Earlier last week, two members of the Knowledge Transfer Office Team, Marie Mifsud and Andras Havasi, attended ASTP鈥檚 Annual Conference in Lisbon amongst other technology transfer experts.
ASTP is the premier, pan-European association for professionals involved in knowledge transfer among universities and industry. By promoting and professionalising knowledge transfer practice, the association aims to enhance the impact of public research on society and the economy.
During the conference, which saw over 300 attendees from nearly 200 international institutions, our office voluntarily delivered an interactive workshop on one of our initiatives: the E3 (Engage, Enable, Evolve). The E3 is a concept which has evolved from a consortium of four institutions: the University of Malta, the University of Gdansk, the University of Split, and NTNU (CHIC). The initiative is a blueprint for the possibility of the application of different marketing and outreach techniques to be used in European knowledge transfer offices across the continent.
The workshop was delivered by explaining the concept of the E3 itself and showcasing examples of what we have worked on at the University so far, and then receiving feedback from the host of knowledge transfer experts gathered at the conference. The E3 is a novel concept amongst knowledge transfer offices in Europe, and the University of Malta is proud to be at its helm.
Aside from the E3 workshop, our manager, Andras Havasi, volunteered to moderate one of the talks held at the ASTP conference. Andras is highly active within the ASTP community; the forms part of the Digital Events Committee and handles the preparation of digital events (be it the moderation of podcasts or webinars, etc.). We believe that networking and making connections with people across the globe is an important part in the knowledge exchange, and building long-lasting relationships benefits everyone in the industry. To keep the momentum going, our office also plans to hold a webinar in the coming months to further disseminate and spread information regarding the E3 initiative.
The Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO) hopes to continue to work closely with ASTP in the future, and to continue strengthening our relationship by intending to host the Annual Conference here in Malta next year. The office, especially Nicola Camilleri, has been working exceptionally hard to obtain sponsorships and have been doing a lot of legwork to get the ball rolling.
