Training Ide Academy: New mechanisms of impact in Networking and Community Building

At the event FET DISRUPTIVE PROJECT IDEAS WEEK, to be held in the week of 27 to 30 September, we will develop several trainings, including this one, in which we will talk about the new mechanisms of impact on Networking and Community Building. This event is to talk about the main technological trends for long-term R&D and social impact. And then we explain exhaustively what it will consist of.

Research is a fundamental key to finding solutions to the crucial challenges we face in the coming decades. As these challenges become increasingly complex (e.g. climate change and how it can affect the water cycle, crops, migrations, ecosystems, health…), research must increasingly be based on interdisciplinary efforts; not only involving different disciplines in Natural and Social Sciences, but also different types of actors. When it comes to future and emerging technologies, these communities must be created and consolidated in some way from scratch.
We believe this training can help researchers engage other researchers, regulators, industry and end users in active networks and communities focused on maturing new technologies with high potential for impact. It starts by explaining some principles that will help create the baseline for this purpose and then exploring two mechanisms that are showing pretty good results in the current “online only” scenario. It also analyzes in which cases they offer better opportunities. In this way, in the future, participants will be able to choose between different options and implement this decision with reduced initial barriers.

Objectives:

We will explain what it will be useful for (as clear and concise as possible, potentially giving some example or context of application):

• Reflect together and increase understanding on what are the key principles for the effort to create a network/community to be fruitful, really taking advantage of the objective R&I.
• Present the basics on how to conduct an effective working session online.
• Explore the potential of emerging trends (such as Game Jams or hackathons of video games).
• Increase understanding and practical information by exploring real-world examples.

List of main contents:

• Key principles for creating a new community around a purpose.
• The importance of community management.
• New network/online community participation mechanisms. So they can be useful, advantages and disadvantages, examples, application scenarios, main guidelines.
• Questions and answers

For whom:

• Researcher in future and emerging technologies based on deep science
• Researchers who execute highly interdisciplinary projects
• Any researcher who seeks to involve stakeholders in their research.

Speakers:

Walter Van de Velde

Currently, head of strategy and projects of the European Commission and deputy head of the FET Unit (Future and Emerging Technologies); previously FET researcher at VUB AI-lab, and entrepreneur at Starlab.
He is a pioneer in the use of new communication mechanisms for Euopaen Famewok Pogamme, as in his Tedx talk on “The Deep Future”.

Eva García Muntión, CEO of RTDI:

I have been managing R&D&I projects of European SMEs and R&D&I institutions for almost 20 years, having supported more than 350 projects during the stages of ideation, development and exploitation, mainly focused on improving their market and / or social fit and reinforcing their orientation towards the purpose by increasing their differentiation and innovative potential, and creating a critical mass around it. In 2008, I founded RTDI to develop my own vision for how this support could be offered, and today I am honored to work with best-in-class colleagues who complement this vision. In this context, in the last 4 years we have developed a strong focus on helping to develop skills related to research and innovation (hard, such as biotechnology and deep ICT; as well as soft ones, such as communication and strategic thinking). I have also trained more than 2,000 people in these areas, developing our own learning methodology, dynamics, tools and materials.