Interview with partner organisation: University of Thessaly
A strategic investment to institutionalise citizen science and make it a core competency of the university
For the University of Thessaly, UTH, one of its most important missions is to extend its research outward by engaging the citizens in its scientific research and processes. Science goes hand in hand with human progress and thus aims to democratise knowledge and fulfil research in a collaborative, societal context.
University of Thessaly also aspires to safeguard civic engagement by contributing to local and wider societal development through its participation in projects like EPiCS. UTH has participated in many projects that align with the EPiCS objectives and can utilise the acquired knowledge to support the project further. For example, the University of Thessaly has a long history of participation in citizen science projects and projects that put active citizenship at the forefront, for example, in:
The ENHANCE project: which was focused on "the model of Community Service Learning as an innovative practice for didactics."
FOODMISSION: Engaging citizens as agents of change for sustainable food system transition with a novel gamified educational citizen science platform.
TENACITY: Academic Third Mission: comuniTy Engagement for a kNowledge bAsed soCIeTY. This project was entirely focused on the "Third Mission" of universities, which is engagement with society. It directly involved participatory research and service-learning to build a knowledge-based society.
HECSOs: Higher Education institutions and Civil Society Organisations together for community engagement.
One of the most important lessons from previous projects is that successful participatory projects are ecosystems, not just experiments. This means that for a project to achieve its objectives of engaging citizens, it needs to foster a community of practice, where voices are equally heard, and participants feel seen and heard. It is essential to create and maintain a community where both parties feel secure enough to explore various ideas.
Participation in EPiCS is not just about executing a single project. It is about leveraging this initiative as a strategic investment to institutionalise citizen science and make it a core competency of the university. We hope to transform the relationship between the university and the public, creating a more open, collaborative, and impactful research paradigm for the future.