Researchers’ Night took place on Friday, 27 September 2019 in 11 locations from Helsinki to Sodankylä. The event provided new scientific experiences, opportunities for people to try and do research themselves, and discussions with enthusiastic academics. The event involved again hundreds of researchers across Finland. During the day and night, the various sites had altogether more than 28,000 visitors.
Researchers’ Night was particularly popular in Jyväskylä, where the diverse programme collected up to 14,500 participants. Also respective events in Tampere, Oulu, and Kuopio had a large number of visitors. In Kajaani, more than 1,200 pupils participated in the workshops for children, setting thus a new record.
The theme of the event programme was traces: traces that science leaves in society and the traces of humans on Earth. The most popular programme items included, for example, Science Slam Tampere and a science sauna in Joensuu.
“The programme of Researchers’ Night was unprecedented in terms of its scope and diversity. The event succeeded in arousing the curiosity of young prospective researchers and offered eureka moments also for elder family members,” says the national coordinator of the event, Senior Researcher Janne Pakarinen.
Researchers’ Night is a European-wide science event, which has been arranged annually since 2005 to introduce science and researchers’ work to the public. Last year the event was organised in 11 locations across Finland with more than 27,000 visitors.
This autumn European Researchers’ Night was arranged in Espoo, Helsinki, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kokkola, Kuopio, Oulu, Sodankylä, Tampere, and Turku. The diverse programme was produced by nine Finnish universities, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Institut Français de Finlande.
Further information:
Event coordinator Janne Pakarinen
University of Jyväskylä
janne.pakarinen@jyu.fi / 040 805 4900
University Communications
Communications Manager Liisa Harjula
University of Jyväskylä
liisa.harjula@jyu.fi / 040 805 4403
www.tutkijoidenyo.fi
The European Researchers’ Night project is funded by the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, agreement number 817987.