PSE2

PANDEMIC-PROOF: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE

The theme of this conference is “the sustainable development goals”. The Cambridge dictionary defines sustainability as “the quality of being able to continue over a period of time”.

The 2019 coronavirus outbreak has forced us to drastically limit our mobility and thereby affected the way we live and work. As much as we would like to go back to normal, we may as well take a moment to reflect on the sustainability of that status quo. Not just because the root sources for a potential new outbreak have not been taken away, but also because the rapid adaptation to this new situation may have created opportunities for structural change.

In this special session we will ask ourselves how we, as a scientific community, can make our everyday research practice more sustainable and resilient.

Which elements of the former status quo do we really want to get back, and which of the new (digital) possibilities do we embrace? Should we foster the possibility of online or hybrid conferences? Maybe we can move all presentations to youtube, so that conferences can focus more on discussion and collaboration? Will our new digital teaching materials change the way we teach in the classroom? Do we keep our home offices and transform the office buildings to meeting spaces? Will international collaboration be boosted by improved online meeting platforms?

And how do we, as a community, respond to global threads like climate change or a virus outbreak? Should we limit our mobility for good? What expertise (e.g. data-assimilation, uncertainty communication) do we have that can help to provide rapid insight into global crises, and how do we make sure other fields also have access to our data, knowledge and methodologies? What other risks can we identify, and how can we best prepare for those risks? When it comes to climate change, what can we learn from the global responses to this more abrupt global crisis?

ABOUT THE FORMAT

This is planned to be an interactive session in which we try to gather as much input as possible from the participants, and also encourage lively discussions and debates. With a very short introduction to spark off ideas and interest and explain the concept, the various topics are then discussed in smaller groups in break out areas.
At the end a short plenary wrap up could collect the ideas; key points that came out could be exhibited during the remainder of, or after the conference.