Citizen science: education and research

From March 2014, OpenSystems leads the project “Citizen science: education and research”, which was granted by the RecerCaixa program, driven by “La Caixa” and the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP).

In the framework of this project, we propose the practice of citizen science as an innovative mechanism for science, technology and mathematics learning. This practice, expanding in the English speaking world, engages the public in scientific research tasks. It seeks to share the method, data collection and outcomes with a broad spectrum of the population thanks to the use of new technologies and smart phones with the aim of improving the scientific training of the population, the sustainable management of resources and spaces, and, lastly, the acquisition of co-responsible habits and attitudes towards the environment. This is possible through a platform composed of five research groups of Catalonia from different areas, already doing citizen science but, at the same time, eager to increase their impact by sharing resources and experiences. The initiative counts with the collaboration of the Barcelona City Council.

Five research groups and 13 researchers are involved in this project:

– OpenSystems Research Group, Universitat de Barcelona

– F.E.M. Research Group (Freshwater Ecology and Management), Universitat de Barcelona

– Sea Observers, Institute of Marine Sciences-CSIC,

– Movelab, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes-CSIC

More information: web of Recercaixa and video