MyAV范

Citizen Science听engages people from all walks of life in scientific projects. Over the past decade听Citizen Science听has gained popularity as a new way to open-up science to the public, not only within universities, but also governmental bodies, NGOs, research centres, community groups and others.听Many organisations - for example, Environment Agency, Thames21, National History Museum, NASA, UNESCO and United Nations' programmes, to mention just a few - currently utilise citizen science. Policy-makers worldwide increasingly recognise the transformative potential of citizen science and announce statements which call for greater attention to citizen science. 听Thousands of people worldwide participate as volunteers in hundreds of citizen science programmes that are being launched every day.

Citizen Science can take various forms, which carry different levels of complexity. For those involved in designing and managing citizen programmes a whole new set of skills is required - in technology, science and community organisation, policy-making, science communication, and so on - to run successful programmes and apply for jobs in this area.听

Designing and Managing Citizen Science (GEOG0179) will provide you with these skills and the hands-on experience you need to design, implement and evaluate successful Citizen Science projects.听

Successful citizen science projects are underpinned, amongst others, by: thoughtful design and project management models; effective science communication and outreach mechanisms; engaging the right stakeholders and volunteers at relevant project stages; continued programme evaluation; technical considerations (e.g. finding the right tools to collect and share data; designing user experiences to match user needs); informing relevant policy-making; and progressive adaptation.听

This course can be taken independently, or together with 鈥淚ntroduction to Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing鈥� (GEOG0152), where the theoretical aspects of r participatory projects are explored in depth.

Both courses, do not assume any prior knowledge of technical skills, and will cover examples from physics, life science, geography, and medical research. It is, therefore, suitable for any postgraduate student at MyAV范.