UM contributes to De BRUG: a new Citizen Science Hub

Citizen Science is part of Open Science, a movement that aims to make knowledge from scientific research more accessible. Open Science NL provides grants to stimulate Open Science initiatives.

Citizen Science refers to people outside the academic world – the ‘citizens’ – helping with scientific research. Examples include people who collect data on plants and animals, analyse archaeological images or participate in health research. Sometimes, citizens offer more practical help, such as scanning documents. 

De BRUG is a Citizen Science Hub. These hubs encourage collaboration between citizens and academics. They professionalise Citizen Science and make it easier to organise this collaboration. 
 

Bridging the gap between science and society

In Dutch, De BRUG means ‘the bridge’. It stands for Diversity in Citizen Science: Regional Exchange (Diversiteit in Burgerwetenschap: Regionale UitwisselinG). This initiative focuses on increasing diversity and inclusion within Citizen Science. 

The focus is on groups that are currently underrepresented, such as young people and those with low literacy skills. The aim is to involve them in citizen science as a matter of course, rather than this being seen as too complicated or time-consuming.

De BRUG is a collaboration between Maastricht University, Radboud University, Avans University of Applied Sciences, Maastricht UMC+, Radboudumc and the Open University, together with various partners. The initiative connects researchers and citizens around social themes such as nature and the environment, health and well-being, and cultural heritage, with a focus on the southern Netherlands.

This connection is sorely needed, says Melissa Prinz, Citizen Science Project Officer at UM: “It is now more important than ever to strengthen trust and cooperation between the regional research community and the general public. De BRUG aims to form the basis for a new joint course.”
 

Citizen scientists at UM

UM uses Citizen Science in various areas. For example, in historical research conducted by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) and the Social History Centre for Limburg (SHCL). Volunteers assist with practical tasks, office work and searching databases. FASoS and the SHCL also involve people from the region who have local knowledge, as they could know details that researchers may miss.

Participants were also trained as citizen researchers for a study within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML). They conducted research in their own neighbourhoods, collected data and identified health issues in their living environment.

Why is Citizen Science important?

Science should be understandable and accessible to everyone, not just researchers and others within the academic world. 

Citizen Science contributes to this by allowing citizens to actively participate in scientific research with researchers from knowledge institutions. This makes scientific knowledge more accessible, transparent and useful for everyone. Moreover, open collaboration can lead to faster scientific breakthroughs, innovations and a major social impact.

Read more about our vision and initiatives regarding Open Science. 

Would you like to contribute to Citizen Science?

On Monday, 15 December 2025, UM is organising an inspiring Citizen Science Matchmaking Event. The event is a mix of a science fair and speed dating: we bring researchers and citizen volunteers together to find each other and start new projects.

Researchers from UM and other knowledge institutions in the region will present their projects in a fair style at their own stands. Visitors can walk past the stands, ask questions and immediately get a taste of how Citizen Science works. Each researcher will incorporate an interactive activity into his or her presentation.

We are still looking for enthusiastic citizens who want to participate! You can find more information and register directly on the event page.