The Ideas Wall attracted a great deal of attention at the Bridging the Gaps launch.

Bridging the Gaps launch event

The official launch of Bridging the Gaps: the Exeter Science Exchange was held on 18th January 2011 in the Innovation Centre. Around 100 academic staff from across the University came along to find out about the project and network with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines over drinks and canapés.

Through the ‘ideas exchange’ , participants contributed their views on which directions the project should take, as well as posting their areas of expertise and which disciplines they would like to find collaborators in.

Alison Harcourt and Darren Davies provided a demonstration of ‘Second Life’, a virtual networking environment that Bridging the Gaps will use to promote virtual collaboration.

In his introductory address, Professor Nick Talbot (Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research & Knowledge Transfer) welcomed the opportunity that Bridging the Gaps provides to work across disciplines to explore new ideas and potential solutions to the major challenges facing society today, complementing work under Exeter’s Science Strategy themes and review of HASS research.

Professor David Butler (Principal Investigator of Bridging the Gaps and Associate Dean for Research & Knowledge Transfer, College of Engineering, Mathematics & Physical Sciences) provided an overview of the project, its aims and planned activities, explained the concept of a ‘science exchange’ and the benefits of involvement, including the support available through the project’s development fund.

This was followed by short addresses from representatives of each College and the Business School:

  • Professor Andrew Thorpe (Associate Dean of Research & Knowledge Transfer, College of Humanities)
  • Professor Angela Shore (Interim Vice-Dean Research & Director of Biomedical & Clinical Science, Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry)
  • Professor Roger Maull (Professor of Management Systems & Head of the Department of Management, The Business School)
  • Professor Anne Barlow (Professor of Family Law & Policy, College of Social Sciences & International Studies)
  • Professor Rick Titball (Professor of Molecular Biology, College of Life & Environmental Sciences)

The speakers gave examples of their Colleges’ existing collaborative work and spoke enthusiastically about the opportunity for more cross-disciplinary research through Bridging the Gaps.

Second Life

If you were interested in the demonstration and would like to try out Second Life for a meeting or event through Bridging the Gaps, please contact Helen Butler.

Darren Davies has provided the following links:

Documents

Members of University staff can download documents from the day:

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