The 4th edition of the European Research and Innovation days (RIDays) was held on 28-29 September, organised by the European Commission, which considers it as its flagship Research and Innovation event. The overarching topic of the RiDays was the EU Innovation agenda, and the role of youth in R&I – a theme connected to 2022 being the European Year of Youth.
This year’s edition was held as a digital only event, consisting of a wide range of workshops and panel discussions streamed online. While this limited participant interaction to a degree, the organisers argued that digital events can achieve a wider reach, and attempted to ensure that the opportunities for interaction are provided by the online platform.
The numerous discussions were revolving aroundthe central role of education and higher education, gender balance in STEM and the importance science communication and science policy – many of which are also EuChemS priorities. During the event, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (COARA) was announced. The coalition aims to reform research assessment on qualitative and impact-based grounds. R&I stakeholder organisations were invited to sign the COARA agreement.
During the closing ceremony, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel emphasized key drivers in achieving the European Commission’s priorities. According to the Commissioner, RI have an enormous potential to address Global challenges that can only be realized by coordination, cooperation and impact-driven research policy.