Citizen Science Award
Citizen Science Award 2023:
Eight research projects invite school classes, individuals and families to participate in scientific research from April 1st to July 31st.
For the eighth time, the OeAD, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, invites interested people of all ages - especially school students - to participate in the Citizen Science Award. The committed citizen scientists can participate in eight selected projects throughout Austria during the research period from April 1st to July 31st and win cash prizes (for school classes) or material prizes (for adults and families).
NEW: Participate as a family and win!
The Citizen Science Award aims to inspire all citizens across generations to engage in research and innovation and to encourage active participation in research projects. Therefore, a new feature is that from 2023, in addition to school classes and individuals, families can also participate in research and win in a separate category. This will make research more comprehensible and transparent and thus succeed in building and strengthening understanding for scientific processes.
The projects at a glance:
The range of topics covered by the new Citizen Science Award projects is broad and offers a variety of opportunities for participation: Four projects come from the natural sciences, three from the humanities and one from the social sciences. Two natural science projects explore the impact of microplastics on our environment: one focuses on plastic waste in high mountain areas, the second on plastic in agricultural land. Another science project explores how children and young people perceive science communication and how they evaluate it. School classes interested in environmental research at the junction of natural sciences and technology can participate in a project in which exposure to particulate matter on school routes is surveyed and analyzed. Citizen Scientists interested in the humanities can either participate in research for an online memorial book of the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna; transcribe old manuscripts for a dialect dictionary or survey their subjective experiences of urban processes to be incorporated into urban development. From the social sciences, a project is included in which young people critically explore the social media profiles of influencers from the health sector.
Awards ceremony on October 19th at the Young Science Congress
All prizes will be awarded at a festive ceremony at this year's 2nd Young Science Congress, which will take place on October 19, 2023. The venue and cooperation partner this year is the Institute of Science and Technology in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria). In the morning, it will be possible to dive deeper into research projects. Researchers will offer various workshops or lectures for the students on this day.
For more information on the Citizen Science Award and the projects, visit:
Special thanks to Mrs. Mayrhofer and the team of the CSA for the great cooperation and the fantastic project!