The kick off meeting of the SET-IT project was held in Rome on May the 21st 2014. The meeting was organized following the designation of their respective representatives in the governance bodies foreseen in the project, by the stakeholder institutions involved in the organization of the SET Plan Conference, and namely: the European Commission – DG ENER, DG RTD, DG JRC; Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union with the Ministries of Education, University and Research (MIUR), of Economic Development (MiSE), of Foreign Affairs (MAE), of Infrastructure and Transports (MIT), of Environment and Protection of Land and Sea (MATTM), and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM).
A launch event followed by a networking cocktail reception was held in Brussels on October the 13th 2015 inviting representatives from European Institutions, National Authorities and R&I liaison offices operating in Brussels to an informative meeting on the SET-Plan conference goals and agenda. The networking event targeted to Brussels’ information multipliers, for an expected attendance of about 150 people, was held at Italian Embassy premises, with speeches from the Ambassador of Italy to Belgium, The ENEA’s Commissioner and Senior representatives of the EC (DG ENER, DG RTD and JRC).
The 7th Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) Conference co-organized by ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) and the European Commission took place in Rome on 10 and 11 December 2014, under the auspices of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference was held at the Auditorium Antonianum, a multifunctional structure conveniently located in the city center. The structure is equipped with high speed internet connectivity, live video streaming facilities, press room, VIPs’ lounge, two large foyers, accessibility for the disabled and a coffee bar.
Concerning the organization, the entire management of participant data and information delivery was carried out making use of 2.0 technology. Participant registration was an on line procedure. After registering, participants were admitted to a restricted participant area, where they could have booked side events and the Gala Dinner or upload a poster for the poster session. The data provided was elaborated to generate information for an interactive personal participant card exploiting Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which is contactless and bidirectional. All participants received a personal QR-code via e-mail. On the first day of attendance they had to show their QR-code at the check-in desk and have their personal NFC card activated. Nearing the NFC card to the-point totems placed in the entrance hall they could: be identified and granted access; re-confirm side event attendance; re-confirm Gala Dinner attendance; re-confirm attendance to the technical visit to ENEA Casaccia Research Centre; vote their favorite poster; get in contact with other participants.
The Conference represented a unique forum for all stakeholders (experts, energy companies, universities, research institutes etc.) and representatives of national and EU institutions to have in-depth discussions on the new developments of the SET Plan towards an Integrated Roadmap and Action Plan addressing research & innovation challenges and needs of the EU energy system.
The definition of the Conference contents, structure and speakers was jointly defined by the Steering Committee (SC) and the Conference Secretariat (CS). The Operational Unit (OU) was in charge of the logistic. Concept and procedures for the different sections of the Conference including the Poster session were deeply assessed and identified.
Within the Conference, five Side events and one Extra-Session have been organized either at lunch breaks or after the main sessions so as participants could attend both. The events were on i) Energy Research For Driving Industry Competitiveness and Job Creation in Europe, ii) Energy And Earth's Underground. Multiple Sources And Storage Options, iii) CCS: Key Enabler for a Fully Decarbonised Energy System, iv) The Role of Advanced Materials as Enablers in Tackling the EU Energy Challenges, v) The Strategic Role of Universities in the Set-Plan and vi) NER 300 - A funding programme for innovative low-carbon demonstration project. An average of 60 participants attended each side event.
A total of 25 presentations were delivered in the main sessions and other 16 were delivered in the Side Events sessions. All the power point presentations collected by the Conference Secretariat and made available by the speakers have been published on the Conference website (
http://www.setplan2014.it/post-conference/(opens in new window)) in order to ensure a broader dissemination of the Conference contents and messages. The SET-Plan Conference 2014 was live streamed on the web and audience from all over Europe and the world was able to share updated information and comments through Twitter and Facebook.
Along with the main Conference Sessions, the SET Plan Conference 2014 hosted a Poster Session, whose aim was to support the overall goals of the Conference, giving evidence of implementation and state of play of energy technology research and innovation in Europe. Posters were collected through a public ‘Call for Proposals’, published on the Conference website, open to Research, University and Industrial subjects. Thirty posters out of the 48 that have been received were admitted to the Poster Session hosted at the foyers. A Steering Committee Award and a Best Poster Attendees Award were established in order to award the 3 + 1 most noteworthy posters showcased. On the second day a brief ceremony awarded the best posters basing on the quality of the presentation and impact.
The "Towards an integrated Roadmap" document which will ultimately lead to the Action Plan was presented at the event, and represents the result of in depth consultation and inputs from more than 150 stakeholders and the SET-Plan steering committee from the Member States. The document has been compiled based on these inputs by the European Commission's Directorates-General for Energy, Research and Innovation and the Joint Research Centre. The JRC coordinated the technical and scientific input to the consultation process.
The Gala Dinner held in the prestigious surrounding of the monumental complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia, in the city centre, proved to be a great occasion for further networking and friendly talking in a relaxed atmosphere.
On the 12th December 2014, a one-day technical visit to one of the biggest Research Centre of ENEA located in Casaccia (close to Rome) was organized. The feedback from the stakeholders was enthusiastic and the visit to some ENEA’s R&I activities and experimental plants, such as CSP, CCS and photovoltaics, contributed to create new collaboration opportunities between ENEA and international stakeholders.
GENDER
Being a mono-beneficiary call, the only Partner of the SET-IT project was ENEA.
ENEA assumed responsibility for the Coordination and the overall Project Management and Administration. Nevertheless considering that the SET Plan conference is a complex, multi-stakeholder event which requires different levels of strategic guidance, decision making and implementation, three different bodies have been identified to tackle with the governance process at different levels. These bodies were the Steering Committee (SC), the Conference Secretariat (CS) and the Operational Unit (OU).
The SET-IT project tried to appoint more women among the research staff and considered gender issues in allocate duties and responsibilities. The project resulted in an overall percentage of 47% women technicians and scientists involved in the project. The three bodies, namely SC, CS and OU, were composed by 23.1%, 50% and 69% of women respectively. Women scientists contributing to the project have excellent track records in actively contributing to science and also to science policy and exploitation. ENEA experts were present in all three bodies with a substantial number of women in the OU (69%), which was leaded by a senior scientist woman from ENEA. Such a percentage of female participation at the level of governance resulted to be beneficial for the progression of the project.
With regards to the main Conference Sessions, 26.2% of the invited speakers were women. Furthermore, the first and the second prizes of the Poster Session (out of four) were awarded during the corresponding ceremony to two women scientists.
ENEA tried to promote equal employment opportunities and make the SET IT project fully effective (e.g. ENEA operates flexible working) by following flexible working hours and other family-friendly policies, arranging meetings not to fall on the day before or after the week-end or during school holidays to avoid travelling during these periods in an effort to attract female to the project and create a positive work-life balance, conducting at least 50% of the SC, CS and OU meetings as teleconferences or net meetings in order to reduce travelling, helping to reconcile work and private life.
