Press release 1 December 2022

Using illusions and magic, Matthew Tompkins from Lund University amazed the audience with his presentation to win the national final of the Swedish Researchers’ Grand Prix. The final of the contest, in which researchers present their research in just four minutes, was held on 1 December in Stockholm.

Steps up to the front door and nothing to hold onto next to the toilet. These are common problems for those with mobility issues, according to a new Swedish study in which senior citizens, school pupils and researchers investigated the barriers in Swedish homes.

The EU-funded GENDERACTIONplus project held its first stakeholder engagement event on 21 September 2022 to discuss ways of tackling gender-based violence in academia. Representatives of student and early-career researcher associations from across Europe shared their views and needs during the online workshop. VA (Public & Science) led the organisation of the workshop.

Women were more likely to trust key actors during the first wave of the pandemic. This is one of the findings of a study published by VA (Public & Science). Parts of the results are now available as an article in The European Journal of Public Health.

ForskarFredag, Swedish European Researchers’ Night, returns 26 September – 1 October 2022 with a packed programme of both face-to-face and online activities across the whole of Sweden. Sweden’s most widespread science festival will be providing thousands of members of the public and pupils with opportunities to meet researchers, experience the wonders of science and learn something new.

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Twenty-five countries will be participating in this year’s European Researchers’ Night (ERN) on Friday 30 September. From Iceland to Italy, Poland to Portugal, Malta to Montenegro, researchers will be filling streets, schools, universities and public venues with activities designed to showcase the impact of science on citizens’ daily lives.

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The summer conference season provided VA colleagues with the opportunity to share VA activities, gain inspiration and network at a number of international conferences. VA contributed to sessions at the EuroScience Open Forum in Leiden in the Netherlands, the EUSEA conference in Cork in Ireland, and the EUPRIO conference in Zurich, Switzerland. Here we take a look at a few of the highlights.

The Plastic Experiment is part of ForskarFredag, European Researchers’ Night in Sweden, and is being run by VA in collaboration with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation and the University of Gothenburg. In this nationwide citizen science project, thousands of members of the public and school pupils are collecting and analysing plastic litter in order to help researchers map the extent of plastic waste in the Swedish natural environment.

These were three of many tips that Nordic Baltic Science communicators shared at the Reconnecting People – Nordic Baltic SciComm trends online seminar on 16 June. The event was organised by the Falling Walls Engage Hub Sweden and was open to the Nordic-Baltic SciComm community and other interested parties.