In the past five years, the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) has organised a yearly large-scale event in Brussels during the last week of September to inspire curiosity for research and bring the world of science, research and innovation to the public: Science is Wonderful! The event focuses on the future generation of researchers and offers a variety of activities that combines entertainment and education and the possibility to discover state of the art research projects from all around Europe and beyond. With a mounting success, Science is Wonderful! has become a flagship event to popularise science and research to children, students, young people and citizens.
This year, the exhibition will be organised fully online to reach out to more European citizens than ever. The event will take place from 22 to 24 September as part of the second edition of the European Research and Innovation Days, which will bring
together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and citizens online to debate and shape the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond.
The exhibition will be organised through a dedicated online space accessible through the EU R&I Days “Citizens” space and will show, through an array of interactive digital activities, how EU-funded projects and researchers working in all disciplines are
developing concrete solutions addressing the COVID-19 crisis and its consequences, as well as how they are addressing the political priorities that will be at the core of the recovery, notably the European Green Deal and the Horizon Europe missions. The exhibition will be a unique opportunity for EU-funded researchers to put their outreach and communication skills into action, be impactful and explain children, students and citizens what their and researchers’ role is in the post-crisis context and how research has an impact on their daily lives.
In addition, this year the exhibition will also address hundreds of stakeholders from all over Europe in the framework of the European Research and Innovation Days, so EU-funded researchers will be able to interact with them and draw their attention on their research.
Science is Wonderful! is part of the European Actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie (AMSC) programme that supports the professional development of researchers. Bearing the name of the French-Polish scientist Marie Skłodowska-Curie, who was awarded two Nobel Prizes, and was famous and recognised for her work on radioactivity, the AMSC funds researchers at all stages of their careers, regardless of their nationality, from fundamental research to access to the market. With the aim of supporting some 65,000 researchers in seven years (2014-2020), the AMSC constitutes the largest European programme for training postgraduates and researchers. It forms part of Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme. The AMSC – 9 Nobel Prizes, 1 Oscar, over 120,000 researchers, thousands of projects in academic and private institutions... and all that in just over 20 years!
