E-CLab Summer School and 1st Reunice Doctoral Summer School on Sustainable Science took place from 10 to 14 July in Italy.
University of Catania (Italy) hosted two parallel summer schools at Palazzo dell’Etna, from 10 to 14 July, 2023: the ECLab Summer School and the first Reunice Doctoral Summer School on Sustainable Science, involving over a hundred international guests including students, mentors, tutors and university staff.
Participation in the ECLab Summer School was the prize up for grabs for the most deserving students who participated in the entrepreneurship workshops and training activities held online between March and May 2023, with the aim of stimulating brainstorming on innovation and the development of new technologies. The objective of the CLab is the transformation of an idea into a project with an entrepreneurial vocation (spin-off, start-up) and commercialisation of R&D results (licences, patents). Best teams and deserving students were selected during the final event on 26 May, a pitch in front of a jury, and upon successful completion of individual tests.
The ECLab Summer School, coordinated by Prof. Daniela Giordano (University of Catania), focused on providing students with a conceptual framework and practical tools for working in complex situations. Students learnt how the concept of “work” has changed and continues to evolve through an experiential workshop based on Lego Serious Play Methodology with tutors Emanuele Rapisarda and Alessandra Cianchettini (days 1 and 2).
To conclude the ECLab 9 teams and 36 students competed at “Pitch Day”, the final event on May 26th. The final leaderboard is the following:
- 1st place: team HealthHub – Krzysztof Ługowski (PUT), Andrea Amato (UNICT), Nethradayie Wagarachchige (UVA).
- 2nd: team Tainy Design – Sévag Willemot (UMONS), Emre Samanci (PUT), Robel Massebo (PUT), Tatiana Kholiavko (BTU), Alice Maria Saitta (UNICT).
- 3rd: team HAWK – Matthia Nattke (BTU), Katarzyna Teleszyńska (PUT), Ayat Morsi (PUT) and Aleksandra Agafonova (UNICT)
- Special mentions for team Room4you– Odara Abeysinghe (UVA), Mohammed QASEM (UMONS), Burhan Ahmad (BTU), Giulia Di Perna (UNICT), Erika Cuttone (UNICT).
Doctoral Summer School
Participants of the 1st Reunice Doctoral Summer School were Ph.D. students from seven partner universities who applied for the call promoted by the Reunice work team that is focused on sustainable science for business and society and is coordinated by Prof. Cristina Satriano (University of Catania). The scientific committee is composed of Professors Alberto Fichera, Daniela Giordano, Salvatore Greco and Giuseppe Inturri. The leitmotif is Sustainable Science, starting with fundamental definitions (day 1), and continuing with a focus on artificial intelligence (day 2).
Around 40 students involved in the two summer schools continued working together from day 3, learning how to deal with current systemic challenges (day 3) and how to be aware of team dynamics in decision-making (day 4). The resulting mindset shift is an asset both in the entrepreneurial and in the professional world. During the last day, students experienced practical and inspiring examples of innovation from the world of innovative businesses and start-ups, with a specific focus on how to address the challenges posed by sustainability and the resulting social impact (day 5).
Students experienced multidisciplinarity, multiculturalism and multilingualism also outside the classroom, living joyful and fun moments together.
They visited the volcano Etna, exploring the educational nature trails with Professors Rosanna Maniscalco and Rosalda Punturo from the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (UNICT).
EUNICE local student group organised and coordinated many informal activities. The presence of the alliance student representatives certainly strengthened existing ties even more, representing another step towards the creation of an European student community.
Caption: EUNICE Student group at Unict edited the following video.
