The RMIT University and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) have partnered to bring postgraduate students from RMIT University and BIST together to learn more about the intersection of science and society through two hands-on workshops this week.
The workshops are part of an ongoing collaboration between RMIT and BIST which aims to promote networking among both institutes’ PhD students carrying out research in the fields of engineering, natural sciences, and life sciences. The initiative also forms part of The International Perspectives in Science study tour at RMIT and the PREBIST COFUND Programme at BIST.
The PREBIST Programme is a doctoral fellowship programme led by BIST, which allows highly motivated international PhD fellows to launch their scientific career in research centres of excellence in a multidisciplinary environment in the Barcelona area. The programme is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant and aims to provide students with ample opportunity to build their research careers, develop their professional skills, and network to create important connections.
The International Perspectives in Science study tour at RMIT Europe aims to allow PhD students to visit various locations where research, development, and innovation take place, and expose them to the different ways that these are carried out. This year, the study tour programme will take students from Barcelona to Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and finally Aachen, visiting a variety of universities, research institutes and companies along the way.
The two courses that were held for students from both institutes this week were: a workshop on best practises and co-creation for Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), on September 16th, and a workshop to learn about start-up research on September 18th.
The first workshop adapted learnings from the GoNano Project to inform participants about the problems that arise when research, development and innovation (R&D&I) is carried out unilaterally; and the increasing need to include societal, as well as professional stakeholders in the R&D&I process. Participants were introduced to the key concepts and definitions of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and co-creation, and put them into practice through a series of creative design sessions.
The second workshop allowed participants to use the latest methodologies and tools used by innovative companies while designing and implementing products and services. Participants were introduced to key concepts and definitions of current entrepreneurship and innovation jargon, and put them into practice as a continuation of the previous sessions. Using the outcomes of the first workshop, participants explored routes to potentially sustainable business models for their project ideas.
Both workshops also offered students a space for networking and building connections for the future, and to continue to strengthen the collaboration between BIST and RMIT.
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The GoNano project and the PREBIST BIST PhD Fellowship Programme have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant agreement numbers 768622 and 754558.