EARMA Conference Oslo

DESIGN OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH SOCIAL IMPACT

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: 2. Theoretical

Topic: Impact

Milica Lilic

Academic research cannot be oblivious to social problems and needs, so projects with the capacity for transformation and impact have to prevail, especially in a context of uncertainty and change. In order to design projects with social impact, we will introduce the Theory of Change, as a project design methodology used to explain how and why the activities of a project will lead to the desired changes, expressed as a medium and long-term benefit obtained by the target population.

European Union Research and Innovation policy: Implementation of Technology Transfer network for research projects

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: 2. Theoretical

Topic: Open Science & Responsible Research & Innovation

Serena Mancini

Authors: Serena ManciniAffiliations: University of Padova - Department of Women’s and Children’s HealthPresenting author: Serena ManciniVia Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italye-mail: serena.mancini@unipd.itPreferred Presentation type: Oral Presentation or Poster presentationAbstractBackground: Most HEIs need to be part of networks to get their innovations and develop special research projects focused on technology transfer and to rapidly create new collaboration and synergies with SMEs. The creation of “joint labs” between university (HEIs) or public research bodies (PRIs) and industry (SMEs), in a specific area (e.g., biotechnology) is crucial to sustaining new high–tech industries.Although there exists a well-developed tradition of industrial network research there is a lack of individuals who are appropriately trained with high-level technical and academic skills, complemented with business-oriented professional skills and a creative, independent entrepreneurial spirit which could be crucial to implement an EU strategy on Biotech and Health fields. This is one of the Innovation policy priority areas for the EU as well as an area of research that is scoring high concerning R&D expenditures.Needs: However, the valorization of the research outputs in the Biotech and Health fields is very low and does not fully exploit its potential to support innovation levels within the EU and beyond.Further funding focused on technology transfer of academia into the commercial world are therefore crucially important. Universities teach basic sciences, such as genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, etc. with a rather narrow academic perspective and often without a sufficient reference to the possible commercialization of ideas and new technologies. According to COM(2017) 2476 final in comparison to the US and Japan, too few Ph.D. holders in the EU go on to work outside academia. Up to 75% of Ph.D. graduates remain in higher education, state research institutes, or public service. Therefore, relatively few highly qualified students currently consider the industry as a future employer or even consider setting up an independent spin-off/start-up company. HEIs need to promote this through greater focus on funding programs on the application of knowledge transfer and interaction with future employers and promote creative entrepreneurial thinking. This approach has been promoted since 2006 (COM(2006) 337) implementing the Community Lisbon Programme: fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education and learning, requiring universities and technical institutes to integrate entrepreneurship as an important part of the curriculum, spread across different subjects, encourage students to take entrepreneurship courses and promote mobility between the university and the business world.Among the most recent documents, the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan identifies entrepreneurial education and training as one of the three areas, requiring immediate intervention. According to the Plan, entrepreneurship education should be accomplished through hands-on, real-life experiences, and research projects, as well as promoted beyond educational institutions to businesses and the wider community.Conclusions: Therefore, the relevance of the technology transfer network has been greatly increased due to interdisciplinary modern innovations, and cross-sectoral collaboration in research projects implementation. This allows to development perspective national technology transfer model based on the concept of the innovation ecosystem and open innovation. Being knowledge actors, HEIs, PRIs, and SMEs play a vital role in technology transfer. The results of this analysis address an empirical study to develop a systematic conceptual Model of Innovation network of technology transfer that will help academics, policymakers, government, and business owners with a more depth understanding of the practical mechanisms that support innovation policy strategy.Abstract topic: Technology transfer; Innovation; Networks; Biotech; Health

Research management striving to re-invent an up-to-date idea of professionalism in a post-pandemic age

How is going to be professionalism for RMAs in a post-pandemic era? Which skills can we expect to require following the pandemic? What is professionalism for those in RMA overall?

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: 2. Theoretical

Topic: Professional Development and Recognition

Susi Poli

How is going to be professionalism for RMAs in a post-pandemic era? Which skills can we expect to require following the pandemic? Following these questions, this presentation aims to define what professionalism for today’s RMAs is – consisting of qualifications, associations, professional frameworks, among others but not exclusively – but, above all, what we could expect this professionalism – its set of skills and expectations - to be in an early future.We all know that Higher Education worldwide has been experiencing a period of identity crisis and widespread criticism following the pandemic. For this reason, in a post-pandemic age, research managers (RMAs) could be expected to reshuffle their skills and re-invent themselves, not only to cope with an era where even professional knowledge has a limited lifespan (Barnett, 2008); but also to create a new idea of professionalism and up-to-date skills for the times lying ahead.All this may end up requiring the re-design of professional frameworks and qualifications so to reshuffle what we are and what we know so far in today’s research management and administration. This re-designing effort may end up impacting professional associations, institutions and the community of RMAs globally. This is, therefore, a call to action to begin re-inventing these skills as soon as we can.This presentation is meant to be theoretical; it moves from the definition of professionalism to the search for the up-to-date skills to be sought in the early future even to figure out what idea of professionalism lies ahead for all those in today's RMA.