Public Engagement Community Event

Do you work on public engagement, outreach, citizen science, or science communication - or would you like to become more involved? Then we warmly invite you to join the next Public Engagement Community Event on Monday, 9 March (12:00–17:30) at USVA.

One of the core tasks of the university is to address societal challenges together. Public engagement plays a vital and connecting role in this mission. By actively linking research and education with society, knowledge institutions can create sustainable and meaningful societal impact. This is what brings our Public Engagement Community together and what drives our event.

During this Community Event, we will bring together colleagues for inspiration, exchange, and shared learning. Participants are invited to contribute ideas, reflect together, and help shape future plans for public engagement.

Programme highlights

We are delighted to welcome Femke den Boer, Director for Science and Culture at Utrecht University, and Miranda Thoen, Department Manager at the Centre for Science and Culture (Utrecht University), as our invited speakers. In the plenary session and breakout sessions, they will share experiences, practical examples, and recommendations based on their work. Together, we will explore what these insights mean for the further embedding of public engagement in practice and for the strategic vision at the University of Groningen.

Citizen science will be highlighted as one of the themes, with contributions from Maya van den Berg, knowledge coordinator of the Citizen Science NL Network. One of the breakout sessions will focus on how citizen science can be embedded more structurally within universities in the Netherlands.

We will also focus on working with local communities: highlighting existing initiatives in the Northern Netherlands, exploring closer collaboration with universities of applied sciences, and discussing how to build and sustain meaningful connections with citizens.

In addition to the programme, the afternoon will offer ample opportunities for networking and informal exchange.

Who can join?

Everyone whose work contributes - or who would like to contribute - to public engagement, science communication, and citizen science is very welcome. This includes colleagues from UG, UMCG, Hanze, NHL Stenden, and beyond. Whether you are PE staff, a policy officer, academic, early career researcher, lecturer, or student, we warmly invite you to take part, think along, and help shape what comes next.

Programme outline