An important issue during the panel discussions was the economic crisis and ways to overcome it with the help of innovative solutions. During the first day of the proceedings, there was also a discussion on strategies for communicating science to a wider audience.
In addition to lectures and panel discussions, the organizer invited the executors of the 50 best research and development projects financially supported by the European Commission to the “Innovation Convention Expo”.
Three of the best projects from Poland were also showcased at the meeting:
Representing the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, Małgorzata Kirchner and Dr. Eng. Marcin Hajdul appeared at the meeting to promote the Discwise project. The venture aims to prepare communication standards for all partners in transport and logistics services. The idea of the originators is to create a common communication platform that would be transparent in terms of language for all involved parties. The project will contribute to the optimization of company costs and will have a positive impact on the natural environment due to the sustainable use of transport means.
Piotr Dymarski from Mostostal Warszawa S.A. presented the Tibucon project, the goal of which is to increase the energy efficiency of buildings by improving HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. The innovation of the project lies in creating sensors that are to measure the temperature and humidity of the air in the building; based on this data, they will control heating and cooling systems using wireless communication.
Dr. Anna Chmiel from the Warsaw University of Technology and Dr. Marcin Skowron from the Austrian Research Institute for AI in Vienna familiarized attendees with the Cyberemotions project. The idea of the program, which involves 40 scientists from Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Poland, is to study and analyze the collective behaviors and emotions of users on the internet with the help of specialized software, statistical analysis, and complex networks. The scientists are developing emotionally aware, interactive computer systems. The project is coordinated by Prof. Janusz Hołyst from the Warsaw University of Technology.