Seminar summarising the Science Hub project of the University of Lodz
During the seminar, good practices in documenting the third criterion and examples of projects implemented under the Science Hub project in cooperation with the environment were presented. The meeting was also an opportunity to summarise the activities of the Science Hub project and to reflect on further cooperation between the University of Lodz and the external environment. The head of the project, Dr Małgorzata Dzimińska, talks about the idea of organising the event:
The seminar was a result of the desire to share the effects and experiences from the implementation of the two-year University of Lodz Science Hub project. On this occasion, we also wanted to look at the activities of the Science Hub from a broader perspective and discuss how the continuation of the activities started under the project can contribute to the further development of our university in areas of strategic importance to us. During the seminar, we agreed that the university of Lodz Science Hub is the practical implementation of the vision of an open, diverse and socially engaged university. The Science Hub can act as an incubator for young scientists and future doctoral students. It also offers the university a systemic solution responding to the needs of cooperation with external partners coordination in order to implement scientific projects and document their impact on the environment, which is crucial for the evaluation of the university under the third criterion.
Participants of the seminar had the opportunity to listen to presentations on projects in the field of experimental sciences, social sciences and humanities. In addition, as part of the World Cafe workshops, ways to encourage students and employees to participate more in cooperation with the external environment were discussed.
The Science Hub Ambassador at the Faculty of Law and Administration, Dr Izabela Florczak, points out that:
The seminar showed how important interdisciplinary discussions are. They make us aware of the internal diversity and far-reaching identity of the challenges faced by scientists who want to cooperate with the socio-economic environment. The Science Hub of the University of Lodz, as a networking incubator, is a tool for building better quality cooperation with external stakeholders, using the potential of the University of Lodz employees and students.
Criterion III
The third evaluation criterion, under which the impact of the university's scientific activity on the functioning of society and the economy is assessed constituted an important topic of the seminar. In terms of this aspect, as part of the meeting experiences and procedures for demonstrating and documenting the impact of projects and undertakings implemented at the University of Lodz on the socio-economic environment were presented. The model of cooperation between the university and an external institution developed as part of the Science Hub project also contains tips and good practices in this area.
Science Hub of the University of Lodz
The aim of the Science Hub of the University of Lodz is to promote cooperation, share knowledge and create solutions in response to the defined needs of the socio-economic environment. It is an initiative aimed at supporting regular and close scientific cooperation of students and employees of the University of Lodz with external partners: companies, public institutions or third sector organisations. Innovation and quality improvement in higher education has been scientifically dealt with for years by Dr Małgorzata Dzimińska from the Department of Labour and Social Policy, Head of the Science Hub project of the University of Lodz.
The creation of the Science Hub is the result of recognising the need for further professionalisation, increasing the number and scale of scientific implementation projects carried out in cooperation between the University of Lodz and the environment. We want to support initiatives that will involve students, tutors and external partners, creating new stimuli for in-depth cooperation and creating innovations that serve business, public institutions and the local community.
During the two years of the Science Hub project of the University of Lodz, 40 trilateral projects were implemented at 11 faculties of the University of Lodz, 12 study visits were carried out and there were over 8000 hours of work. Thirty six external partners and nearly PLN 500,000 of funds were obtained from companies for research conducted at the University of Lodz at the request of the partners.
More information about the project
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