European Researchers’ Night as an Innovative Intercultural Learning Environment

Author(s):

Joseph Roche(presenting / submitting)Nicola Davis Shaun O'Boyle Conor Courtney Cliona O'Farrelly

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

20. Research in Innovative Intercultural Learning Environments

Format:

Paper

Session Information

20 SES 05, Teachers at Universities and University Colleges Working with Their Professional Identity on Various Levels Including Processes of Research Dissemination

Paper/Video Session

Time:

2016-08-24

13:30-15:00

Room:

NM-G103

Chair:

Carmen Carmona Rodriguez

Contribution

The European Researchers’ Night is an annual celebration of research in cities across Europe. It takes place on the last Friday night of September and the 2015 event was its tenth iteration. It consists of events in up to 300 locations across Europe, all with the goal of bringing research and researchers closer to the public. In Ireland, European Researchers’ Night operates under the name "Discover Research Dublin" and is co-hosted by Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons. It is a unique event that ensures the public get an insight into the contribution of researchers to society by opening the campus to everyone for one night and inviting the public and media to spend some time engaging with researchers and their work. The European Commission funds European Researchers' Night as it believes that in both post-primary and higher education, there is not enough effort to "raise awareness of the importance of research careers [and] make the general public better understand the central role of researchers and the key benefits that they bring to society" (European Commission, 2014). As a consequence, the objective of European Researcher's Night, as defined in the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Work Programme, is “Bringing the researchers closer to the general public and increasing awareness of the research and innovation activities with a view to supporting the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers' work on daily life and encouraging young people to embark on scientific career” (European Commission, 2014). The events of European Researchers' Night start in the afternoon across all European host institution, continue until late that night and attract over 1 million participants every year (European Commission, 2015). Activities include tours, demonstrations, experiments, talks, debates, discussions and workshops. In this paper we share the results of our efforts to measure the impact of European Researchers' Night in Ireland through innovative methods and and look at its role as an intercultural learning environment for future research.

Method

For this research a mixed-methods approach was used in order to cross-verify data obtained from both questionnaires and observational measures. This study explores the public perceptions of European research, in particular its role in European society and how it is funded as well as investigating if European Researchers’ Night effectively raises awareness of the importance of research in Ireland. Short questionnaires were administered in shopping centres in both urban and suburban locations in Dublin during the week before and after European Researchers’ Night. A similar questionnaire was utilised on the night of European Researchers’ Night along with some additional questions to record feedback. We tried to consider cultural indicators and integrate other data where possible. As well as the questionnaire datasets, a team of ten evaluators were stationed at different locations of the university campus in order to observe the events of European Researchers’ Night. This team of observers took part in a focus group the following morning to share their opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of the events as well as suggesting improvements. This mixed-methods approach was necessary in order to capture data across the variety of the activities within the duration of European Researchers’ Night. The study was given ethical approval from Trinity College Dublin. Although engaging in the questionnaire implied consent, each participant was asked in advance if they were over 18 years of age and willing to participate in the study. For all participants that were under 18, their answers to the questionnaire were not collected.

Expected Outcomes

Although this work is not an exhaustive analysis of every aspect of European Researchers’ Night and the plethora of events it entails, it does represent the first detailed investigation of this event in Ireland and several conclusions can be drawn. Although different groups were engaged in three types of location - the campus of Trinity College Dublin on European Researchers’ Night, urban shopping centres in the week before and after the event and suburban shopping centres also in the week before and after the event - all three groups defined research in the same way and selected priority areas of research in similar order, with “Health” being most important and “Transport” being least important. In terms of who decides on research funding in Europe, all three groups ranked the stakeholders in the same order of importance with “Politicians”, the “European Union” and “Industry” perceived as being most influential. This study also considered if European Researchers’ Night effectively raises awareness of research and helps the public understand the role of researchers and what they contribute to society. While European Researchers’ Night successfully engaged thousands of visitors to the campus of Trinity College, its impact does not spread to the urban and suburban locations around the university.

References

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Author Information

Joseph Roche (presenting / submitting)

Trinity College Dublin

School of Education

Dublin

Nicola Davis

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Shaun O'Boyle

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Conor Courtney

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Cliona O'Farrelly

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

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