reSEArch-EU - European University of the Seas

Introduction

Science in the City is Malta’s Science and Arts Festival, organised within the remit of European Researchers’ Night. The theme chosen for 2023 is Changemakers. The event included four festivals: the Pre-festival, Street Festival, Performance Festival and Virtual Festival. This year, the Performance Festival
was held at the Catholic Institute in Floriana, on 29th and 30th September. The festival included an event
called Changemaker Spotlight, where researchers could present their work to the public in 15 minutes.

Description of activity

Dr. Adam Gauci and Audrey Zammit prepared a 15-minute presentation during which the audience was
taken over a quick tour of what Open Science can offer, and how they can contribute to Open Science.

The presentation touched on the type of oceanographic data collected by the University. This data is not
only used by researchers, but it is also made available through various Open Data initiatives, such as
EMODnet. This data network enables researchers to share their data with each other. However, it has
gone a step further and elaborated the data into various maps on the European Atlas of the Seas, where
users can choose from a selection of predefined maps, or even create their own. A feature that elicited
particular interest amongst the audience was the Teachers Corner. This is a tool that can be used in class
rooms to make learning more fun. Finally, the audience was introduced to Citizen Science campaigns that
are currently running in Malta.

During the presentation, an invitation to the upcoming “Bus Tour: Visiting examples of University of
Malta’s visible impact on Maltese Society” was extended to all present.

Audience

The Changemaker Spotlight talks were interspersed with performances from the Musical Minds event, so
the audience was mixed between science and music lovers. About 20 people of varying ages followed the
presentation about Open Science.

Outcomes

There was no time to mingle with and talk to the audience before or after the presentation, since there
were other performances happening. However, during the presentation itself, the audience was
interacting and replying to the questions made by the speakers. The slides about the Teachers Corner and
Bus Tour were photographed by some of the audience showing interest in both items.