As a concept Citizen Science covers projects where citizens voluntarily help or collaborate with scientists on specific tasks and assignments.

In return for their participation, citizens gain insight and knowledge into research; they learn new things, and in some cases, they also get the opportunity to take an active part in the decision-making about science and research management.

Citizen Science provides a significant foundation for dialogue and interaction between citizens and scientists, which, in a time of fake news and distrust in science, helps tie citizens, society and science closer together.

Citizen Science often deals with projects where citizens help researches with their data collection, but Citizen Science can also be the other way around – that researchers help citizens examine a specific problem.

Regardless of whether the term covers one or the other type of Citizen Science, it can be considered as a breakthrough within research, since it helps knowledge to become public property.

Globally there are currently around 5,000 active or live Citizen Science projects.

If you wish to know more about Citizen Science at SDU, you can find more information here: SDU Citizen Science Knowledge Center.