Citizen Science Hub aims to develop citizen science activities to increase the involvement of Kaunas University of Technology community in citizen science projects and to promote the involvement and participation of members of the society in scientific research, and cooperation between scientists and the society in solving issues and challenges that are relevant to society.
Our vision – a center for information, communication, and coordination that promotes and empowers citizen science initiatives.
The Hub’s mission – to unite a community that supports citizen science, and to develop the competencies of the university community and society necessary for engaging in and conducting citizen science activities.
Citizen science is an increasingly popular field of research and practice where citizens and scientists collaborate to conduct research and create new knowledge. Citizen science projects are important not only for the participants themselves but also for research institutions and society as a whole, as they can have a lasting impact on promoting innovation, awareness, trust and confidence in science and scientific development. By engaging in citizen science activities, citizens can acquire practical skills, including competencies in research design and implementation, data collection, scientific problem-solving, teamwork, communication and other competencies. This can help them build their future careers in a variety of scientific fields.
The Citizen Science Hub was established as part of the project “Development of Citizen Science Activities at KTU”, funded by the EU under the “NextGenerationEU” instrument.
Activities of the Hub:
Head of Research Information Services
Gedimino g. 50-123, Kaunas
phone +370 (37) 300 652
email aiste.pranckute@ktu.lt
Library Director
Gedimino g. 50-202, Kaunas
phone +370 (37) 300 650
email gintare.tautkeviciene@ktu.lt
Contacts
email
pilieciumokslas@ktu.lt
What is Citizen Science?
Citizen science allows people who are not professional scientists to participate in a wide range of scientific activities, from collecting and analysing the data for a research, to disseminating the results of the research or even formulating the research problem. Citizen science brings opportunities for collaborative learning, for building a scientifically literate society, for creating innovations that respond to community needs, for sharing resources and for sustainable problem solving.
Citizen science brings benefits to members of the society by fostering trust in science and providing opportunities to contribute to solving important societal problems. Citizen science is a sustainable science as it saves human and environmental resources by enabling scientists to collect and process larger volumes of data, etc.
The statements were developed by the European Citizen Science Association to set out some of the key principles which underlie good practice in citizen science. Source: ECSA (European Citizen Science Association). 2015. Ten Principles of Citizen Science. Berlin. http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XPR2N
The statements were developed by the European Citizen Science Association to set out some of the key principles which underlie good practice in citizen science. Source: ECSA (European Citizen Science Association). 2015. Ten Principles of Citizen Science. Berlin. http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XPR2N
Projects
Citizen Science Projects in The World
Citizen science is a rapidly expanding field, and as a result, there are many platforms dedicated to various citizen science projects. Most citizen science projects are conducted in the USA, the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Australia, and other countries.
In Lithuania, we can also find citizen science projects, such as „Species Rally“, which aims to better explore Lithuania’s biodiversity by identifying and recognizing as many species of plants, animals, or fungi as possible. More information about citizen science projects in Lithuania can be found on the website pilieciumokslas.lt.
Citizen Science Projects at KTU
Useful Links
Lithuanian Citizen Science Association (LT: Piliečių mokslo asociacija) has been operating in Lithuania since April, 2020. The objectives of the Association are to grow the citizen science community by bringing together scientists, practitioners and stakeholders, to communicate citizen science projects and initiatives, and to organise and publicise science outreach events, research and citizen science projects.
Citizen Science Portals – LibOCS – the portal provides information about Citizen Science platforms in various scientific fields across the Baltic countries. Citizen science portals allow researchers to introduce the public to their ongoing projects and find people who are interested in helping to achieve research goals. Such portals help volunteers discover and engage in projects that interest them, thus starting their own citizen science careers. The portals can be international or local, supported by the state or funded by different institutions like universities or NGO-s.
European Citizen Science Platform – is an online platform for sharing knowledge, tools, training and resources for citizen science – by the community, for the community. The vision for the platform is to serve as a Knowledge Hub, in aid of the mainstreaming of citizen science, and build on the growing impact of citizens participating in research across the full range of scientific enquiry. We accomplish this by supporting the sharing of knowledge, know-how, and experience between anyone doing or wanting to do citizen science.
The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) – is a membership organisation set up in 2014. Our main goals are to increase the democratisation of science, encourage the growth of citizen science in Europe, and support the participation of the general public in research processes ⎯ across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts.
LIBER Open Science Roadmap – a tool on open science, including citizen science, developed by the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER), with applications and recommendations for research libraries. Open access to the document via the Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/record/1303002
Educational Material
Literature:
