Maastricht University (UM) is a founding member in partnership of De BRUG with five other regional knowledge institutions, including Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+), Radboud University, Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC), Avans Hogeschool, and Open Universiteit.
Melissa Prinz and Mariëlle Prevoo from UM library attended the meeting as UM representatives. 

What is De BRUG? 

De BRUG, short for “Diversiteit in Burgerwetenschap: Regionale UitwisselinG”, focuses on increasing diversity and inclusion in Citizen Science, particularly among groups who are currently underrepresented. By promoting active participation across disciplines and sharing strategies for inclusive engagement, the hub aims to broaden access to science. With a strong regional focus on the south of the Netherlands, De BRUG connects researchers and citizens around key societal themes such as nature and environment, health and well-being, and cultural heritage.  

De BRUG kick-off meeting

At the kick-off meeting, the community managers together with representatives from all partner institutions and other stakeholders made concrete the joint visions and expected impact for each of our core themes. They also outlined individual members’ potential contributions to supporting the various activities of De BRUG. In the coming months, they will be working to collect best practices from researchers across member institutions and investigating possibilities for creating an online platform. UM will also focus on De BRUG’s Open Science goals, to ensure the embedding of diverse and inclusive Citizen Science projects within member organisations over the longer term.  

Citizen Science support at UM 

Melissa Prinz is the scientific information specialist for Citizen Science at Maastricht University Library. She is responsible for helping UM researchers manage Citizen Science aspects of their projects through every phase. This includes everything from attracting citizens, maintaining community relations and communications, training for volunteers, and location and facility provision for training and workshops (for researchers, staff, and students, as well as citizen scientist volunteers). She is also UM’s representative within the De BRUG Regional Citizen Science Hub partnership. 

If you have any questions on Citizen Science or could use advice on how to incorporate Citizen Science into your research, please contact the University Library by using the contact form on the library’s Citizen Science page.