Home / Learning / Educational offerings / CHARM-EU Winter School 2026 

CHARM-EU Winter School 2026 

Specifications 

  • Calendar: 4-6 February 2026 
  • PhD Students 
  • 1 ECTS 
  • Location: Barcelona 

Course Director: Prof. Josep Perelló (Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona) 

Organising Institution: CHARM-EU (activity coordinated by the University of Barcelona)

Download the information document

  

DESCRIPTION

This hands-on training program, organised with the active involvement of trainers from seven CHARM-EU universities, equips early career researchers with the skills, tools, and mindset needed to ideate, design, contribute to, or lead citizen science projects, with a special emphasis on their social dimensions.

Through guided discussions, interactive workshops, real-world case studies, and collaborative project development, participants will explore how to best engage citizens, communities and societal stakeholders in the research process, apply participatory methods, and navigate the ethical, practical, and scientific aspects of citizen science. By the end of the program, participants will have an initial plan in hand and will be equipped to co-create impactful, inclusive, and socially relevant science within and beyond their disciplines, integrating the multi- or transdisciplinary dimensions of citizen science. 

Students will have the opportunity to present their ongoing citizen science projects and to design new citizen science strategies collaboratively in groups. Each group will focus on one or more of the following driving ideas, which are instrumental in the development of a citizen science project: co-creation, communities, tools, data, ethics and inclusion, and action. For a detailed description of these ideas, visit: https://web.ub.edu/en/web/ciencia-ciutadana. 

Lecturers
  • Dr. Mia Åkerfelt (Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Åbo Akademi University) 
  • Dr. Isabelle Bonhoure (Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media, University of Barcelona) 
  • Dr. Thierry Brassac (Science Dissemination Department, University of Montpellier)
  • Dr. Mireia Grau (Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona)  
  • Prof. Josep Perelló (Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona) 
  • Prof. Joseph Roche (School of Education, Trinity College Dublin) 
  • Dr. Anna Sànchez (Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Barcelona) 
  • Dr. Saskia Stevens (Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University) 
  • Prof. Roger Strand (Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities, University of Bergen) 
  • Dr. László Róbert Zsiros (Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest).  

PhD Students from the CHARM-EU universities: University of Barcelona, Trinity College Dublin, Utrecht University, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, University of Montpellier, Åbo Akademi University, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences, University of Bergen. Any discipline or research field is welcome. 

  • Reflect on the principles, affordances, and values of citizen science, with emphasis on its social dimensions: social commitment, collaboration with communities, communication, formal and informal learning, and evidence-based action.  
  • Explore ethical, methodological, and practical challenges of participatory research.   
  • Provide hands-on experience in designing and implementing citizen science projects.   
  • Foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration and societal engagement.   
  • Equip early-career researchers with tools for responsible, open, inclusive, and participatory research practices.   
  • Deliver a citizen science project prototype developed in small teams composed of participants from CHARM-EU universities, with mentorship support.   
  • Provide the participants with an international network of citizen science peers and practitioners.

Three days (4-6 February 2026). This is a certified training programme, via a CHARM-EU Edubadge, for PhD students. 

No charges or fees apply for selected PhD students. Tuition fees, accommodation and travel expenses, as well as meals (breakfast, lunch) are covered by CHARM-EU. 

The course allows for the participation of up to 27 students. Each of the participating institutions will select up to three students. Each institution will handle the selection process according to its own internal rules and regulations. Therefore, applications must be submitted following the applicant’s home institution’s procedure and timeline. Please check your university’s dissemination channels for detailed information. A preview version of the application form is available here. 

University Call for Applications Link to application form
UB  November 6, 2025 – November 27, 2025 (12:00 CET) Application form for UB Students
TCD  TBD  
UU  TBD  
ELTE  TBD  
UM  TBD  
ÅAU  TBD  
JMU TBD  
HRW  TBD  
UiB  TBD  

Any queries regarding the application process should be addressed to each institution’s CHARM-EU Manager, as follows: