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Applied Citizen Science
Provider: Science

Activity no.: 5933-25-12-31There are 16 available seats 
Enrollment deadline: 01/06/2025
PlaceNatural History Museum of Denmark,
Date and time04.08.2025, at: 09:00 - 08.08.2025, at: 16:00
Regular seats20
ECTS credits2.50
Contact personNatalie Iwanycki Ahlstrand    E-mail address: natalie.iwanycki@snm.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserAnders P. Tøttrup    E-mail address: aptottrup@snm.ku.dk
Teaching languageEnglish
Course workload
Course workload categoryHours
Preparation4.75
Lectures16.00
Laboratory8.00
Practical exercises8.00
Theoretical exercises24.00
Field Work8.00
Sum68.75
Aim and content
The course offers an in-depth introduction to citizen science: the involvement of the public in scientific research. The development and application of citizen science is increasing around the world as an effective and progressive research method to address today’s societal challenges. Citizen Science is gaining interest from policy makers and funding bodies across multiple disciplines. Students will be presented with the various applications of citizen science through interactive lectures, discussions, exercises, field, and lab activities. The course includes guest lectures from prominent citizen science experts from academic institutions, representing fields of natural & environmental science, social science, and the humanities. By the end of course, students will have a solid foundation in the theory and practice of citizen science including inter- and transdisciplinary aspects and will apply this knowledge by designing their own project to address a specific research question using citizen science methods.

Students from international universities (or Danish universities not members of the open market for PhD courses) will have a 3000 DKK fee.
Any participants not employed at a university will be charged 3000 DKK +180% (following new pricing rules)

Learning outcome
Knowledge:
• Describe basic aspects of citizen science such as the history and typologies in citizen science
• Differentiate between methods in citizen science, community science, crowd sourcing, participatory science, and co-design
• Understand the benefits and current limitations of citizen science
• Explain and critique the various levels of citizen engagement from contributory to extreme citizen science
• Describe the benefits and challenges of collaborating and co-creating with citizen scientists
• Understand the technological aspects of citizen science projects and current digital tools
• Understand communication strategies that are beneficial for explaining and conveying scientific methods and research results to the public and specific audiences
• Understand biases in, and handle and analyze citizen science data
• Draw links between citizen science research, Open Science, and the UN Sustainability Goals.

Skills:
• Critically review and assess citizen science approaches
• Make qualified contributions to the development of the rapidly evolving field of citizen science
• Design and apply inter- and transdisciplinary methods to meet the interests and needs of the public

Competences:
• Evaluate and discuss citizen science literature and projects
• Identify research questions relevant for citizen science and reflect on solutions
• Target specific groups of volunteers based on motivation, prerequisites, and preferences
• Apply contributory, collaborative, and co-creation methods to research
• Consider and plan for the technical aspects and digital tools for citizen science projects
• Design and implement a citizen science project including all aspects from idea/question and communication to methods development, data analyses, and assessing project impact

Target group
PhD students from all research faculties/disciplines with projects and/or strong interests in including principles citizen science and public participation in research as part of their research tools. This course is a transdisciplinary course and thus open to students across all departments at SCIENCE and across faculties at KU and from other Danish & international universities and will be advertised extensively through newsletters and websites of professional associations and KU’s communications streams.

At minimum, students possess MSc or MA degrees or equivalent from recognized Universities and/or be enrolled in a PhD programme. The course will also be made available to postdocs and as specialized training/continuing education.

Teaching and learning methods
Students will learn by participating in hands-on citizen science activities, discussing published citizen science studies, and designing and developing and peer-reviewing their own citizen science research projects.

A mixture of lectures, exercises, workshops, seminars, lab activities, and fieldwork will be included.

Students design their own citizen science project idea and present it to the instructors and students. Feedback and questions for each student project will be provided by peers and the main course instructors.

Lecturers
Heidi Ballard, Professor and Director of Center for Community and Citizen Science, University of California, Davis
Naja Hulvej Rod, Professor, SUND, KU – Citizen Science in Public Health Research
Mia Toftdal, PhD, Forskningschef, Københavns ByMuseum – Involving museum visitors in archaeology citizen science projects
Dmitry Smigel, PhD, Global Biodiversity Information Facility – The rise of citizen Science observations in global biodiversity platforms
Nikita Bulanin, PhD, International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs – How NGOs work with citizen scientists

Remarks
Students from international universities (or Danish universities not members of the open market for PhD courses) will have a 3000 DKK fee.
Any participants not employed at a university will be charged 3000 DKK +180% (following new pricing rules)

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