Researchers' Night - background

 

The EU kicked off its continent-wide campaign called Researchers in Europe 2005 on 8 June, 2005. The goal of the project is to establish more direct ties between scientists and the general public through street events, theatre performances, and exhibitions meant to popularise scientific research to make it a more attractive career option for young people with fresh college degrees in their pockets.

The central event of the series between June and November 2005 will be the European Researchers' Night: programs that popularise scientific research will be running simultaneously on 23 September 2005 in twenty-five European countries.

The Belgian event will be held at four different locations in Brussels. Halles Saint-Géry will host the introduction of the robot 'Asimo' - the main attraction - and a wide array of scientific lectures and experiments, including the tricks of lying on a bed of nails, the secret of arched vaults, air balls, and the building of pyramids from bowling balls. Those who visit the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences will have a unique chance to have a peek into closed laboratories and archives. The scientists of the Open University of Brussels can watch the behaviour of the spiked fish, take a trip to the depth of their own minds, and help the Cheshire cat find his own stripes together with interested visitors. Visitors of the planetarium will have a chance to look at the most beautiful constellations of the night sky of the southern hemisphere.

The Bulgarian public will have the chance to attend the Ball of Young Researchers organised by the University of Rusze, take in the welcome speech delivered by professor M. Todorov, and see the exhibition of science books and other publications in the central building of the university.

In Prague, the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences will open its gates, and in Southern Bohemia everyone is welcome to a tremendous rock concert of bands of scientists and university students. Besides this, guests can visit the exhibition of photos and micro-photos of plant and animal microcosms.

The people of Copenhagen will have the opportunity to engage in an informal dialogue with experts of biotechnology, computer science, and robotics about the connections between technological development and the development of society, and a number of related issues of interest.

The Finnish event is primarily aimed at secondary school students. In a tent put up in Helsinki, magic and music will bewitch young people, and short interviews with scientists and an exciting series of physical experiments will also be hosted there.

France will also put in three locations. 'Doctoriales' will be held in the city of Lille; this seminar is intended to support researchers with a PhD on the job market. At the "Night of Digital Doctoral Dissertations" in Paris, ten researchers will be introduced who qualified for the finals of the competition on technical art, digital culture, and the digitalisation of cultural heritage.

The 'Visiatome' theme park presenting ways of radioactive waste and nuclear energy utilization -opened in August 2005-, will offer workshops and guided tours to visitors.
In Greece, a Star Party will be held in the National Observatory of Athens, where visitors will have a chance to observe the night sky and attend lectures and concerts. The Thalassokosmos Aquarium in Crete offers concerts and films on science to children and young people.

In the Italian town of Telese an event called "Science Law and the Civil Society" will be organised. The University of Camerino will arrange a special night of films about the transformation of the role and activities of scientists through the centuries.

The public in Poland will have a chance to attend numerous lectures at the Sixth Science Festival of Kielce, covering various fields such as medical science and physics. The University of Wroclaw welcomes children and adults alike at lectures, exhibitions, and workshops on science-related topics.

Portugal is preparing for the event with a series of lectures, exhibitions, a theatre show for children, and informal conversations with scientists.

The Slovenian Knowledge Foundation gives the public a chance to meet famous Slovenian scientists and researchers.

In Barcelona, about a hundred young people will have the opportunity to sit down at the table with scientists, politicians, and journalists to talk about science and its effects on everyday life.

In Stockholm, researchers in various fields of science will also talk with young people about the world surrounding them and the nature of science. At the Science Carnival of Lund, people may attend similar discussions, along with various scientific lectures and competitions.
Mindentudás Egyeteme / ENCOMPASS (ENCyclopedic knOwledge Made a Popular ASSet) will join forces with the Tivadar Puskás Technical College for Telecommunications and the Physics Department of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics to organise the domestic programs of the Researchers' Night on 23 September, from 15:30, in the Kozma László auditorium of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Magyar tudósok körútja 2/b, in district eleven). The goal of this event is to let very young researchers meet more senior generations of lecturers and researchers; and to allow them to appear together in the framework of a pan-European program. In line with the Year of Physics, the majority of topics covered are linked with physics, trying to address various age groups. Apart from entertaining classes, researchers present their own fields in the spirit of the interdisciplinary approach. The discussion forum at the end of the evening will cover the separation of science and pseudo-science. We start off from the fact that pseudo-science is not bothered at all if it is not considered real science; on the other hand, it has been described by several scientists that the first moment of scientific discovery is not always rational - it is usually rationalised later on. Moreover, total cognition is not necessarily rational, either. Where do the roads of science and intuition cross, where are they linked, and how are they separated from witchcraft that arms the soul as well? On the Researchers' Night, we will try to find the answers together, with active involvement of the audience.