Elaine Chew was an invited panelist at the Open Innovation in Science (OIS) Research Conference 2024 held 21-23 May 2024 at the Warwick Business School premises on the 17th floor of the Shard. In its fifth year, the OIS Research Conference showcases research on scientific research, with focus on openness and collaboration. The theme at this year’s conference was “Zeroing in on the scientist: Navigating Dynamic Challenges in the Modern Research Landscape.”
Open Innovation in Science Research Conference 2024
… “today’s scientists face new complexities and demands. Openness and collaboration appear to become increasingly important for achieving breakthroughs.
Modern scientists now shoulder diverse responsibilities beyond their core research, which significantly impacts their work and careers. Traditional challenges, such as work-life balance, job security, and financial stability, remain relevant. New challenges arise from declining scientific productivity and increased demands to demonstrate societal impact.
What skills do scientists need in order to navigate this dynamic landscape, especially in mastering openness and transdisciplinary collaborations? How do academic curricula have to change in order to prepare future scientists? How do AI and other technologies reshape opportunities and challenges for researchers and impact their workflows? How do institutional mechanisms support or constrain scientists’ open and collaborative work?
OIS Debate: Zero-ing in on the Scientist
The lively debate zero-ed in on requirements for scientists to successfully navigate the dynamic modern research landscape. Moderated by Henry Sauermann (ESMT Berlin, Director of the Institute for Endowment Management and Entrepreneurial Finance), other panelists included Michael Doser (CERN, specialist in antimatter), Chiara Franzoni (Politecnico di Milano, economist of science), Muki Haklay (UCL, Extreme Citizen Science, Markus Perkmann (Imperial College London, Academic Director of Imperial Enterprise Lab).
OIS Experimentation Session
A hands-on Experimentation Session led by Marion Poetz (Copenhagen Business School, Scientific Director) and Christoph Grimpe (Copenhagen Business School) drew conference attendees into teams to design a fictional funding agency’s grant proposal call to foster a variety of desired research and innovation behaviours.
Chocolates
There was much merry making and fine chocolates hand-carried by Susanne Beck (Warwick Business School, Conference Coordinator) from Austria.
