Between September 27th – 28th 2024, the University of Bucharest organized, as partner of the ReCoNnect Consortium, several events meant to popularize modern science and to create connections between researchers and the broad public within project Researchers’ Night ReCoNnect 2024.
The researchers of the University of Bucharest attended events in Bucharest, Măgurele (Ilfov) and in the geoparks administered or sustained by UB, with workshops and experiments related to this year’s theme, Science for Peace and Security.
The University of Bucharest attended the event through four of its faculties, the Faculty of Chemistry, the Faculty of Physics, the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics and the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies. In addition, both in Bucharest and Măgurele, the UB researchers and representatives of the SciResCareer project – Regional Centre for Orientation and Counselling in the Research Career – Bucharest – Ilfov – from preuniversity education to advanced research presented to the large audience the way in which science can bring its contribution to developing solutions for global peace and security.
At national level, Researchers’ Night ReCoNnect 2024 reunited over 25.000 participants from all over the country and more than 500 researchers, transforming science into an accessible and captivating experience for the broad public. The event took place in over 20 places, from great university centers such as Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, to geoparks and schools in the rural setting.
Within the project, researchers from various fields – physics, chemistry, geology, engineering and many others – came out of their labs to interact with participants and to demonstrate what their work implies. The public had the chance to discover how a researcher works, how fascinating modern science can be and how it can be used in favor of peace and security.
From spectacular experiments and interactive scientific demonstrations to open debates on the innovations in research, the event showed everyone, from children to adults, how relevant these discoveries are for day-to-day life.
ReCoNnect managed to not only bring science closer to the public, but also to stimulate the curiosity and the thirst of knowledge of the participants. It’s an important step in promoting the research career and for the creation of a better-informed society, one that is more involved in science, declared Bogdan Popovici, IFIN-HH researcher and ReCoNnect coordinator.
Through this edition, ReCoNnect proved once again that science is not only reserved for university laboratories, but that it can be an integral part of communities from all over the country.
The European Researchers’ Night is an annual event dedicated to science and scientific education, organized in Romania by the ReCoNnect consortium. The events are part of the series of Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions included in the Horizon Europe program of the European Union, and they give the public of all ages the chance to interact with top researchers and university professors, offering experiments and scientific demonstrations on this year’s theme: Science for peace and security.
This year, the events were organized in Baia Mare, Bistrița, Brăila, Bucharest, Buzău, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Fălticeni, Galați, Hațeg, Horezu, Măgurele, Pitești, Reșița, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Rupea, Siret, Solca, Suceava, Tulcea.
ReCoNnect 3: Building a Community is a project unreeled within the Horizon Europe program through Grant Agreement number: 101162613 — ReCoNnect 3 — HORIZON-MSCA-2023-CITIZENS-01.
ReCoNnect comprises ten partners: four higher education institutions – The University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, Ștefan cel Mare University in Suceava and the University of Galați, and six research institutes: IFIN-HH, INFP, INFLPR, IFA, INCDFM, ISS, to which we add over 50 partners from across the country.