ESOF 2014 took place from 21 to 26 June in Carlsberg district in Copenhagen. It was locally organized by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education. Entitled ”Science building bridges”, ESOF 2014 Copenhagen aimed at raising awareness of science in the general public and strengthening the bridges between science and society. As such, a special attention was paid to the conference programme and the outreach programme, that included a special section for secondary students – the ESOF Future Academy. The Champion for ESOF 2014 Copenhagen was Prof. Klaus Bock.
More than 4000 participants came to ESOF 2014 which presented cutting edge scientific and technological developments in all scientific disciplines. ESOF 2014 was a unique opportunity to make scientists, business executives, policy-makers, journalists and the general public meet in one place.
Scientists had the chance to meet with personalities of the scientific world such as Brian Schmidt (Cosmology), Cédric Villani (Mathematics), Fabiola Gianotti (Particle Physics) and Serge Haroche (Quantum Physics), among many others. The Scientific Programme was composed of eight themes ranging from “Green Economy” to “Urbanisation, Design and Liveability”. Examples of sessions included “Computing a 21st century literacy” and “Smart pills and moral machines” among the diverse choice proposed.
The other programmes also had a rich content. The Science Policy Programme proposed sessions such as “New trends in international science policy” and “Evidence-based policies in a world of uncertainty and ambiguity”. The Career Programme, mainly addressing early-stage researchers, offered them sessions on career development and perspectives after their PhD in sessions such as “Life after a PhD: how professional career advisors support researchers in Europe”. The participants of that programme also attended the “Picnic with the Prof” event.
The Science to Business Programme focused on innovation and new ideas in sessions such as “So you want to start a company?”. Some events were also organised like the “Horizon 2020 Matchmaking” where people met and created connections. The Science in the City Programme took place in the Carlsberg City area and proposed to the general public various shows, exhibitions and hands on activities.
Other features of ESOF 2014 comprised social events such as the opening ceremony and the handover ceremony between Copenhagen and Manchester as well as the Media party and the Presidents’ dinner. There were many special events proposed including awards such as the European Young Researcher’s Award or the Rammal Award and other activities. Finally, satellite events such as the EUSEA annual conference 2014 and the EIRMA annual conference 2014 took place in Copenhagen during ESOF.
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.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 884011