Walidah Sholilah - "Development of a participatory water quality monitoring system for Discus fish cultivation using citizen science, IoT and Machine Learning"

Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. L. Avraamidou

This study develops a citizen science-based water quality monitoring system for discus fish farming in Indonesia. Ornamental fish farmers are involved from the early stages through a co-creation process to determine the most relevant water quality parameters and ensure that the developed devices meet their needs. Water quality measurements are carried out using an IoT sensor box that automatically sends data to a web platform. This data is then analyzed and used to build a predictive model serving as an early warning system when water conditions begin to deteriorate. This approach not only improves the accuracy and frequency of monitoring but also strengthens farmers' roles as active partners in decision-making, thereby sustainably increasing the productivity of ornamental fish farming. Find out more:  simonair.web.id

Marit Boekema - "Overcoming the Distance: Using Virtual Reality to Teach Environmental Citizenship in Secondary Education"

Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. J. Da Silveira Duarte, Prof. Dr. L. Avraamidou, and Dr. T. D. Huijgen.

This study develops an interdisciplinary approach to teach environmental citizenship and perspective-taking. The study uses virtual reality to explore how secondary school students can learn about the perspectives of people around the world who are affected by climate change. By helping young people understand these perspectives, the study aims to increase the awareness of students on how their own choices and lifestyles contribute to global challenges.

Shivam Sen - "Agent Based Modelling of Realistic Behaviour in Cascading Disasters with Citizen Science"

Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. A. Flache, Dr. F. Giardini, and Dr. W. Jager

This inter and trans-disciplinary project is aimed at improving resilience to multi-hazard, cascading, compounding, interconnected or interacting disasters for the province of Groningen, given its increasing risks from climate change. For this, the project aims to integrate theories of behaviour in cascading disasters into agent based computer simulations set in the province. These simulations interact with other systems like the transportation system, communications systems, etc. to explore disaster trajectories and consequences of different possible mitigation measures. Furthermore, the project uses a participatory approach, citizen science, to infuse local knowledge into the models as well as communicate risks and come up with community driven disaster mitigation strategies.

Dr. Marit Bogert

My research focuses on two topics: 

1) the gap experienced by many citizen science and public engagement practitioners between the stated ambitions and intentions of universities with regards to citizen science and public engagement, and the allocated time, efforts and funding to accomplish them. To this end we will analyze university policy documents and combine them with interviews with actors from different levels and occupations across universities to see whether they get the support and have the competencies to fulfil these ambitions. 

2) the role of and ways to improve inclusion in CS projects to engage people beyond the "usual suspects". For this we will develop an interactive dialogue game (funded by the Public Engagement Seed Fund) that can be used to foster dialogues between scientists, practitioners and citizen scientists on this subject. 

Dr. Mariana Inglez 

The main objective of my postdoc internship is to better understand the development of public policies focused on the conservation of biocultural heritage through citizen science. Biocultural heritage means to articulate environmental and natural sciences with the social sciences, weaving together concepts and knowledge concerning territory, ecosystems, biodiversity, human–nature relations, and practices of use, interaction, and exploitation, while also accounting for the cosmogonic and symbolic dimensions that humans inscribe in their habitats or territories. In this sense, I am investigating best practices and strategies for integrating Citizen Science and Public Policies, throughout literature review and interviews with researchers, policy makers, and citizens with experience in CS.