Researchers Night: Its Your Friday to Discover! (LT2016)

 

Project no.: 722959

Project description:

The LT2016 Researchers’ Night projects for 2016 and 2017 will take place in major Lithuanian cities, i.e. Vilnius, Kaunas,
Klaipeda, Siauliai and Moletai, as well as in rural areas. The project aims to enhance public recognition of researchers and
their work through bringing scientists and public closer to one another and thus increasing an understanding of the impact of
researchers work on citizens daily life as well as encouraging young people to choose careers in science and research.
Both events will offer a broad range of varied activities addressing all categories of the public at large, regardless of age and
scientific background, i.e. notably: Meetings and activities together with researchers; Lectures, discussions; Visits to open
laboratories; Real life observations and experiments; European corners; Various contests, games, exhibitions, movie and
online broadcast watching. All the activities planned will actively involve researchers and will offer a balanced combination of
serious activities and funny ones to be attractive for the general public. Activities will be hosted in labs, lecture halls,
meeting places, cafes, while in the rural areas they will take place in schools or public spaces. Some activities conducted in
the main sites will be broadcasted online. Common concept for the Night in 2016 and 2017 will be Learning about
Technology Futures. Therefore activities of Researchers’ Night projects in 2016 will be organised with focus on Virtual
Reality thus building foundations for the Night in 2017 which will focus of science futurity or Futures of technologies. Both
events will be finalised with the grand event unifying different fields – music, science and cinema. We expect at least 500.000
people made aware of the Researchers Night and its objectives through the awareness campaign and 11.500 direct
attendees to the various events planned in 2016 as well as in 2017.

Project funding:

The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”


Project results:

Increased awareness among the general public of the importance of research and innovation and more
favourable general attitude towards its funding;
Better understanding of the key benefits that research brings to society;
Reduction in the stereotypes about researchers and their profession;
Increase, in the long term, of people taking up research careers.

Period of project implementation: 2016-06-01 - 2017-11-30

Project coordinator: Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology

Project partners: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius University, Vytautas Magnus University, Aleksandras Stulginskis University, Institute of Social Innovations, Kaunas University of Technology, The Lithuanian Institute of History

Head:
Arūnas Lipnickas

Duration:
2016 - 2017

Department:
Department of Automation, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering