European Community Science: DRYRivERS App among the Best!

The Citizen Science Awards recognise applications and initiatives that work to address issues that affect the whole of Europe through community science. It is an honour that the DRYRivERS app from University of Pécs has been shortlisted for the award.

The Citizen Science Prize was first launched by the European Commission in 2023 and was organised by Ars Electronica. "Community science projects are fascinatingly diverse. They are lighthouses that show how we can create a sustainable Europe," underlined Gerfried Stocker when presenting the results.

The top prize went to a Belgian project on bacterial, viral and fungal vaginal infections involving 5,500 women. A project in London which aims to repair broken electrical appliances and a project in Copenhagen about social inclusion were also awarded.

The DRYRivERS app was among the projects that received an Honorary Mention. At the award ceremony on 22 May, the leading research team of four - focusing on freshwater ecosystems - including Amélie Truchy and Thibault Datry from France, dr. Zoltán Csabai and Bálint Pernecker from the Department of Hydrobiology, PTE/ UP were honoured.

DRYRivERS was launched two years ago and brings together researchers from 16 countries, with the Department of Hydrobiology of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs representing the professional side of the project. As a multidisciplinary consortium, the project explores all aspects of the problem, from changes in water quantity to the impact on humans.

"We have developed a mobile phone application. For example, if you're walking in the forest and happen to come across a stream on your path, you can see if there's water in it, if there are just puddles left in the riverbed, or if it's completely dried up. If you take a photo of it, your phone will give you the GPS coordinates, you can upload it to our database via the app and later view all the data on our website (https://www.dryver.eu/app).

It takes 20 seconds for you, but for us it is very valuable information.

The app is available for Android and iOS," dr. Zoltán Csabai told UnivPécs earlier. How does it work? »

Photo: The #ptehidrobi DRYvER Team, University of Pécs »

Another interesting fact is that the twenty-seven projects selected for honorary recognition includes Mosquito alert as well. The app has been developed by a Spanish company; however, the Institute of Biology of the PTE/UP Faculty of Sciences is also involved in the operation of the European mosquito monitoring network.

Photos: Ars Electronica