ESOF 2018 IN TOULOUSE

ESOF 2018 IN TOULOUSE

Following Stockholm in 2004, Munich in 2006, Barcelona in 2008, Turin in 2010, Dublin in 2012, Copenhagen in 2014 and Manchester in 2016, the city of Toulouse, the capital of the 2nd largest region of France “Occitanie”, was chosen to host the 8th edition of ESOF.

Toulouse is the first French city that has ever been selected as the “European City of Science” and was therefore proud to host the prestigious ESOF event from 9th to 14th July 2018.

The motto for this edition was: ”Sharing Science: towards new horizons”.

Toulouse is known for its aeronautics and space research but it is also well known for its warm welcoming style of live ”art de vivre”. The Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées with its 29 institutions of higher education and research and its 120 000 students, was proud to support this event in synergy with numerous private, public and institutional partners.

In total, 4036 delegates attended from 104 nationalities and 101 countries.  Nearly 35% of these were students and young participants.

CONFERENCE THEMES

The Scientific Programme consisted of ten scientific themes, as well as four cross-cutting themes.

The ESOF 2018 Scientific Programme highlighted and questioned the interplay between science and society, the conditions that foster scientific and technological breakthroughs, processes of expected and unexpected discovery and application and the wider socio-cultural environment – including the contribution of education, innovation policy, investment, and funding mechanisms and the popular communication of scientific advances, as well as the way various stakeholders were getting involved.

Sessions that focused on past, present and future path-breaking science were encouraged. The event also promoted public debate about science-related societal change. ESOF 2018 was an opportunity to discuss the socio-cultural and economic implications and impacts of scientific advances from regional, national, European and global perspectives. This international perspective was particularly significant since, in the face of global challenges and the internationalisation of trade and political governance, science is increasingly considered an international collaborative endeavour; a feature that the sessions should seek to address.

The scientific programme included hundreds of seminars, workshops and debates on the latest breakthroughs in research, led by world-renowned scientists.

SCIENTIFIC THEMES

• SUSTAINABLE CITIES, SUSTAINABLE LIVING
• GLOBAL CHANGE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• SCIENCE POLICY AND TRANSFORMATION OF RESEARCH PRACTICE
• FRONTIER RESEARCH AND EXPLORING EXTREMES
• HEALTH IN OUR SOCIETIES
• UNDERSTANDING DIVIDED SOCIETIES
• NEW TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES IN TRANSPORT
• THE USE/MIS-USE OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC ADVICE
• SHARING KNOWLEDGE
• A DIGITAL WORLD

CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

• RISK AND SAFETY
• INEQUALITIES
• GENDER ISSUES
• ETHICS

The Science to Business programme was a unique platform in Europe to exchange ideas and good practices from around the world on research-driven business models and on the economic developments resulting from technological innovation.

12 themes with a special input on business trends and future were highlighted:

• Business Networks
• Business to Science, Innovator’s thinking
• Climate Change
• Business Trends in Transport Technologies
• Business in a Digital World
• Tourism, New way of life
• Innovation Challenges of the Silver Economy
• Human Factors and Persons first in Business – the Industry of the Future
• Science, Research and Entrepreneurship
• Change of the Entrepreneurial Paradigm
• Security and Safety
• Responsible Research and Innovation

+ 4 cross-cutting themes

• Risk and safety
• Inequalities
• Gender
• Ethics

The Careers Programme was an exceptional Careers Fair, which enabled young researchers, educational institutions and industrial actors to address issues, challenges and opportunities for careers in Europe.

4 themes were highlighted during ESOF Toulouse 2018:

• Successful career for European researchers in the global context
• Social utility of researchers in Europe and beyond
• European and global scientific community
• Added value and characteristics of evolving research-based careers

+ 4 cross-cutting themes:

• Risk and safety
• Inequalities
• Gender
• Ethics

EXHIBITION

ESOF2018 was also a unique place to exhibit, present new projects, products and share ideas. The exposition center welcomed over 120 exhibitors on the surface of 2500m² and gathered main actors in research and innovation across Europe.

The social programme offered delegates numerous festive and official events, including an opening ceremony, a presidential dinner, a reception for the media and a spectacular ESOF party at the Cité de l’Espace.

SCIENCE IN THE CITY FESTIVAL

The high point of the European City of Science year and ESOF 2018 was the Science in the City Festival in which the general public could participate in and get inspired by in more than 120 events in Toulouse and its surroundings.

ESOF 2018 PARTY

The Cité de l’Espace hosted the exception ESOF 2018 party and granted an open access to:

• All the exhibitions
• IMAX projections, planetarium and the best movies from the International Planetarium Society, an ESOF 2018 satellite event.
• An open access to all the exhibitions and activities (visit MIR, walk on the moon…)
• IMAX projections and the best movies from the International Planetarium Society, an ESOF 2018 satellite event

POSTER SESSIONS
Poster presentations were presented and highlighted all throughout ESOF 2018, ensuring high visibility for the work.

This format was also a great way to engage in networking with all the ESOF communities (from scientists to media, including business, science policy makers etc.).

More than 200 posters were featured during ESOF. The student competition allowed young researcher’s works to be acknowledged, along with the work of a few presenters selected for a 3-minute “flash presentation” of their posters on the main stage after each plenary!

A total of 55 posters were presented at the students’ competition. All of them were evaluated by an international jury who considered the following 5 criteria:

• General appearance
• Scientific approach
• Intelligibility
• Perspectives, innovation
• Response to questions

Ten of them were awarded with prizes and a certificate.

ESOF 2018 CHAMPION

Dr Anne Cambon-Thomsen
ESOF 2018 Champion
Emeritus Research Director at CNRS, Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

In 2022, the city of Leiden in the Netherlands will be hosting the 10th edition of the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and the European City of Science.