Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EUCYS2022 (EUCYS Leiden2022)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-02-28
Leiden was European City of Science in 2022 and therefore hosted the 33rd edition of the EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). The primary aim of hosting EUCYS2022 was to provide additional stimulus and empowerment to young people who have an already demonstrated interest in applying science to solve problems. On top of that, for the very first time in its history, EUCYS was integrated in the programme of Leiden European City of Science 2022, the overall aim of which is to connect science with society.
The EU TalentOn is an event for young academics from all over Europe to challenge young bright minds to shape the future. Together, they are immersed into a full program during which teams compete to develop the best solutions to global challenges, within 5 Mission Arenas: healthy soils, climate neutral & smart cities, combatting cancer, restoring waters and climate adaptation. During the EU TalentOn, the participants are inspired to connect science with entrepreneurship and develop valuable, new skills. The objectives of the EU TalentOn cover organising a new pilot for EUCYS, teaching young academics new, valuable entrepreneurial skills, and creating policy recommendations for the future.
The EU TalentOn is an event for young academics from all over Europe to challenge young bright minds to shape the future. Together, they are immersed into a full program during which teams compete to develop the best solutions to global challenges, within 5 Mission Arenas: healthy soils, climate neutral & smart cities, combatting cancer, restoring waters and climate adaptation. During the EU TalentOn, the participants are inspired to connect science with entrepreneurship and develop valuable, new skills. The objectives of the EU TalentOn cover organising a new pilot for EUCYS, teaching young academics new, valuable entrepreneurial skills, and creating policy recommendations for the future.
In September 2022, Leiden2022 successfully welcomed 132 Bright Young Minds, selected from 65,000+ participants worldwide. These young finalists from 33 countries took part in the European finale of EUCYS 2022. During the week of 13 September, the city was swamped with young international talents aged 14 to 20 years old. EUCYS2022 offered a week full of activities, like the Opening Ceremony, a Science Fair, dinners, lunches, cultural activities, visits to leading academic organisations and so on. Leiden2022 is especially proud of the successful innovations that were developed at the occasion of this 33rd edition. For example, Leiden2022 presented a Scientific Playground in the main venue and invited 1,000 young high school students from the region to experience Leiden2022 and EUCYS. They were invited to join the conversation, to gain knowledge and experience from contestants, and to discover science, society and culture. This scientific playground was successfully realized, together with the Dutch Research Council.
In the first phase of EU TalentOn, a campaign was created in collaboration with Woedend! Creative agency, to reach young academics all over Europe. This campaign was enrolled successfully and attracted over 700 applicants from more than 30 countries. The second phase emphasizes the selection process of top applicants, designed in close collaboration with the Lorentz Center and the team of the European Commission. In total, 104 applicants were selected for all Mission Areas. A teaming session was hosted to allow participants to get acquainted, buddy up, and team up. From that moment, teams could already start preparing for the EU TalentOn in September in Leiden. The participants followed a full 4-day program allowing them to be driven and inspired to find solutions, and concurrent combine existing academic with new entrepreneurial skills. The teams were guided to define a problem to solve, brainstorm about solutions, and develop a business framework with presentation of the concept. The program included 12 mini-lectures by researchers, professors and entrepreneurs, as well as 3 site-visits to industrial and scientific partners. More than 30 experts from industry and academia were available to the teams for questions and validation.
All teams performed a one-minute pitch to the general public on the third evening. Reactions of the general public helped in finetuning each project for a final pitch to the Grand Jury on the last day of the EU TalentOn. The five mission arena winners were judged by the heads of the jury, who chose the winner of EU TalentOn 2022. In total, 16 prizes totaled 82.000 euros in prize money.
In the first phase of EU TalentOn, a campaign was created in collaboration with Woedend! Creative agency, to reach young academics all over Europe. This campaign was enrolled successfully and attracted over 700 applicants from more than 30 countries. The second phase emphasizes the selection process of top applicants, designed in close collaboration with the Lorentz Center and the team of the European Commission. In total, 104 applicants were selected for all Mission Areas. A teaming session was hosted to allow participants to get acquainted, buddy up, and team up. From that moment, teams could already start preparing for the EU TalentOn in September in Leiden. The participants followed a full 4-day program allowing them to be driven and inspired to find solutions, and concurrent combine existing academic with new entrepreneurial skills. The teams were guided to define a problem to solve, brainstorm about solutions, and develop a business framework with presentation of the concept. The program included 12 mini-lectures by researchers, professors and entrepreneurs, as well as 3 site-visits to industrial and scientific partners. More than 30 experts from industry and academia were available to the teams for questions and validation.
All teams performed a one-minute pitch to the general public on the third evening. Reactions of the general public helped in finetuning each project for a final pitch to the Grand Jury on the last day of the EU TalentOn. The five mission arena winners were judged by the heads of the jury, who chose the winner of EU TalentOn 2022. In total, 16 prizes totaled 82.000 euros in prize money.
During the concept design of EUCYS2022, we took sustainability into account. Thus, special measures were being taken to minimize environmental impact and enthuse delegates to contribute to environmental and climate issues in positive ways. We therefore included sustainable policies with regard to catering (100% vegetarian), travel (train fares were prioritized), and materials (less printing, recycled and re-usable materials, and a minimum of goodies). In all communications, we focused on a tone of voice that would motivate and empower young scientists to care for their future and to believe that possible solutions for the challenges we are facing today are in their hands.
All of this resulted in a week brimming with beautiful and important exchanges, stimuli, empowering experiences, new friends and positive encounters with culture, art, science and society. As such, Leiden2022 was able to make EUCYS an integral part of the overall goal of Leiden European City of Science 2022 to connect science with society.
The EU TalentOn brought a highly motivated group of early career researchers together to step out of their comfort zone and learn entrepreneurial skills to potentially lead to great ideas. The hard work and team effort pioneered projects providing answers to some of society’s biggest challenges regarding the 5 Mission Arenas.
EU TalentOn has inspired 700+ applicants, as well as the general public, about the potential of using academic skills to come up with real life, concrete ideas to tackle the 5 EU Missions and have a positive impact on our world. This was done through communication prior to and during the EU TalentOn, during the promotional campaign as well as through Public Pitches & Prizes evening. The EU TalentOn was organized as a sustainable event similar to EUCYS 2022. Sustainable policies with regard to catering (100% vegetarian), travel (train fares were prioritized), and materials (less printing, recycled and re-usable materials, and a minimum of goodies) were taken into account.
All of this resulted in a week brimming with beautiful and important exchanges, stimuli, empowering experiences, new friends and positive encounters with culture, art, science and society. As such, Leiden2022 was able to make EUCYS an integral part of the overall goal of Leiden European City of Science 2022 to connect science with society.
The EU TalentOn brought a highly motivated group of early career researchers together to step out of their comfort zone and learn entrepreneurial skills to potentially lead to great ideas. The hard work and team effort pioneered projects providing answers to some of society’s biggest challenges regarding the 5 Mission Arenas.
EU TalentOn has inspired 700+ applicants, as well as the general public, about the potential of using academic skills to come up with real life, concrete ideas to tackle the 5 EU Missions and have a positive impact on our world. This was done through communication prior to and during the EU TalentOn, during the promotional campaign as well as through Public Pitches & Prizes evening. The EU TalentOn was organized as a sustainable event similar to EUCYS 2022. Sustainable policies with regard to catering (100% vegetarian), travel (train fares were prioritized), and materials (less printing, recycled and re-usable materials, and a minimum of goodies) were taken into account.