The Night of Researchers, under the generic U*Night, is an annual event that is organized on the same day, simultaneously in more than 25 European countries (this year being Friday, September 29), to celebrate knowledge, discoveries and the benefits of research.

The program of the Night of Researchers in this included conferences, interactive experiments, debates and competitions with prizes, in an unfolding throughout the day of September 29, but also the satellite events associated with the action U*NIGHT, from September 22, "Discover your environment! ", Science Cafe & Interactive Experiments event, held between 11 a.m. and 12.30:6 p.m. at the Secondary School in Dumbrăvița and the post-event on October 11, held between 12.30 a.m. and XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. at the Secondary School in Ciclova Română.

The events were organized with the financing of the European Union, through the actions of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, in Timișoara taking place in 2023 through the organization ensured within the UNITA Alliance, composed of universities from Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Romania, including the University of West from Timisoara.

The main purpose of the event was to bring together researchers and the general public, to allow interaction with science and researchers, in a relaxed and friendly setting, but also to promote public awareness of the global issues that science is trying to solve. solve them. One of the objectives was to show that researchers are ordinary people, with an unusual job, who contribute to the development of communities through what they do every day. Through this event, natural phenomena encountered in everyday life, to which physics gives a truly spectacular scientific explanation, were brought back to the public's attention.

In addition to the experiments addressed to all ages, the organizers of the event also prepared a program that included activities such as:

• debates of researchers on topics of major importance regarding the circular economy, climate change, smart cities, cancer, renewable energies, cultural heritage;
• awarding the winners of the graphics and drawing competitions with the theme "Renewable energies" and the competition with the title "Interactive Crystal Growth Laboratory"
• science-cafe in the Urban Garden of the Western University of Timișoara on the theme "Circular Economy",
• interactive experiments, carried out at the ExperimentariumTM and in the large hall of the UVT.

The event "Researchers' Night 2023 - U*NIGHT" was organized at the University of the West Timișoara and in the locations of the partners, at the Faculty of Physics and the Department for Relations with the Pre-University Environment (DRMP), in cooperation with other Faculties and Departments of the University of the West, at the ExperimentariumTM, with the support of the Timișoara, Dumbrăvița and Ciclova Română town halls. The project benefited from funding from the European Union (grant 101061610) within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. The coordinator of the event from the UVT was prof. Dr. Marius Ștef, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Physics, West University of Timișoara.