The EUTOPIA Alliance aims to be much more than a university network. It holds a fundamental vision regarding the value-added contribution of academia to society. EUTOPIA-TRAIN sponsors academic innovation with societal impact: it aims to integrate pan-EUTOPIA research and innovation communities and structures and open them to society, business, students, and policymakers. The project intends to link the research communities of EUTOPIA with the local and international needs of multiple stakeholders at the three levels of the formulation of research agendas, of their execution, and the dissemination of results.

On July 24, 2020, the EUTOPIA-TRAIN initiative, launched by the EUTOPIA European University Alliance, was awarded funding under the Horizon 2020 call Support for the Research and Innovation Dimension of European Universities (SwafS). One out of the two main challenges of the programma is to open up EUTOPIA research communities to society: business/industry, ngo's, citizens and policy-makers. Amongst others, this objective is implemented in work package 3, "Open Science and Societal Outreach", and more specifically within Task 3.4: "Stimulation of the linkages between Open Science and Citizens Science". Several deliverables and milestones were connected to this task:

Citizen Science Community of Practice (CoP) created

• Mapping exercise and survey
• Citizen Science Clinics (series of 9 sessions, outcomes listed here)

Two Citizen Science training sessions

• UNICA – Eutopia Train webinar & workshop: “How to engage citizens in your research?”
• UNICA – Eutopia Train webinar: “Successful strategies in applying for citizen science funding”

Online Citizen Science training materials
The EUTOPIA TRAIN Citizen Science Starter Kit

• First version (August 2022)
• By November 2023 (version linked above):
  • Addition of 4th, interactive module, including checklists and templates
  • Graphic design turning the deliverable into an accessible, practical and user-friendly illustrated guide

MS16: Citizen Science dissemination and networking event

UNICA – Eutopia Train webinar: How European University Alliances can support citizen science

D3.4: Establishment of a Citizen Science Education and Support Service (June 2023):

Concept note on Zenodo.