Looking over the Horizon - horizontal priorities in research and in everyday challenges of the researchers' career! The main objective of “FAWORIT 2014-2015” is to overcome the prevailing stereotypes about researchers and contribute to the enhancement of their public recognition through aspects of innovation, gender, mobility, international research and lifelong learning. We address the future generation and show the attractiveness of research career – with a special awareness campaign with developing „SciMotion” with our industrial and school partners. We focus on the target group from the age of 5 to 24, but we aim to address all age groups with attractive programmes. The series of events at 20 locations will focus on the Researcher through his/her career and the lively experiences of scientific life. The public will be “edutained” during the Nights: scientific presentations will be mixed with entertaining elements. There is going to be e.g. an „IQ obstacle race”, an exhibition of researchers’ hobbies, a laser show and HiTech Pubs. The target audience can thus discover that the life of the researcher is fascinating, cool and attractive. Our objective is to have around 20,000 visitors at the events, but a multiple of that number (around 500,000) will see, hear or read about the Nights. We are planning to raise awareness of the European engagement in R&D&I with the active participation of MC Fellows. In the European Corners and at each venue related programmes of the European Union and the Marie Curie Actions will be visible. The structure of the consortium (stakeholders from academia and industry, from non-profit and for-profit organizations, with the contributing participation of schools, a cluster, a multinational company and a media partner), the elaborated concept/workplan and the involvement of strategic media partners will guarantee the success of the project. We are also keen on to participate in the celebration of the10th anniversary of Researchers’ Night.

The EURAXESS TOP III consortium includes partners from almost all EURAXESS countries (either as beneficiaries or associated partners, from altogether 39 countries), in order to ensure the widest possible coverage as well as increased impact. The project has been divided into eight work packages. Two WPs are devoted to the development, testing and pilot introduction of new services on career development within the EURAXESS network. The remaining WPs will focus on the environment of researchers including the institutional context, the integration of third country researchers and reaching out to researchers beyond the EU; researchers within and outside academia, most notably industry; the consolidation of the ongoing services portfolio, be it personal or electronic; the further capacity building of the EURAXESS network members and meeting the challenge posed by staff turnover by trainings, twinning and study visits; networking and knowledge exchange with a wide range of other networks; implementation of a consistent quality assurance and monitoring system operating on several levels on the project, and working out a future vision for EURAXESS in light of the policy goals of the EC set for the period up to 2020. The project will significantly contribute to matching research talents with R&I needs and capacity on a European scale and it will help the circulation of researchers within Europe and among sectors. As a result of the project, members of the EURAXESS network will have better and broader knowledge and more integrated good practices regarding service provision for researchers. EURAXESS national portals throughout the EURAXESS member countries will offer tailor made information in line with Horizon 2020 objectives on making science careers attractive for researchers, especially young researchers.

Success of science shops is down to finding a topic that is of particular interest to a particular group of people because they need to engage throughout the science shops research process, participate in the brokering and challenge identification and take responsibility for the outcome of the process. SciShops aims at expanding and further building on the capacity of the science shops ecosystem in Europe and beyond. During the SciShops project timeframe, at least ten new university- and non-university-based science shops are being established in Europe by project partners. The non-university ones are affiliated to different types of organizations, such as SMEs, LEs, NGOs/NPOs and research institutes. The project partners have extensive networks of science shops which are included in the SciShops Expert and Advisory Board and thus they can uptake first the solutions developed within the project: the SciShops Knowledge Exchange Roadmap, the SciShops Strategy for Community-Based Participatory Research and Science Shops Further Development, SciShops Guide for Establishment and Running of a Science Shop or the SciShops Web platform with its novel twining, matchmaking and awareness features. Through the use of the platform, organizations willing to establish a science shop are able to find a research organization which can support them with research services or they can be twinned with an experienced similar science shop which will help with the establishment and development of the new one. The SciShops consortium has as a top priority to prove the benefits of starting a science shop for every type of organization, but also the advantages the civil society gains from collaborating with science shops in community-based participatory research. The participatory knowledge transfer and exchange events organized during the project timeline will raise awareness on this win-win concept.