ICT2015 : (im)possible report

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/ict2015

The ICT 2015- Innovate, Connect, Transform Conference took place in Lisbon, Portugal, last week, 20-22 October 2015 at the Centro de Congressos de Lisboa. Organised by the European Commission, together with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. 

"The ICT 2015 Conference presented the new Commission policies and initiatives with regard to Research and Innovation in ICT, Excellent Science and Societal Challenges."

It was focused on how we can "Innovate, Connect and Transform" the Digital Society.

Near 6 000  people attended #ICT2015! Wow ! Amazing number! And it was so true. I attended the ICT2015. The CCL was full of good vibration, animated talks between the sessions. People of so different coutries, not only from Europe. 

credits : ICT 2015

https://mymeedia.com/stages/ict2015/

The ICT 2015 event comprised a huge number of activities:

• A policy conference presenting the new Commission's policies and initiatives on Research & Innovation in ICT;

• An interactive exhibition showcasing the best results and impact of most recent EU ICT Research & Innovation;

• Many networking opportunities to enhance quality partnerships, help participants find partners, connect Research and Innovation and trigger collaboration;

• Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-2017 thematic sessions, offering detailed information on the funding opportunities in ICT sector;

• The Startup Europe Forum, offering a set of activities profiling EU policy actions for startups and SMEs, innovators, private and public investors.

5,723 participants, 120 networking sessions, 127 speakers, 150 successful EU-supported projects displaying their results, glass pavilion in the heart of Lisbon and thousands of visitors including Commissioners Günther H. Oettinger and Carlos Moedas, 7,000 followers & 18,000 tweets it's been a record-breaking #ICT2015. Impressive numbers, awesome event.

Off-site exhibition at Praça do Comércio

https://twitter.com/ict2015eu

Besides, The ICT 2015 off-site exhibition took place between 18th-22nd October 2015 and was being held in a custom-built panoramic pavilion on Praça do Comércio, in the centre of Lisbon, Portugal.

Under the theme, What European ICT is doing for you it gathered five EU-funded ICT projects chosen to illustrate direct applications in citizens’ lives.

I wrote about this off-site exhibition Escolas : Visitas de Estudo Exposição ICT 2015 inviting teachers and students to visit it. I think it would be an interesting school experience about science, innovation and IT outside the classroom. It was a great success.

Hope you have been there with your students. Did they interact with the robot Alfred, one of the hosts of the exhibition? Hope so. Students love robotics.

Exhibitions are powerful resources to explore and include into the school curriculum. Students learn better when evolving competences outside the classroom in live events.

credits: GSouto (via iOS)

Overview of the interactive exhibition

https://twitter.com/gimst

First day, on the 21 October, I started visiting, in different moments of the day, the interactive exhibition - the ah-ah of innovation, creativity, science and technology.  A dynamic showcase of "the best-in-class results of the existing European ICT Research & Innovation". 

The exhibition encompassed innovation at "the interconnection of science, technology and art". 

Art elements, artistic representation of a project idea, artistic creativity on-site were foreseen to be streamlined throughout the exhibition.

The exhibition design was really awesome. Looking around for some time, I was fascinated with all I could see, the advanced research, future visions. Inspiring ideas. Amazing projects.

ICT 2015

credits: GSouto (via iOS)

https://twitter.com/gimst

After the exhibition my priority, as a creative educator, and a specialist in Education and Innovation, was to participate in the Plenary sessions: Opening Ceremony ; Innovation Potential in the Digital Age ;  Transforming Research and Innovation into Growth and Jobs, Prizes Award Ceremonies, Final Plenary: The Transformative Impact of Excellence Science.

The better way to have a good panoramic idea about all the good things at ICT 2015. I couldn't reach all the sessions with so many parallel sessions.  I was not there for business. So I focused myself on the Plenary sessions. 

But I participated in two parallel sessions on Digital Learning. Not so interesting. Traditional networks, no interacting or presenting innovative ideas about ICT in Education. This event deserved better parallel session in Education (Schools).

To me the real creative session was the Plenary 6 : Driving Innovation through Creativity and the Arts. It took place at the Auditorium 1, first day October 21. Awesome projects through Arts and creativity. Inspiring talks by an awesome panel. I would like to highlight Simona Maschi CIID, Denemark "From Inspiration to Impact", Gerfried Stocker, Ars Electronica Linz GmbH.

Starting from the idea "How can creative ideas be brought in from the edge to transform how we live and work?", the speakers explored  through inspirational examples in education, in industry, and in academia, on what more can be done to benefit from this exciting nexus and stimulate it further.

The aim of the session was to discuss how stimulating the crossovers of creative ideas, particularly from the Arts, can drive innovation in Europe. 

Speakers addressed how crossovers from culture/the Arts to innovation is done in industry, in education and in academia.

Visual summary from the 6th #ICT2015 Plenary Session

 Think Doodly | Verity Harrisson, visual storyteller

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalAgenda

The visual storyteller Veronica Harrisson used the graphic illustration to capture the fundamental ideas of the speakers and gave us her own interpretation on this clear graphic facilation panel. Creative graphic facilitator. Applauded by the participants and the speakers.

As I wrote before ICT 2015 hosted an exhibition of 140 Projects financed with European funds. The projects have been divided in 3 Categories : Innovate, Connect, Transform. There has been also the main Prize of the overall exhibition. 

Interactive exhibition

credits: ICT2015

https://twitter.com/ict2015eu

And the four winners are: 

• Best Exhibition Stand: USEMP, User Empowerment for Enhanced Online Presence Management

• Innovate winner: Human Brain Project

• Connect winner: No One left behind

• Transform winner: Rockin Monarch

Rockin Monarch directed to children in hospitals & No One Left Behind directed to kids inclusion were my favorites, of course. My higher interests are the young people, special needs, inclusion and equity. I congratulate those two interesting projects.

Some considerations or a (im)possible report:

For three long days, speakers, researchers, practitioners, producers, skate holders and participants shared  interesting ideas and experiences.

I joined key speakers at Plenary sessions and two parallel sessions on digital learning, my area

I am an independent specialist in Education innovation (Schools), a European micro innovator (VISIR), I was very curious to hear about the new ideas.

I was focused on Digital learning and innovation potential in the Digital Age (arts, culture, technologies). I heard inspiring talks about innovation through arts, culture.

Digital learning and innovation potential in the Digital Age (arts, culture, technologies) were on my best interests. Heard inspiring talks about innovation through arts, culture.

On the lobby for lunch or break coffee, the participants could discuss the ideas. Enthusiastic talks

The event has been live web streamed and offered the possibility to interact with participants and followers on Twitter - huge participation - Facebook, YouTube.

Well, what can I say more? Impossible to describe the feeling of being a part of this incredible event. I had a fantastic time in Lisbon attending the ICT 2015 conference.

Amazing event incubating a multidimensional mass of sciences, art, technologies and culture. 

Best event I ever been ! Inspiring talks, creative vibes, excellent organization, awesome exhibition design, innovation, technologies.

Of course this is a (im)possible report of an impressive event. Some notes about the areas that touch my interests in this excellent and innovative big event.

"While a new idea is a thought about something new or unique, and making that idea real is an invention, innovation is an invention that has a socioeconomic effect. Innovation changes the way people live."

Bijker, 1995 - The social construction of technology

G-Souto

28.10.2015

Copyright © 2015G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

ICT 2015 : (im)possible report by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References:

ICT 2015 website & social networks (videos, some photos, and information)

Bijker's quote: thanks to Simona Maschi

EUCYS2014: The European Union Contest for Young Scientists

http://ec.europa.eu/

"Researchers should follow their hearts, not fashion" 

Martin Hairer - Fields Medal winner

"The EUCYS – European Union Contest for Young Scientists is an initiative of the European Commission that was set up in 1989 with the goal of promoting cooperation and interchange between young scientists and guiding them towards a future career in science and technology."

The 26th edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) will take place at University of Warsow, Polland, from 19 until 24 September 2014.

http://www.uw.edu.pl/

The event is an annual contest and exhibition of the finest work developed in many scientific fields; the best young minds of different countries can compare ideas and admire each other's work.

Watch the official presentation of the 26th edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS): 

Aims:

Promoting the science interchange between young scientists and guiding them to a future in science and technology.

The event is an annually held exhibition of the finest work developed in many scientific fields, and given its nature as a competition.

The best young minds of different countries can compare ideas and admire each other’s work, thus bringing great interest upon the contest by the international and local communities and press.

The EUCYS is, yet, an opportunity for the young students, who have reached a prestige position in their home countries, to exchange new ideas, share common interests and gain experience from an event which involves some of the most foremost european scientists. 

The outcome is a significant endorsement by the European Commission, of the work and development achieved in each participant country, to guide and promote more and more young people to careers in science and technology. 

Being an international contest, the EUCYS integrates in the activities of Science and Society managed by the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. 

Within the Framework Programmes for the Research and Technological Development and in the European Development Area, Science and Society strives to build a solid link between scientific endeavour and the general european community.

http://eucys2014.pl/

Projects 2014:

EUCYS 2014 has approved 85 projects, 119 young innovators from 37 countries. You can find the complete list here Projects: Biology Chemistry Computing Engineering Environment Materials Mathematics Medicine Physics Social Sciences KATEGORIAA http://www.fjuventude.pt/

There are three projects from Portugal selected by the National Organizer - Fundação da Juventude:

• Mariana Pinho Garcia, Matilde Gonçalves Moreira Silva : Smart Snails (Biology)

The development of a chronic mollusc toxicity test is currently a work item on the agenda of the OECD. We report the improvement and standardization of a toxicity bioassay using eggs of the great pond water snail Lymnaea stagnalis L., which have a biological indicator of water pollutants. Read more here 

• João Pedro Estácio Gaspar Gonçalves Araújo : A natural Ccharacterization of Semilattices of Rectangular Bands and Groups of Exponent Two (Mathematics)

In a recent paper, R.A.R. Monzo characterized semilattices of rectangular bands and groups of exponent 2. However, his characterization does not point directly to the properties of rectangular bands and groups of exponent 2 (namely, idempotency and commutativity). Read more here

• Anna Lena Hormann, Cândida Pimentel Medeiros, Tânia Patrícia Santos : Iodine Availability and Thyroid Morphological Alterations (Medicine)

Iodine is a fundamental micronutrient for the thyroid gland activity and consequentially for the good development of the organism, starting from the pre-natal phase. The Azores are the region of the country that present the lowest iodine levels among the population despite the fact of being privileged in geographical terms, regarding the main source of iodine, the sea. Read more here

Read on a Portuguese digital newspaper about all these young Portuguese scientists.

Jury:

The contest Jury is composed of 18 highly qualified scientists and engineers with worldwide reputations in their chosen field. The jury carry out their duties at the contest as independent scientific experts and not as representatives of any institution, organisation or country. The European Commission appoints the Jury annually, basing its selection on the scientific and technological needs of the contest.

The jury are selected both from academia and industry. The Commission ensures an appropriate geographical and gender balance. Jury members can remain on the jury for up to 5 years.

The role of the Jury of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists is of utmost importance. The Jury assesses and scores the competing projects based on their written description (before the Contest) and through interviews with the Contestants carried out at the exhibition during the Contest. 

You can know the Jury here

Prizes:

The participants compete for a number of “core” prizes on the basis of a written description of their work, their exhibited material and the interviews with the Contest Jury. In addition to this, a limited number of “special donated” prizes are also awarded by the Jury, which offer some winners the opportunity to benefit from scientific experiences. It is up to the Jury to decide whether a prize-winner can receive both a core prize and a special donated prize. 

Find the complete list here.

University of Warsaw

http://eucys2014.pl/

Host organiser:

The Host organiser of the 26th EUCYS are University of Warsaw, Polish Children's Fund, Copernicus Science Center, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Republic of Poland.

Warsow,  amazing city, the capital of Poland. Full of surprises. This city will inspire and excite you. It is located on the Vistula river, population is estimated at 1.7 million residents within a major metropolitan area of 2.7 million residents, making Warsaw the 9th most populous city in the European Union.

Award Ceremony: 

The Award ceremony & reception will taks place on Tuesday, September 23th 2014.

Some thoughts:

Contests are always important activities in the curriculum. Students are encouraged to demonstrate their inner creativity and develop competences as young innovators. Research and innovation is the big goal.

Of course an internationqal contest, in this case European contest (with young scientists from Europe and other countries in the world) is a unique oportunity to these young students/young researchers to reach an interesting prestige in their own countries. It's fhe big moment to share new ideas, common interests and gain experience at a contest that involves some of the most foremost young scientists.

#EUCYS14

Let's following #EUCYS next days on Facebook and Twitter to know the new young scientists 2014.

And hoping the Portuguese young scientists could get a award as their colleagues in Prague, 2013.

Jéssica Marques, Jéssica Santos e Soraia Gaspar receberam o prémio de originalidade European Patent Office (EPO), em Praga, República Checa. «SmartKit» foi o projecto que lhes permitiu ganhar a importante distinção, um projecto na área das Ciências Médicas. 

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” 

Joel Barker

G-Souto

17.09.2014

Copyright © 2014G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

EUCYS : The European Union Contest for Young Scientistses by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.