Kick-off highlighted opportunities of participating in Expert group network
In November 2021, the KTH Digitalization Platform arranged an Expert group network kick-off to gather its experts and provide a framework for discussion of future network activities. One conclusion was that the network experts will have the opportunity to influence research agendas, make international connections, be exposed to a dynamic environment and develop new collaborations.
The KTH Digitalization Platform Expert group network for advocacy and advice represents KTH in European networks, meetings, special interest groups, partnerships and gives expert feedback on program drafts.
The network was initiated this year, and during the two-hour meeting 16 people participated in person, plus six people via Zoom. Among the participants were network members, speakers from Vinnova, the Brussels office, Big Data Value Association (BDVA), and the KTH Research Support Office (RSO).
“It was a very productive meeting where we received highly relevant information from many different perspectives, and we initiated discussions for this important activity. It became clear that the expert activities are important for our futures as researchers,” says Ricardo Vinuesa , Deputy Director of the KTH Digitalization Platform, who arranged the meeting.
Goal to improve KTH presence in EU projects
The primary goal of the Expert group network is to improve KTH's presence in EU projects by networking and sharing KTH interests, and benefitting from the new Stockholm Trio (KTH, KI, SU) representative Dan Andrée in Brussels.
“As highlighted during the discussions, it is important to increase the presence, and organisation, of Sweden in advocacy work at a European level, since these meetings decide the areas to be funded in the future,” Ricardo Vinuesa says.
RSO supports the initiative, and Senior Research Advisor Anna Raask gave their perspective during the kick-off.
“This initiative is an important part of the KTH strategy for Horizon Europe in order to strengthen our participation in the new European framework programme for Research and Innovation, 2021-2027, called Horizon Europe,” Anna Raask says.
She explains that a prerequisite for successful participation in Horizon Europe is to be active on a European level and strengthen the KTH trademark towards the European Commission and relevant European Research and Innovation networks.
“Researchers that are active on a European level network themselves to join strong and excellent project consortia, and consequently have easier to build own successful partnerships for project proposals. Serving as an expert also offers possibilities to be part of and influence future European research policies, road maps as well as upcoming Calls for Proposals”.
Gaining knowledge of why a proposal fails
A specific advantage of becoming an expert evaluator for Horizon Europe Calls for Proposals is, according to Anna Raask, that you will have the opportunity to read several project proposals. This will allow you to understand what makes a good proposal better than others and why a bad proposal fails to meet the expectations.
“This insight is invaluable when writing proposals yourself. There is no better and faster way to learn this than being an evaluator. On top of that, you will get a peek behind the curtain on how the evaluation goes, and this will give you more insight into how the processes work, “ Anna Raask concludes.
Text: Helena Mayer