4^th Nucleus Conference Programme

Professor Alexander Gerber, NUCLEUS Project Lead

Giulia Bubbolini, Economist, member of the Italian Centre for Innovation and Economic Development, CISE

In her keynote speech Ms. Bubbolini will share insights into the scope for, and importance of, aligning practices and procedures between all actors to deliver meaningful public policies for societal impact. Her talk draws on her extensive experience in projects focusing on innovation systems, renewable energy and energy efficiency, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). There will be an opportunity to ask questions after the talk.

Caitríona Mordan (Dublin City University) and Menelaos Sotiriou (ScienceView).

This session outlines the NUCLEUS shared process adopted by 10 institutions across Europe, China and South Africa, for implementing RRI culture change strategies.

Representatives from the 10 institutions will share insights into progress made and key lessons learned on their journey at the interim stage of the process. The session will close with a moderated discussion following the short reports presented by:

Penny Haworth, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, South Africa

Marco Rustemeyer, Ruhr University, Germany

Amalia Verzola, University of Lyon, France

Nino Sharikadze, Ilia State University, Georgia

Marija Segan-Radonjic, MISANU, Serbia

Hans-Joachim Sonntag, University of Malta, Malta

Lei Yinru, Wetlands Research Institute, China

Annette Klinkert, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Anne Dijkstra, Twente University, The Netherlands

Representative member of Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom

Dr Marie Briguglio leads research within an RRI framework at the University of Malta. She regularly works with stakeholders in policy and civil society. Her talk will introduce a panel discussion with senior leaders from the University of Malta and representatives from external cells. They will discuss the perceptions, challenges and local cultural norms that can provide the context for implementing culture change projects, such as NUCLEUS, in institutions and in local communities.

Delegates will participate in two 45-minute workshops aimed at providing practical knowledge, tips and advice for setting up and delivering key elements of the NUCLEUS approach.

1.     Develop RRI media-training for researchers – Claire O’Connell – Irish Science Technology Journalist’s Association

2.     Work with organisations/communities to engage with Higher Education Institutions- Bernie Quillinan, University of Limerick

3.     Embed RRI in curricula – EnRRICH Project

4.     Integrate responsible research in urban sustainability practice – Jan Riise, Mistra Urban Futures

5.     Mainstream RRI into policy – Giulia Bubbolini, MARIE Interreg Project

6.     Motivate public, administrators and researchers’ engagement through arts – Luiza Bengtsson, ORION Project

7.     Prepare evidence from participatory research for meaningful impact- Bálint Bálasz, InSPIRES Project

8.     Develop and share RRI best practice studies– Clare Shelley-Egan, Auke Pols and Franke van der Molen,  RRI-Practice Project

Moderator: Bernie Quillinan

Coffee and beverages will be provided

Paul Manners, Director of the National Co-Ordinating Centre for Public Engagement, UK

Paul Manners will share his knowledge of the evolving arena of public engagement. What are the critical things that institutions should be doing that supersede language and are needed for cultural change? How do you deal with responsiveness? What are the fundamentals of institutional change that we must bring forward?

The alchemical workshop is an innovative way to involve everyone in transforming the materials provided by NUCLEUS and other RRI contributors into the recommendations sought by practitioners and policymakers. Using a range of different processes, the workshop will explore the ways in which the needs and values of RRI can open research to the needs and values of society. We may not be able to promise the Philosophers’ Stone but we can offer several fresh ways to look at RRI.

Led by Peter Brok, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

Maria Acaso, Education researcher, expert in Divergent and Artistic thinking

Maria Acaso is among the leading figures, in Spain and Latin America, of the movement “Educational Revolution,” what she calls #rEDUvolution. Her main interest is to promote a change of paradigm in the teaching community. In order to achieve this goal, she proposes that the central issue in 21st century education will not be about What (content) but How (methodologies), making a bridge between arts and academic education. She will share how disruptiveness can help us in building new bridges and catalyzing the debates that matter.

Q&A Session

After 3 years of intense work, the NUCLEUS project is now in a position to start preparing the “DNA” of RRI. What are the main lessons that can be translated into recommendations? How do we connect these learnings with research? What do we need for making our recommendations sustainable beyond the project?

Join the discussion together with: Alexander Gerber, Jan Riise, Paul Manners, Daan Schuurbiers, Giulia Bubbolini and Caitríona Mordan

Moderator: Bernie Quillinan

Coffee break included.