logo

The first edition of the European Researchers’ Night (ERN), organized by the RAISE consortium – Researchers in Action for Inclusion in Science and Education, took place at the Champalimaud Foundation (Lisbon) on September 30th, 2022, joining the 49 ERNs that took place in 25 European countries.

Around 1200 people visited and explored during nine hours, a programme composed of 60 free activities distributed by six different spaces: from dance, to workshops, from music to practical science stations, from lab visits to stand up comedy and speed dating aboard a catamaran that connected with the NEI organized by the Pavilion of Knowledge – Centro Ciência Viva. There were also moments of conversation, round tables, podcasts, football and much, much more.

The RAISE consortium teams developed activities in schools located in educational territories of priority intervention in the scope of their two educational programmes – the Ciência de Noz Manera (Science Our Way), run by the Champalimaud Foundation, and Cientista Regressa à Escola (Scientist Goes Back to School), developed by Native Scientists. It was possible to see some of the results of the co-creation between scientists, students and teachers in the programme of this event.

Thanks to the funding obtained by this consortium from the European Commission (under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions), about three hundred students and teachers were able to come to the Champalimaud Foundation and participate in this ERN.

In parallel to the work carried out with schools, the organisation of this event established collaborations with other institutions, associations and groups of scientists, artists, athletes, communicators and educators who also seek to contribute to a more inclusive and participative society.

The impact of this ERN was evaluated in partnership with ImpactEd through questionnaires to the participants and the results show that the students really enjoyed the event, rating it with 4.1 out of 5 stars (on average). RAISE partners and about 190 collaborators managed, on one hand, “to show how important and useful science is for our daily life” and, on the other hand, “how science is within everyone’s reach… besides ‘being cool'”. According to the answers to the feedback questionnaires, the work of the RAISE team has not only been able to encourage students to want to continue learning new things, but has also been instrumental in demonstrating that there are no limits to what each student can achieve. In the case of the adult visitors, the feedback about the ERN was that it is a unique opportunity for them to recognise the value of science and how present it is in our lives. For the scientists, the ERN is a moment of excellence to bring science and society closer together and that they have an essential role in this challenge.

We thank all our collaborators and institutions:
  • Escola Básica de Foros de Arrão
  • Escola Pintor Almada Negreiros
  • João Costa Espinho / Maria João Espinho
  • Johnny Santos
  • Matilde Oliveira
  • Sofia Dias & Vitor Roriz
  • Sounds Like Now
  • The Consciousness Field
  • Why Lab

Full programme of the 2022 edition here.

Funded by the European Commission. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.