Award for joint research work with citizens

Together with senior citizens and students, Business Information Systems specialists at the University of Siegen have developed a prototype online platform that enables low-threshold participation in science. The website can be used by teachers, project initiators and members of the public. For example, they can use it to develop project ideas, exchange ideas and find fellow researchers. The team has now been recognized for this form of "citizen science" (joint research work with citizens): The scientists led by Siegen-based Business Information Systems specialist Sven Bittenbinder have been awarded 2nd place in the "Knowledge of the Many - Research Prize for Citizen Science" and will receive prize money of 10,000 euros.

The prototype of the platform is the result of a multi-part research process. "Our original idea was to make it easier for international Business Information Systems students to network with older citizens in Germany," says Sven Bittenbinder. At the request of the citizen scientists, this eventually developed into a broader, collaborative platform. Together, the project team identified requirements for the technical infrastructure and visualized these in a participatory design workshop.

Sven Bittenbinder and his colleagues from the Chair of "IT for the Ageing Society" (Prof. Dr. Claudia Müller) described the entire process in the article "Research Buddy - From a Framework for Overcoming Language Barriers to the Development of a Qualitative Citizen Science Platform". It was published in the journal "Interacting with Computers" in 2024.

The "Knowledge of the Many - Research Prize for Citizen Science" will be awarded in Leipzig in November. The winners were selected by a jury of interdisciplinary professors. This year's first place went to forest scientist Dr. Dirk Knoche and his team for a research project on the birch tree species, while third place went to Dr. Melike Sahinol for a project dealing with prostheses for children from the 3D printer.

Background:
The "Knowledge of the Many - Research Prize for Citizen Science", which will be awarded for the first time in 2023, recognizes scientists for outstanding scientific achievements in the application of citizen science. The prize is endowed with prize money of 20,000 euros for first place, 10,000 euros for second place and 5,000 euros for third place. The prize money will enable the winners to further expand their activities in the field of citizen science. The prize is awarded by the organization "Wissenschaft im Dialog" and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - it is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.