Monday 25 February 2013


13:00 – 13:30       Registration and Welcome


13:30 – 13:45       Welcome Address

- Dr. Patrick Prendergast, Provost, Trinity College Dublin, Member of the Advisory Board of Atomium Culture
- Mr. Sean Sherlock, Minister of State for Research and Innovation


13:45 – 14:45       Opening Session

- Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of  the European Commission
- Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
- „Mr. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Honorary President of Atomium Culture
- Mr. Michelangelo Baracchi Bonvicini, President of Atomium Culture
- Mrs. Barbara Kux, Member of the Managing Board and Chief Sustainability Officer of Siemens
- Mr. Simon Hampton, Director of European Public Policy of Google
- Mrs. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science


„14:45-15:45          Plenary Session

- Dr. Matthias Bichsel, Project and Technology Director of Shell
- Mr. Javier Moreno, Editor-in-Chief El País, Member of Advisory Board of Atomium Culture
- Mrs. Claudia Neubauer, Fondation Sciences Citoyennes
- Prof. Wolfgang Plischke, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer, Responsible for Technology, Innovation andSustainability
- Mr. Felipe González Márquez, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Atomium Culture, former Prime Minister of Spain

Chaired by Ms. Erika Widegren, Executive Director of Atomium Culture


15:45-16:00 The concept of Responsible Research and Innovation

-    Mr. Gilles Laroche, European Commission


16:00-16:30 Coffee Break


16:30 – 18:30       Parallel Breakout Sessions

1. Responsibility in Science and Media

The session will look at current best practices and assess what could be developed at a European level in order to support responsible and transparent communication with the public about science issues?

Moderator: Prof. Luke O’Neill,  Trinity College Dublin

Good science reporting: an example from the recent experience with GMOs
- Ms. Fiona Fox, UK Science Media Centre

Trust: a key for a long-lasting relationship between society, science and media
- Mr. Rolf Ackerman, Bayer

Opportunities and challenges of new media
- Mr. Joachim Mueller-Jung, Chief Science Editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Member of the Editorial Committee of Atomium Culture

Implications of the changing media eco-system
- Mr. Frédéric Vallois, Director Strategic Affairs of Vivendi

2. How the media can support gender equality in research and innovation

Gender equality in science is still a big issue: women are vastly under-represented in professorships and in national academies worldwide. This is a familiar problem, but less highlighted is how the discrepancy plays out in the public arena of science — the media. What is behind this effective invisibility of women scientists in our media? And why does it matter? How can the media support the creation of positive role models for science and innovation? Could this support increase interest towards careers in science and innovation also among women?

Moderator: Dr. Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts NESTA

Hippocratic Innovation: The Gender Evolution/Revolution in the Co-design of Inclusive Universal Community Technology Tools and Methods
- Prof. Lizbeth Goodman, Chair of Creative Technology Innovation; Founder/Director, the SMARTlab, University College Dublin

Supporting gender equality in research through the media
- Dr. Els Rommes, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

The importance of role models in shaping society
- Prof. Martina Schraudner, Professor for Gender and Diversity in Organisations, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Technical University Berlin, Germany

3. Excessive trust and misplaced fears

The social responsibility of the media in promoting a better understanding of research ethics. In most areas of research, from health to social sciences, a legal and ethical framework is in place in order that fundamental rights are respected and adhered too. This framework affects the way relevant research is designed, conducted and finally reaches the consumer. While the impact of this framework is considerable, it remains largely unknown to the wider public. The media can play an important role in increasing the awareness of the ethical dimension of research and promote a rational approach to research and innovation.

Moderator: Dr. Graham Love, Science Foundation Ireland and Molecular Medicine Ireland

The public face of ethics: is research changing our values system?
- Prof. David Smith, Associate Professor of Health Care Ethics in the Royal College of Surgeons

Ethical Principles: a driver for responsible research and innovation
- Prof. Dr. George Tombras, Head of the Laboratory of Electronics and Chairman of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Athens

Who’s ethics is it anyways?
- Dr. Ruth Barrington, Director of the Voluntary Health Insurance Board and of TASC

The impact of media on reporting on research ethics
- Mr. Istvan Palugyai, Science Editor of Népszabadság, President Emeritus of European Union of Science Journalist’s Associations (EUSJA), Leader of Media Track, Science Communication Msc (ELTE University) Budapest

4. Public engagement in shaping the political agenda

Public engagement in shaping the political agenda

Moderator: Mr. John Denari, Science in Society NCP, Irish Research Council

How should we design science policy?
- Prof. Jean-Pierre Alix, CNRS , Member of the Governing Board of Euroscience

Use of social media in increasing the engagement of the public in shaping the political agenda
- Ms. Erika Mann, Director of Public Policy, Facebook

Public engagement as integral part of the innovation ecosystem
- Mr. Vladimír Šucha, Deputy Director General, DG Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Piloting citizens’ engagement in defining the EU research agenda
- Ms. Catherine Franche, Executive Director of ECSITE


19:30 – 22:00       Gala Dinner
Science Gallery

Keynote speeches:

-   Dr. Jean Botti, Chief Technology Officer of EADS

Science and scientists creating value for society
-   Prof. Lauritz Holm Nielsen, Rector of the University of Aarhus, President of Euroscience, Vice President of the European University Association (EUA) and Vice-Chairman of Universities Denmark

Tuesday 26 February 2013

9:00 – 11:00        Parallel Breakout Sessions

1. Technology and innovation acceptability in a changing media environment

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Moderator: Mr. John Denari, Irish Research Council, NCP for Science in Society

How is the attitude of the public changing?
- Ms. Denise Rennmann, Head of Corporate Policy and Advocacy of Bayer

Quality of Information in the era of social media
- Mr. Luca de Biase, Science Editor, Il Sole 24Ore, Member of the Editorial Committee of Atomium Culture

Society and Digital Media Technologies – New Questions for Research and Policy from a European Science Foundation Forward Look
- Dr. Charis Xinari, European University Cyprus, Member of the Scientific Committee for the ESF Forward Look on Media Studies

2. Rethinking Science Education

The strength of the European economy in the future will depend on our capacity to develop and attract talent. Rethinking our education system thus becomes a priority in order to ensure that young people are ready for the very different world they will be facing. How can transdisciplinary collaborations support the development of new models? How can media support an increased interest and the development of role-models for science?

Moderator: Mr. Hans van der Loo, Advisor to President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Member of the Consultative Committee of Atomium Culture

Creating and innovative Europe: the Finnish Model
- Mr. Esko Aho, Senior Fellow, Harvard University; Consultative Partner, Nokia Corporation; and Former Prime Minister of Finland (Helsinki, Finland)

Creative Collisions Between Science And Art
- Dr. Michael John Gorman, Founding Director of Science Gallery

The role of media
- Dr. Manjir Samanta-Laughton, Speaker and author of Punk Science and The Genius Groove

Science Education and Universities’ Third Mission
- Prof. Klaus Bock, Champion of Euroscience Open Forum 2014, Member of the European Research Council

3. Open Access as a key tool to optimize the circulation of knowledge in Europe

The announcement by the European Commission of its intention to make all research findings funded by Horizon 2020 open access signed an important milestone for increasing accessibility to the results of publicly funded research. The impact and importance of open access in order to increase the efficiency of the research system and increase the positive spin-off effects of publicly funded research is pivotal if we want the Europe to be a leading knowledge economy. What can be done at a European level to increase the dissemination of open access resources by societal actors?

Moderator: Ms. Erika Widegren, Executive Director of Atomium Culture

Increasing the impact of research
- Prof. Niamh Brennan, Trinity College Dublin

Open Access and Science Journalism
- Ms. Barbara Drillsma, President of the European Union of Science Journalism Associations

Facilitating the formation of professional networks, knowledge sharing, and exchange of best practices
- Mr. Gordon Dalton, Chair of the International Consortium of Research Staff Association (ICoRSA) and European Research Staff Association (EuRSA), International Officer of the Irish Research Staff Association (IRSA), Chair of UCC Association of Research Contract Staff (ARCS)

4. Digital and social media: new ways of engaging citizens in research and innovation

This session will look at how digital and social media support and enhance dialogue between science and society.

Moderator: Mr. Martin Hynes, Chief Executive, European Science Foundation

The current environment: opportunities and challenges
- Dr. John Breslin, Lecturer Electronic Engineering at NUI Galway, Researcher of Social Software and Semantic Web at DERI, Co-Founder of boards.ie, StreamGlider and Technology Voice

REIsearch: Research Excellence Innovation Network
- Prof. Massimo Marchiori, CEO of REIsearch, CTO of Atomium Culture, University of Padova, MIT

Open Science without Scientists? Results from the “Social Media in Science” study 2012
- Dr. Alexander Gerber, Managing Director of the German Research Centre for Science & Innovation Communication, Member of the Euroscience Governing Board and the ESOF Supervisory Board

The potential of better communication
- Mr. Daniel Piechocki, Director of Production Management & Operations in Orange Labs Poland

11:00 – 11:30         Coffee Break


11:30 – 13:00        Plenary Session

Presentation of results of Parallel Sessions by Chair

Discussion with:

-   Prof. Carlo Rubbia, CERN, Nobel Laureate, Member of the Advisory Board of Atomium Culture
-   Dr. Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the Governing Board of the EIT
-   Prof. Paul Boyle, President of Science Europe
-   Mr. Mark Little, Founder and CEO of Storyful


13:00 – 13:45        Standing Lunch


13:45 – 15:00        Closing Session

- Mr. Octavi Quintana Trias, Director for the European Research Area, European Commission 
- Mr. Oldrich Vlasák, Vice-President of the European Parliament
- Dr. Colm Galligan, Medical Director of MSD Ireland 
- Prof. Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh
-  Dr. Martin Curley, Vice-President Intel Labs and Director Intel Labs Europe


15:00 – 15:10 Closing Remarks

-    Prof. Vinny Cahill, Dean of Research of Trinity College Dublin
-    Ms. Erika Widegren, Executive Director of AC, Chair of the Conference

* via video conference