we learn from monkeys about empathy? What it is like to be a space researcher? European Researchers’ Night answers these questions and many more.
“Our event is directed to the general public – not therefore only for those who are already interested in science. The audience gets to perform different experiments by themselves and also see the spaces in which the researchers work”, event coordinator, Academy Research Fellow Janne Pakarinen from University of Jyväskylä tells.
The event gives a face to research
European Researchers’ Night events intend to make researchers, research and science’s impact on our daily lives in a rapidly changing world known in a compelling way. One of the goals is to encourage young people to embark on scientific careers.
“There is a lot of forefront research made in Finland, which deserves better visibility than at present. Citizens have also the right to understand why the research is made”, Pakarinen says.
European Researchers’ Night activities are organized in Helsinki, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Savonlinna, Sodankylä, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa. Over ten Finnish universities participate, together with Science Center Heureka, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Technical Research Center of Finland VTT and European Forest Institute.
The event has been granted two-year funding from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions of the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, which finances European research and innovation projects.
Further information:
Event coordinator:
Janne Pakarinen
University of Jyväskylä,
Academy Research Fellow
janne.pakarinen(at)jyu.fi / 040 8054900
Communication:
Mandi Vermilä
Federation of Finnish Learned Societies,
Event- and communications coordinator
mandi.vermila(at)tsv.fi / (09) 228 69 221
European Researchers’ Night program in Finland: http://www.tutkijoidenyo.fi/fi/ohjelma
Events can also be followed with livestreaming: http://www.tutkijoidenyo.fi/fi/kuvat-videot/videot
European Researchers’ Night: http://ec.europa.eu/research/researchersnight/about_en.htm
Marie Skłodowska-Curie: an inspiration to follow!
This European Researchers' Night project is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions with contract number 722854.
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