Multidisciplinary Workshop Series
ECIT is currently hosting a series of multidisciplinary ideation workshops in an effort to build capacity for the planned Belfast City Region Deal’s Global Innovation Institute. The workshops are aimed at academics, early career researchers and postgraduate students. They provide an opportunity to network with colleagues in different disciplines, learn about their work and explore collaboration in themed challenge areas.
Design Thinking is introduced, and participants work in teams to generate new creative ideas and refine them into outline proposals or novel research directions. Each workshop is delivered face-to-face over two days (09:30 to 16:30) and attendees are introduced to several ideation techniques supported via an online collaboration tool called Mural. Workshops are limited to 24 participants and each cohort will be drawn from a broad range of disciplines. Participants must commit to attending both sessions in full.
The soil mission is broadly scoped to produce widespread impacts on land use, urban planning, climate change mitigation strategies, food production and will positively influence eco-system services such as air quality, water quality, biodiversity and ultimately human health and wellbeing. The ability to monitor, measure, model and predict outcomes within the broader soil-based ecosystem and avoid any emergent outcomes, remains an open question that is inherently multifaceted requiring a multidisciplinary approach.
Envisioning and designing a future city that exhibits resilience to the climate crisis, that promotes healthy living and empowers local communities to mitigate social ills, that minimises our carbon footprint but maximises our potential to create value, jobs, sustainable economic activity and joy; is a complex, multifaceted problem that requires a multidisciplinary approach. A next generation digital ecosystem that envelopes this future cityscape will be a critical determinant of success.
The issues surrounding ageing are complex, multifaceted and often interrelated requiring a multidisciplinary analysis and response from scholars. Social isolation, loneliness and the sense of an ever-diminishing world haunt many elderly or infirmed people. These issues can be just as debilitating as clinical conditions such as respiratory disease, heart disease, cancer and the ever-present risk of falling. Smart homes and ambient living technologies will play an important role in monitoring patients and assisting healthcare decision making but are there opportunities for a broader comprehension of wellbeing and proactive responses to the needs of individuals?
Northern Ireland produces roughly 15% of the UK’s total beef, lamb, pork, poultry meat and dairy produce. 75% of our land mass is used for agriculture; typically in small & medium sized farms. The local agri-food sector faces significant challenges in sustaining those food production systems whilst achieving agronomic and environmental targets. What is the role that advanced technology can play in alleviating pressure on small farmers, improve policy making, automate compliance, and simultaneously support rural communities to grow and prosper?
Can we fuse AI with traditional epidemiological methods to identify causal processes involving environmental, social, and behavioural risks and health outcomes? Can video analytics & satellite imagery be used to investigate street-level behaviours to develop policy on the urban environment and its influence on health? Can real-time data-science methods be used to optimise adaptive, large-scale public health interventions and to individually tailor “just in time” digital behaviour interventions? More fundamentally, can we determine how various interventions might unfold for a given policy within the context of the larger complex system in which it is situated?
If you would like to attend an upcoming workshop, please email your expression of interest to Gavin McWilliams giving your research area and supervisor’s name where appropriate. If selected, you will be notified via email.
Workshop Theme |
Webinar Date/Time |
Webinar Registration / Recording |
Workshop Date/Time |
The EU Soil Mission: |
29 Sept |
Webinar Recordings: |
13th June, 20th June 2022 |
Smart City Belfast |
13 Oct |
Webinar Recordings: |
7th June, 16th June 2022 |
Remote Healthcare for an Ageing Population |
02 Nov |
Webinar Recordings: Remote Healthcare 1 Claire Buchner, Eddie Ritsen |
31st May, 9th June 2022 |
Smart Technology for Small & Medium Sized Farms |
16 Nov |
Webinar Recordings: |
TBD |
Complex Systems in Public Health |
30 Nov |
Webinar Recordings: Complex Systems 1 Leandro Garcia |
TBD |
Workshop Showcase Event |
10th Oct 15:00 - 17:30 |
Location - Great Hall, Lanyon Building, Queen's University Belfast |
Everyone Welcome |