The annual gathering of the EIT Alumni community took place online for the second year in a row on 11 December 2021.
Alumni from the EIT's Knowledge & Innovation Communities gathered to network, build partnerships, collaborate on initiatives, and help the EIT Alumni Community grow and thrive. The theme of CONNECT 2021 was “Innovation for Impact and Positive Change: Moving from Words to Action” aiming to inspire, connect & engage EIT Alumni. The event did a yearly wrap-up and provided highlights from each EIT Alumni KIC, from the lessons learned to plan for the future.
Beyond gaining valuable advice and insights from the keynote speakers, the EIT Alumni had the chance to meet the EIT Alumni Board and representatives of other Alumni Communities. The event was an opportunity to take an active part in a variety of thought-provoking and challenging dialogues, bringing together members from the eight EIT KICs - EIT Health, EIT Digital, EIT Food, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Urban Mobility and EIT Manufacturing.
An inspiring session was provided at the beginning of the event under the topic of renewable energy and climate action, given by Razvan Nicolescu, EIT Governing Board Member. During CONNECT 2021, two activities took place on the event theme, looking at both the current initiatives and future challenges that lie ahead. The discussion was about looking forward to improving our world, by creating synergies and addressing common issues.
Several insights were brought up from the working groups exercise performed under activity II “Cross-KIC Working Groups: Moving from words to action in 2022”. The zoom fatigue that the two-year period of pandemic situation causes demands new answers from the EIT Alumni Communities. Cross-KIC activities is a recurring and pressing topic that was highlighted by many alumni, since there are many possible synergies, for instance between EIT Climate and EIT Health.
The event was concluded with an ideas & feedback generation session, where the EIT Alumni Board debated on relevant topics for the Communities such as the engagement of new members in a Digital Era.
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