On course for openness

As citizen science grows in popularity, more researchers are looking for ways to involve members of the public as active participants in their projects. But formal training opportunities in the form of undergraduate or postgraduate courses are not yet widely available in universities.

Since 2018, the Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) research group at University College London (UCL), UK, has aimed to fill this void with a course that introduces students to ‘the theory and practice of citizen science and scientific crowdsourcing’. And in keeping with its inclusive approach to research, anyone can enrol in the study unit from anywhere in the world. Registered participants can remotely access all of the course materials for free, though only students who are studing for a masters of science degree at UCL receive formal credit for taking the course.