Tag: 2016

MAKE-IT presentation at the 8th European Innovation Summit (European Parliament)

The 8th European Innovation Summit comes at a time of major challenges and opportunities requiring bold decisions. Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things; innovative business models for the sharing economy; disruptive technologies such as autonomous driving or genetic engineering – are some of the big game changers that have a profound impact on the way we live and work. Innovation as the response to major societal challenges is not only about technological developments executed by researchers in their labs. It requires the involvement of the users from the beginning and equally important a better connection and communication between science and society.

Read More ...

MAKE-IT panel at Maker Faire Rome 2016

The MAKE-IT project will be presented at Maker Faire Rome 2016 with this panel:

MAKE-IT: a project for understanding and experimenting online platforms for the governance of Maker communities

ICT software and hardware are completely changing the way we make tangible and intangible goods. Nowadays, intangible goods or virtual bits can be shared globally and then turned into physical objects or atoms locally. This transformation from bits to atoms has been democratised especially by theMaker movement: Makers that gather in online communities and platforms and in local Fab Labs, Makerspaces, Hackerspaces. The community dimension of the Maker movement is highly important, but how does it work? How Maker communities are organised and governed? What Makers do and how they behave? Which are the various ways in which the Maker movement impacts on and adds value to society? Online platforms are already adopted by Maker communities, and they can be further researched and improved in order to foster the impact of Maker communities. The overall objective of the MAKE-IT project is to understand the role of such platforms (Collective Awareness Platforms – CAPS) in enabling the growth and governance of the Maker movement, particularly in relation to using and creating social innovations and achieving sustainability. The results of this research will help to understand the uses and impacts of CAPS in different contexts, as well as of the Maker movement itself. This project addresses CAPS for Maker communities by not only interviewing Makers but also by engaging them in action-research initiatives, where experimentation regarding such platforms will see the participation of Makers themselves beside the researchers. To understand how the role and impact of CAPS approaches the Maker movement, MAKE-IT will undertake multidisciplinary research in different fields including: behavioural studies, social psychology, sociology, management information systems, economics, environmental science, technological impact and governance issues. This project is developed by the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research – TNO (Netherlands), Danish Technological Institute – DTI (Denmark), Centre for Social Innovation – ZSI (Austria), TU Dortmund University –TUDO (Germany), IAAC | Fab Lab Barcelona (Spain), Fab Lab Zagreb (Croatia), Happylab (Austria), AHHAA (Estonia), Create it REAL (Denmark). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 688241. This project started in January 2016 and will end in December 2017. This talk will be shared by several partners of the MAKE-IT project who will present the project, its plan, the planned outcomes and processes and who will discuss with the audience how to better understand and help Makers in the governance of their communities with online platforms.

Read More ...

Maker Faire Rome 2016

Maker Faire Rome is the European edition of Maker Faire. It’s organised by Innova Camera, a Special Agency of the Rome’s Chamber of Commerce, whose mission is to place the city of Rome at the center of the debate on innovation, by spreading the digital culture, and developing the individual and collective entrepreneurship that is so integral to the Maker movement’s genetic makeup.

Maker Faire Rome combines science, science fiction, technology, entertainment and business to create something totally new. It’s an event created to cater to curious participants of all ages, wishing to experience firsthand the makers’ inventions. Inventions that are the result of a desire to solve everyday problems, whether big or small.

Maker Faire Rome is an event designed to turn the spotlight on hundreds of projects from around the world that are able to catapult visitors into the future.

Not just a fair for field experts. At Maker Faire, you’ll find inventions in the field of science and technology (from 3D printers to wearables, through to drones, robots and digital manufacturing), but also new forms of art, entertainment, crafts, food experiments and attractions never seen before.

The watchwords of the Maker Faire Rome are: meeting, exchange, training, entertainment and interaction.
The public can experience and try their hand with these new inventions where innovation is made available to everyone. An experience where participants are an integral part of the fair itself.

An event for families, where children and adults can get involved in hundreds of fun and educational activities and demonstrations. A place where you can learn how to build your own smartphone, your own toys, “3D print” shoes, jewellery, handbags and even edible ravioli, or discover how to make your house home-automated with just a few simple measures.

With over 600 inventions on display in 2015 and more than 100 thousand visitors, Maker Faire Rome is the world’s largest exhibition after the “Area Bay” and “New York” in the US.

This year, after the success of the 2013 , 2014 and 2015 editions, we expect hundreds of inventions and attractions from 65 nations. On the programme: live performances, panels, workshops, seminars, conferences and many surprises in store especially for children who will have a special Kids Area, which is even bigger with even more activities than previous editions.

The Maker Faire 2016 runs 14 to 16 October 2016 at Fiera di Roma.

Read More ...

DSI4EU: Shaping the Future of Digital Social Innovation in Europe

Digital Social Innovation has been put on the map through the focus on Collective Awareness Programs. Today we are hosting a policy workshop concerning Digital Social Innovation for Europe. We bring together innovators throughout Europe and leaders from CAPS projects with European Commission Policy officials to get in touch, get inspired and connect your networks. By learning from each other, the community of digital social innovation will be able to grow further and stronger. Next to growing communities and connecting networks, this workshop will bring you several clear examples of Digital Social Innovation in Europe, and teach you best practices and hands-on tips and tricks for DSI.

Read More ...

CAPS community meeting and workshop

This event brought together old and new CAPS projects, discussing ideas for the next workprogramme, defining clusters of projects, and ultimately establishing a working community of innovation entities that will actively cooperate with the EC on Digital Social Innovation over the coming years.

This community meeting was open not only to the 36 CAPS projects, but also to any external participant interesting in gathering knowledge about the current developments and interacting first-hand the current CAPS activities, from peer to peer. More than half of the 100+ participants were not affiliated with any current CAPS project.

Read More ...