Science Outreach Centre Rijeka (SOCRI) was founded on November 22, 2022, by a decision of the Senate of the University of Rijeka.
The activities of the Centre are:
- scientific communication
- design, organization and implementation of activities aimed at the popularization and promotion of science,
- International and domestic cooperation,
- proposing, applying and implementing projects,
- cooperation with the local community, entrepreneurship and civil society organizations,
- promoting a scientific and educational approach to the popularization of science,
- publishing.
The head of the Centre is an associate professor Ph.D. Vedrana Mikulić Crnković (Faculty of Mathematics, University of Rijeka). The deputy head is Assoc. Ph.D. Nina Čeh (Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Rijeka).
Reasons for establishing the Centre
The University of Rijeka is actively and successfully involved in the popularization and promotion of science, technology and art. These activities are carried out as a result of individual institutions, university centres and individual researchers of the University of Rijeka, but also through our participation in the YUFE network of European universities. Activities include the popularization of the results of scientific, technological and artistic activities, as well as educational activities aimed at different audiences, from children in kindergartens to the general public.
Popular science activities are intentional and meaningful activities (events) whose goal is to provide opportunities for interaction between scientists and the public and their mutual learning.
Popular scientific activities aim to:
• increasing the availability of scientific information to a wider audience;
• encouraging a better understanding of science and the scientific method;
• increasing scientific literacy;
• providing the public with better insight into issues related to science through direct interaction with experts in a specific disciplinary area;
• education on the structured presentation of scientific and artistic achievements;
• education about significant scientific achievements.
Examples of popular science activities are:
• public talks/lectures/discussions;
• visits to kindergartens, primary and secondary schools;
• workshops/schools for teachers ;
• scientific exhibitions, festivals and fairs;
• presentation of scientific results and achievements in the media;
• involvement of the general public in scientific work (so-called citizen science);
• …
The aim of the Centre is to encourage coordinated initiatives and activities that bring together several components and individuals and to make efforts to include stakeholders from the local community, entrepreneurship, and civil sector organizations in the activities.
The main activity of the Centre is the design, organization, and implementation of activities aimed at the popularization of science in the broadest sense, the promotion of the scientific and artistic activities of the University, but also of the community in which the University operates, and education in the field of scientific communication.
One of the Centre’s goals is to document, promote and further support all existing activities and encourage new initiatives.
The centre will design, organize and implement activities in which several components and employees of the University and partners outside the University will participate in a coordinated manner. The Centre will pay special attention to designing activities organized in cooperation with the local community, with special emphasis on activities organized for young people and activities aimed at preserving Rijeka’s and regional scientific and technological heritage.
Also, the aim of the Centre is to promote a scientific and educational approach to popularization, which includes the evaluation of the effectiveness of practices aimed at popularizing science. Additionally, certain activities of the Centre will aim to question the role of science in society and related legal, ethical, sociological, and other aspects of the application of the results of scientific and artistic research.