The winners of the first European Research Council ‘Public Engagement with Research Award’ have been announced.
Professor Anna Davies, Trinity College Dublin, won in the online and social media category with SHARECITY, an ERC-funded project studying urban food-sharing practices. The aim of the SHARECITY project was to identify, document, and analyse urban food-sharing practices that harness information and communication technologies to administer schemes or raise awareness in local communities. Working collaboratively with others, the project has generated an unprecedented volume of unique data.
Professors Anna Davies from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Kontantinos Nikolopoulos from the University of Birmingham, UK, and Erik Van Sebille from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, have each been conferred with the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award 2020.
The first of its kind, the Award was launched by the European Research Council (ERC) to put the spotlight on how its grantees inspire the public with their research, and how they engage with audiences beyond the scientific community in effective and original ways.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:
“Excellent research demands excellent engagement with the public. This is especially important nowadays when science must often compete with misinformation. We need the strong storytellers and creative communicators out there. I’m glad that many EU-funded researchers have gone the extra mile to communicate their amazing discoveries and interact with the public. I hope more scientists and scholars will be inspired and follow in their footsteps. Congratulations to all the laureates!”
Erik Van Sebille from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, was conferred with the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award 2020.
The 2020 Award has three categories: (i) Public Outreach, (ii) Press and Media Relations, (iii) Online and Social Media. The competition opened on 24 September 2019 and closed on 10 January 2020, with 138 entries submitted.
The Jury of the Award is composed of renowned researchers, science communicators, science journalists, and science policy-makers.
The winners receive a trophy and a tailored communication training session. In addition, the winning entries will be featured prominently on the ERC communication channels, expanding the visibility of the laureates’ research.
The award competition will be held every two years.
Konstantinos Nikolopoulos from the University of Birmingham, UK, was conferred with the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award 2020.