"Biologists' Night 2021 - a different formula and unfaltering interest" report Dr Elżbieta Sontag, coordinator of "Biologists' Night at the Faculty of Biology UG and Dr Alicja Chmielewska coordinator of the Biologists' Night at the Faculty of Biotechnology UG and GUMed
"For the 10th time, we invited to the Faculty of Biology all those who wanted to see how biologists at the University of Gdańsk work and what they do, how research and culture are carried out, to learn something more about the organisms around us or the functioning of our bodies. Despite the commitment and optimism of the organisers, this year's online formula, on the contrary, did not fill us with optimism... but nothing could be further from the truth!
Despite the winter holidays and Friday afternoon, despite Internet boredom and even snowy weather (in some parts of Poland) hundreds of people joined the activities to participate in workshops, lectures, play games, quizzes or watch a film.
The employees, PhD students and undergraduates of the Faculty of Biology, despite the unfavourable online formula for biological sciences, took up a new challenge and prepared the Night of Biologists in a purely remote form. I would like to note that it was a challenge for the Biologists - usually alive or at least dissected object helps to animate any group, and a cold monitor is an unfavourable environment for a biological message.
During this year's Biologists' Night, the MS Teams (but also Zoom) platform was used most frequently, allowing participants to attend lectures and workshops "live", which was often exploited by participants and they eagerly asked questions. The meetings were complemented by video versions of presentations made available on Faculty's YouTube (access was only via the Biologists' Night website). A novelty in the "offer" of the Biology Department were games: Escape room (on genial.ly), quiz (on quizziz) and even a self-written game show on the website! For the first time in its 10-year history, the Biologists' Night started at midnight (films and games were available from 0:00) and lasted almost until midnight - the last classes on the MS Teams platform ended at 11:50 PM. But that's not the end, you can still play games or watch videos - access is possible via the Biologists' Night programme page.
The staff, postgraduates and students of the Faculty of Biology have put a lot of work into preparing the Biologists' Night. And how about the participants? The participants did not disappoint! There were always at least several dozen people present during the classes, most often the number of participants exceeded 50, and it should be remembered that it was not uncommon for a single "login" to have several people present. Record numbers, which we were able to document on individual classes, were 174 and even 346 participants. This gives an impressive number, impossible to achieve in a normal formula.
Acknowledgements from listeners, participation in classes, viewing of films or the number of participants in games (the quiz show was played almost 1700 times) show that we are needed. It does not matter what the format, the important thing is that we are there and our activities are very popular.
Biologists' Night 2021 was the first nationwide popular science event in the online formula prepared by the Faculty of Biology of the University of Gdańsk. It was a new experience and required new logistical solutions and, besides, we did not know what the effect and audience turnout would be, or even how the network would withstand it. But we did it! Everyone's efforts paid off, we prepared together an interesting programme which attracted hundreds of viewers. What is more, the online formula allowed us to present our Faculty not only to the residents of Pomerania but also to those from other parts of Poland. The Biologists' Night enjoys great popularity and it is also shown by statistics - on YouTube - videos available only through the Biologists' Night website in one day were watched by more people than other videos posted much longer on the Faculty's YT. We miss the normal formula but maybe next year's Night will be held in a hybrid format..."
dr Elżbieta Sontag
"The Inter-University Department of Biotechnology also took part in the 10th edition of the Biologists' Night. The Night of Biologists is an event aimed at all of the world-curious people, but primary and secondary school students are particularly keen to participate. Therefore, we had some concerns that it would be hard to compete with sledging and other winter activities in the middle of the winter holidays. However, the programme of the Biologists' Night proposed by students, PhD students and faculty members attracted many participants in front of computer screens.
The theme of this year's Biologists' Night was "Man and microorganisms". In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to "make use" of experienced virologists working at the Faculty, who were willing to dispel the participants' doubts concerning SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and any other viruses. A lecture by Dr Andrea Lipińska, explaining what hides inside the COVID-19 vaccines, was an absolute hit. Participants also had the opportunity to learn more about viral diseases transmitted by animals and how viruses can be used in a helpful (!) way. Thanks to the involvement of staff members - microbiologists and students, it was possible to attend very interesting lectures on bacteria, human flora and the importance of daily hygiene in preventing the spread of diseases. Many of the lectures included workshop elements, such as looking at previously prepared plates with bacterial colonies. Other interesting lectures were about plants as well as the dark and light sides of coffee.
In this year's edition of the Biologists' Night, students from the Bio-Med Scientific Club were very much involved, and I would like to thank them. They co-organised the event, ran online workshops, streams from the lab, and prepared a film for the youngest, "Home Laboratory" which can be still watched on YouTube.
We hope that next year the Biologists' Night will return to the traditional formula, however, after this year's experience we will certainly extend the programme to include "on-line" classes. This will allow people from other parts of Poland to participate in the event or those who prefer to feed their knowledge hunger at home, with a cup of coffee in hand."
dr Alicja Chmielewska
