23 members of EIT RawMaterials Alumni attended the EIT Alumni CONNECT event at Brody Studios in Budapest on 14 October. The theme of the event was the 11th Sustainable Development Goal, “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
At the event, they joined members of Climate-KIC Alumni, CommUnity by InnoEnergy, EIT Digital Alumni and EIT Health Alumni. 155 attendees came together for a whole day of informal networking, interactive workshops and inspiring keynote speeches.
Participants heard from the CEO of the newly launched innovation community EIT Urban Mobility, Maria Tsavachidis, and Niclas Holmberg from Nasdaq, who gave an empowering speech for budding Alumni start-ups and emphasized that companies with high ethical governance and sustainable behaviour towards the planet are the way forward!
Presentation of EIT RawMaterials Alumni activities.
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 critical raw materials list and the concept of urban mining. Workshops run by other Alumni communities included a scenario exploration game on sustainable transitions, designing a sustainable festival and thinking about community innovation to minimize our ecological footprint.
Emmanuel leading the EIT RawMaterials Alumni workshop.
Preparing to ‘unbox’!
Plenty of time for informal networking.
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, all volunteers, including our very own EIT RawMaterials Alumni President, Denis Gontcharov. We’re already looking forward to CONNECT2020!
A round of applause for the organising team.
The amazing location.
Please contact alumni@eitrawmaterials.eu if you have any questions.
