Bringing together an interdisciplinary and multicultural community of professionals, comprising graduates of the EIT’s education and business creation programmes

23 members of EIT RawMaterials Alumni attended the event at Brody Studios in Budapest on 14 October. 155 attendees from all EIT Alumni communities came together for a whole day of informal networking, interactive workshops and inspiring keynote speeches.

The theme of the event was the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. EIT RawMaterials Alumni joined members of Climate-KIC Alumni, CommUnity by InnoEnergy, EIT Digital Alumni and EIT Health Alumni.

Participants heard from the CEO of the newly launched Innovation Community EIT Urban Mobility, Maria Tsavachidis, and Niclas Holmberg, Nasdaq, who gave an empowering speech for budding Alumni start-ups and emphasised that companies with high ethical governance and sustainable behaviour towards the planet are the way forward!

Each Alumni network briefly presented their aims and activities before lunch, followed by an afternoon of workshops designed and hosted by each Alumni community – a great way to learn and exchange ideas. The EIT RawMaterials Alumni Board, led by Events Officer Emmanuel III Ricohermoso, organised a workshop entitled Keep it RAW! Unboxing. Participants were encouraged to consider issues surrounding the metals and minerals contained in everyday electronic items, using the YouTube trend ‘unboxing’ as a fun starting point. 35 people, mostly from other Alumni communities, took part. Topics covered included the EU’s list of critical raw materials (CRMs) and the concept of urban mining. Workshops run by the other Alumni communities included a scenario exploration game on sustainable transitions, designing a sustainable festival and thinking about community innovation to minimise our ecological footprint.

In the evening the networking continued with dinner, drinks and karaoke, where various members of EIT RawMaterials Alumni did a great job of representing their community!

This event is an excellent opportunity to meet motivated individuals who want to drive sustainable innovation in Europe, as well as a way to kick-start cross-KIC collaboration while having fun and learning from each other. Big thanks to the organising team, who were all volunteers, including our very own EIT RawMaterials Alumni President, Denis Gontcharov. We’re already looking forward to CONNECT 2020!

Make sure to join the EIT RawMaterials Alumni Facebook and LinkedIn groups to stay up-to-date with the latest news and events.