Researchers’ training in citizen science through direct experience: the Citizen Science School Rome Technopole case study

Abstract

Citizen science can be a powerful tool for empowering communities and building a more informed society. Furthermore, it can benefit scientific research itself, through new opportunities for learning and publication, addressing local and international issues, and influencing policy. However, its implementation can present critical issues, since the process requires, for example, ensuring data quality, fostering participant diversity, managing project logistics, and maintaining sustained engagement. For this reason, training the people involved in the initiatives is crucial. In this paper, we present a Citizen Science School that was organized by Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), in the framework of the Rome Technopole project and in collaboration with the European Citizen Science Association and Citizen Science Italia. The School, addressed to researchers, high school students and teachers, and University students, was held at INFN Frascati National Laboratory, and it offered participants the possibility of approaching citizen science in a direct, participatory, and immersive way through a full immersion in five real citizen science projects.