Award for Collaborative Research with Citizens

A team from the Department of Business Information Systems at the University of Siegen was awarded second place in the “Wissen der Vielen – Research Prize for Citizen Science.” The team led by Sven Bittenbinder from the Chair of Business Information Systems, specifically “IT for an Aging Society” (Prof. Dr. Claudia Müller), received the award for developing a prototype online platform that promotes exchange between researchers and citizens.
Key points:
• The Project: The website developed enables educators, project initiators, and citizens to jointly develop project ideas, exchange ideas, and recruit fellow researchers, thereby creating low-threshold access to science
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• Background: Originally launched as “Research Buddy” to facilitate networking between international students and seniors, the project evolved into a comprehensive collaborative platform at the request of the participants.
• Recognition: The development process was published in 2024 in the journal *Interacting with Computers* and is based on preliminary work by Oliver Specovius.
• The Prize: The team received prize money in the amount of 10,000 euros. The prize is awarded by Wissenschaft im Dialog and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.