The European Commission selects IIS La Fe to lead the first MSCA & Citizens project coordinated by a hospital

inHos, an acronym for Integrating Hospitals into the Science-Society Dialogue through the European Researchers' Night and Researchers at Schools, is the first project under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Citizens (MSCA & Citizens) coordinated by a European hospital. Its main activities include two editions of the European Researchers' Night and the Researchers at Schools programme in educational centres and other learning spaces.

The scientific director of IIS La Fe, Pilar Nos Mateu, highlighted that "inHos represents European recognition of the excellence of health research and of hospitals' capacity to generate knowledge with a direct impact on people's lives". "This project will allow us to open up new spaces for meeting, listening and participation, and strengthen the relationship between research, health and citizens," she added.

A new role for hospitals in the dialogue between science and society

MSCA & Citizens is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon Europe, the European Union's research and innovation programme. Its aim is to bring research closer to citizens through initiatives such as the European Researchers' Night and Researchers at Schools.

Hospitals are the starting point for this project. Healthcare, research, innovation and training coexist there on a daily basis. This context will make it possible to show how health research questions arise, how scientific and clinical teams collaborate and how the knowledge generated translates into improvements for patients and the healthcare system.

"Hospitals are not only places of care, but also major research environments where science drives advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. With inHos, we want to make this scientific dimension visible, show how research is part of the hospital's day-to-day operations and enable citizens to participate in this process," explained Anna Juan Roch, inHos coordinator.

The European Researchers' Night will come to Picanya

The first inHos event will be the 2026 European Researchers' Night, which will take place in Picanya (Valencia) on 24 and 25 September. With this first edition, inHos aims to take science beyond major cities and the venues that usually host this type of event, bringing a European scientific participation initiative to a municipality in l'Horta Sud affected by the 2024 floods. The event will bring health research into the public space and facilitate direct interaction between researchers from IIS La Fe and the Research Foundation of the Hospital General Universitario de Valencia (FIHGUV) and citizens.

Over two days, Picanya will host science stations, demonstrations, experiments, science shows and meetings with researchers. Activities will cover areas such as oncology, mental health, paediatrics, rare diseases and personalised medicine, together with issues related to prevention. The programme will combine activities aimed at educational centres with events open to families and the general public.

The second edition will take place in 2027 at Malilla Urban Park in València and is expected to involve other hospitals and health research institutes from the Valencian Community, with the aim of progressing towards a regional network of hospital-based science open to citizens.

Health research will reach the classroom

Over two academic years, inHos will develop Researchers at Schools, a programme that will bring science to primary and secondary schools, vocational training centres, special education centres, adult learning spaces and hospital classrooms.

The activities will combine experimentation, demonstrations, scientific challenges and direct dialogue with health research professionals. Through a programme designed to establish ongoing relationships between research teams and educational centres, the activities aim to bring the scientific method closer to students, increase awareness of scientific and healthcare professions and provide diverse and relatable role models.

One of its main strands will be the Young Researchers Challenge inHos, an educational and science communication initiative that will invite students to develop their own research and science communication projects. The aim is to foster scientific curiosity, critical thinking, creativity and science communication among younger generations.

Measuring the impact of citizen participation

inHos will also develop an evaluation system to analyse its reach and social impact. The project will examine aspects such as perceptions of health research, trust in science, participant satisfaction, interest in scientific professions and citizens' willingness to maintain an ongoing relationship with research.

The aim is not only to develop one-off science communication activities, but also to assess their effects, draw lessons and build a stable model of citizen participation from the hospital environment. "Bringing science closer to citizens is not only about explaining what we do. It also means listening, incorporating different perspectives and analysing what changes after a scientific participation activity," said Anna Juan Roch.

The evaluation results will be used to develop resources for other hospitals and health research institutes interested in opening their scientific activities to society.

A European project coordinated from València

IIS La Fe will assume the scientific, technical and administrative coordination of inHos and will lead the educational programmes, communication, impact evaluation and institutional sustainability of the project.

The consortium is completed by Big Van Ciencia, an organisation specialising in science communication that will lead the design and implementation of the two editions of the European Researchers' Night and contribute to the training of researchers.

With inHos, IIS La Fe brings hospital research into the leadership of one of Europe's leading citizen participation initiatives in science. The project will make visible the fact that hospitals not only apply scientific advances, but also contribute to generating them, and will open up new ways for citizens to learn about, understand and participate in the research carried out in their healthcare environment.