Investigação, Desenvolvimento e Inovação● 2021

Ceris  Day Out Organizing Committee

https://ceris.pt/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Booklet_2020_V2.pdf

Implementação da Prática

CERIS Day Out, has been a recurring event that brings together PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and professors of CERIS (Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability). Due to the current pandemic situation, the program of the event has been very different from previous editions, nevertheless the core activities have remained the same: (i) team building activities; (ii) oral presentations of on-going research; (iii) other activities that provide helpful information’s and tools to the execution of on going research by the students.

For the new members of CERIS this event is usually their first contact with different researchers from the six research groups at CERIS, related with different fields in Civil Engineering.

The first edition of this event took place in October 2017, and as been occurring ever since. The fourth and latest edition of this event took place on October 7th, 2020, in Cascais. The event program, during pandemic COVID19, had to be rethought and very different form previous versions, and comprised several leisure activities, as well as work focused activities to promote and share the knowledge of the participants, which balance was considered very healthy (see activities in the result section).

From the members of CERIS, a total of 8 elements were selected to form the organizing committee. These members were from different investigation areas and at different research stages (PhD students, post doctoral investigators and a CERIS board member).

For the latest edition approximately 3.509,28€   were allocated (financed by FCT and included in the CERIS 2020 budget), which included transportation, meals and all the outdoors activities during one day.

For the organizing committee, this event was a complex exercise in logistics, given the pandemic situation and the type of activities (new ideas, handling of resources for all participants, time management, health measures, among others).

Resultados Alcançados

The objective of this event is to promote the interaction and diminish the isolation between the center’s young researchers, by enhancing the team spirit, promote activities between the members, transfer knowledge between different areas of research, promote co-operation, and build the CERIS identity in the IST community. See the short film (https://ceris.pt/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CERIS-DAY-OUT-2020.mp4).

In the latest edition, all of our usual schedule had to be reconsidered, and a decision was made to ensure that all the activities were taken outdoors, and without contact between the participants. To each of the participants a personal “health kit” was offered, that included a face mask and an gel-alcoholic solution. The event occurred only one day instead two days to avoid accommodation.

There were two types of activities to consider. The leisure activities included tree climbing and target shooting. The work focused activities included some PhD students and post doctoral investigators, presented their research in a short and informative “5 minute pitch”.

Due to the current situation, and in order to maintain the social distancing, we were forced to restrict the number of participants, in total 40 participants and 8 professors attended this years event, representing 7 nationalities, which allowed for participants of various nationalities and research topics to take part in the promotion of a positive work environment. Overall, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers were very satisfied with the event, as shown by the results of the feedback survey delivered(https://ceris.pt/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Booklet_2020_V2.pdf).

Even though it was a very positive event, the level of satisfaction in comparison to previous editions, remained the same, which reflected the effort that was made to adapt our event to the current situation.

For the Organizing Committee and several other attendees, the best outcome was the noticeable increase in interaction between the young research community of CERIS, which is a key-factor in the development of a strong scientific community at IST.

Avaliação e Monitorização

The evaluation of the event quality has been carried out through a feedback survey, after the occurrence of each of the four editions, and assessed the participants opinion on several aspects, such as: (i) relevance on the promotion of such events; (ii) overall assessment of the event; (iii) relevance of the event for current work; (iv) relevance for meeting colleagues; (v) event structure; (vi) event duration (vii) work-leisure balance (vii) event organization (viii) favorite/least favorite moment; (ix) relevance of the students and expert talks; (x) adequacy of the venue and (xi) willingness to attend next editions of the event.

The evaluation questionnaire has been a crucial indicator of every edition of the event and has been done ever since the first edition. This questionnaire allows for each organizing committee, to assess what were the positive and negative feedback of each of the activities.

In this edition, with respect to the previous edition, the answers were overall even more positive, and the survey was answered by 40% of all participants.

https://ceris.pt/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Booklet_2020_V2.pdf

The favorite moments were the Tree Climbing (56.3%) and Target Shooting (37.5%). The least favorite moment was the Horseback Ridding (25.0%). The majority of the participants considered excellent the event structure and very high relevance for meeting colleagues. Everyone said they would not miss the next event in 2021.

Carácter Inovador e Transferibilidade

The event was created in order to promote interaction between the very numerous young researchers at CERIS. In its core, the event is based on a set of activities focused on team building and knowledge transfer, which can undoubtedly be replicated by CERIS and also by the several other IST-based research centers.

Its innovative character stems from the fact that the nature of the event allows for a simultaneous investment in several aspects which add value to both CERIS and IST, namely communication, personal interaction, development of social skills, spreading of ideas and knowledge and strengthening of a common identity within research community.

In the 2020 edition the organizing committee got acquired some sponsors, enriching the team-building activities, with reusable bags and tshirts (Rothoblaas), pencils and notebooks (Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército), water bottles (Luso), cereal bars (Nestlé – Fitness), and coffee (Delta).

This event has been disseminated in CERIS Newsletter, and on CERIS Web page (www.ceris.pt) for the IST community and to the public in general. CERIS Day Out/CERIS Open Day can have a strong link with the IST Open Day and with other initiative from other IST research units.

A benchmark can be done to discuss the activities that lead to a better results and  some synergies can be made between IST research centers.

It is intention this year to improve the communication of CERIS through the social media, with strong link with IST communication group. Therefore the this annual event can contribute to improve and enrich the communication at IST community and to other higher education entities.

• Safely CERIS Day Out 2020 during COVID19 (PDF, 187KB)

Investigação, Desenvolvimento e Inovação ● 2020

Ceris Open Day Organizing Committee

Practice Implementation

CERIS Open Day has become an annual event that brings together PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and professors of CERIS (Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability). The program of the events has been changing between editions, nevertheless the core activities have remained the same: (i) team building activities; (ii) oral presentations of on-going research; (iii) keynote speakers from different areas and (iv) other activities that provide helpful informations and tools to the execution of on going research by the students.

For the new members of CERIS this event is usually their first contact with different researchers from the six research groups at CERIS, related with different fields in Civil Engineering.

The first edition of this event took place on the 27th and 28th of October, 2017.

The second edition of this event took place on the 23rd and 24th of October, 2018.

The third and latest edition of CERIS Open Day was held at Foz do Arelho, on the 9th and 10th of October, 2019. The event program comprised several leisure activities, as well as work focused activities to promote and share the knowledge of the participants, which balance was considered very healthy (see activities in the results section).

From the members of CERIS, a total of ten elements were selected to form the organizing committee. These members were from different investigation areas at different research stage (PhD students, post doctoral investigators) and a CERIS board member.

For the latest edition approximately 9.000€   were allocated (financed by FCT and included in the CERIS 2019 budget), which included accommodation, meals, transportation and all the activities.

For the organizing committee, this event is a complex exercise in logistics, given the coordination of the venue, the activities (new ideas, handling of resources, time management, among others) and, in the case of CERIS, the numerous amount of participants.

Results Achieved

The objective of this event is to promote the interaction and minimize the isolation between the center’s young researchers, by enhancing the team spirit, promote activities between the members, transfer knowledge between different areas of research, promote co-operation, and build the CERIS identity in the IST community. See the short film (https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ji40rqk4kne3yl/CERIS%20OPEN%20DAY.wmv?dl=0).

In the latest edition, there were two types of activities to consider. The leisure activities included an exploring of the outdoors near the event site, quiz, cannoeing, yoga and other team building activities. The work focused activities included three very different keynote lectures, namely: “Flying Sharks, Mosquitoes and Rock & Roll” by João Correia; “Career management skills: why we need them and where to get them?”  by Pedro Resende; and a “How to finish your PhD without Prozac and other mental health issues in academia” by Ekaterina Vinnik. There was also held “Get to know CERIS” kahoot and some PhD students and post doctoral investigators, presented their research in a short and informative “5 minute pitch”.

In the three editions held so far, the results were very good. There has been an increasing number of participants, in total 78 participants and 8 professors attended this year event representing 12 nationalities, which allowed for participants of various nationalities and research topics to take part in the promotion of a positive work environment. Overall, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers were very satisfied with the event, as shown by the results of the feedback survey delivered after each edition was concluded (http://ceris.pt/pdfs/Booklet_2019_v2.pdf).

It should be noted that there has been an increasing level of satisfaction in the second and third editions, which reflected the improvements that had been suggested in the previous years regarding a stronger investment in the team-building activities.

For the Organizing Committee and several other attendees, the best outcome was the noticeable increase in interaction between the young research community of CERIS, which is a key-factor in the development of a strong scientific community at IST.

Evaluation and Monitoring

The evaluation of the event quality has been carried out through a feedback survey, after the occurrence of each of the three editions, and assessed the participants opinion on several aspects, such as: (i) relevance on the promotion of such events; (ii) overall assessment of the event; (iii) relevance of the event for current work; (iv) relevance for meeting colleagues; (v) event structure; (vi) event duration (vii) work-leisure balance (vii) event organization (viii) favorite/least favorite moment; (ix) relevance of the keynote speakers: (x) adequacy of the venue and (xi) willingness to attend next editions of the event.

In the first edition, the evaluation questionnaire was answered by 57 participants.

Overall people indicated that further editions should be organized with an even higher focus on boosting the relationships and interactions among the numerous community of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers of CERIS, thus contributing to the identity of the unit.

In the second edition, the survey was answered by 48 participants (http://ceris.pt/pdfs/Ceris_open_day_2018_Booklet.pdf). The favorite moments were the Peddy paper (34,6%) and the Quiz (19,2%). The least favorite moments were the disco night (19,2%) and the keynotes (15.4%).

In the third edition, the survey was answered by 40% of the participants (http://ceris.pt/pdfs/Booklet_2019_v2.pdf). With respect to this edition, the answers were overall even more positive. The favorite moments were Canoeing (41%) and the keynote speakers (19 %), showing that the diversity of the keynote speakers is a big plus in this type of events. The least favorite moments were the Quiz (34%) and the “5 minute pitches” (22%). This survey helps identifying the activities that the organizing committee should maintain and the ones that should be improved in the renamed “CERIS Day Out 2020”. A document “Lessons learn” was also created to help the future editions of the event.

Innovative Character and Transferability

The event was created in order to promote interaction between the very numerous young researchers at CERIS. In its core, the event is based on a set of activities focused on team building and knowledge transfer, which can undoubtedly be replicated by CERIS and also by the several other IST-based research centers.

Its innovative character stems from the fact that the nature of the event allows for a simultaneous investment in several aspects which add value to both CERIS and IST, namely communication, personal interaction, development of social skills, spreading of ideas and knowledge and strengthening of a common identity within research community.

In 2019 event for the first time the organizing committee look for some sponsors, enriching the team-building activities, with recycled bags (GIRA), notebooks and pencils (Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército), re-usable water bottles (EPAL) and some fruit for the attendants (Frutalvor).

This event has been disseminated in CERIS Newsletter, pag.12 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/lxh193h6aj72tls/newsletter_jan2020.pdf?dl=0) and on CERIS Web page (www.ceris.pt) for the IST community and to the public in general. CERIS Open Day can have a strong link with the IST Open Day and with other initiatives from other IST research units.

A benchmark can be done to discuss the activities that lead to a better results and  some synergies can be made between IST research centers.

It is intention this year to improve the communication of CERIS through the social media, with strong link with IST communication group. Therefore the Open Day can contribute to improve and enrich the communication at IST community and to other higher education entities.

• Ceris Open Day Organizing Commitee ( PDF, 128KB) 
•  Apresentação (PDF, 2MB)
•  Vídeo de apresentação
• http://ceris.pt/pdfs/Booklet_2019_v2.pdf

Investigação, Desenvolvimento e Inovação ● 2019

Ceris Open Day Organizing Committee

Practice Implementation

CERIS Open Day is an annual event that brings together PhD students and postdoctoral researchers of CERIS – Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability. The event programme is flexible, but can be thought of as a combination of team building activities, work presentations by the young researchers about ongoing research (oral and posters) , keynotes on a broad range of topics and other activities focused on providing helpful tools and information to the young research community.

The first edition of this activity took place on the 27th and 28th of October, 2017. The event started with several ice-breaker activities that promoted communication and interaction, followed by the several work presentations and keynotes, with with special focus on the lecture by Professor Filipe Duarte Santos regarding climate changes. There was also a presentation on scientific writing skills and publishing research work, followed by a round table discussion regarding the professional outlook for the postgraduate community. An after dinner informal activity was prepared, where participants were asked to present a 3 minute pitch on fictitious/unusual project proposals they had been working on during dinner, thus generating a relaxed and fun environment between co-workers.

The second edition of the CERIS Open Day was held at Vimeiro on October 23rd and 24th, 2018. The programme provided a healthy balance between work and leisure focused activities. There were some very interesting keynotes, namely “20 years of Science-Bases Entrepreneurship” by Nuno Arantes de Oliveira; “Society and Science: the challenges of a PhD”, by Ana Margarida Nunes de Almeida and “Is there fairy dust in research?”, by Cristina Gouveia. The team-building activities included a hike through Serra do Montejunto, followed by a community picnic lunch, an after-dinner quizz competition, disco night and a Peddy paper. To conclude, some PhD students were given the opportunity to divulge their research.

Results Achieved

The objectives of this event were to promote the interaction between the center’s young researchers, enhance team spirit and communication, transfer knowledge regarding ongoing research, build the CERIS identify and provide orientation for research development.

In the two editions held so far, the results were very good. There was a very positive turnout which allowed for participants of various nationalities and research topics to take part in the promotion of a positive work environment. Overall, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers were very thrilled with the event, as shown through the results of a feedback survey delivered after each edition was completed. It should be noted that there was a higher level of satisfaction in the second edition, which reflected the improvements that had been suggested in the previous year regarding a stronger investment in the team-building activities.

For the Organizing Committee and several other attendees, the best outcome was the noticeable increase in interaction between the young research community of CERIS, which is a key-factor in the building of a strong scientific community at IST.

Evaluation and Monitoring

The monitoring of the event quality was done through a satisfaction survey, which delved into several aspects such as (i) overall assessment of the event (ii) relevance of the event for current work (iii) relevance for meeting colleagues (iv) event structure (v) event duration (vi) work-leisure balance (vii) event organization (viii) adequacy of the venue and (viii) willingness to attend next editions of the event. It also provided an opportunity to suggest improvements to the event (many in line with the identification of favourite and least favourite moments).

In the first edition, the evaluation questionnaire was answered by 57 participants.

The favourite moments were the after-dinner session (29.8%) and the ice-breaker activities (19.3%). The least favourite moments were the keynotes (22.8%), the oral presentations (17.5%) and the dinner time (15.8%). Overall people indicated that further editions should be organized with an even higher focus on boosting the relationships and interactions among the numerous community of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers of CERIS, thus contributing to the identity of the unit.

In the second edition, the survey was answered by 48 participants

(http://ceris.pt/pdfs/Ceris_open_day_2018_Booklet.pdf). With respect to the previous edition, the answers were overall even more positive.

The favourite moments were the Peddy paper (34,6%) and the after-dinner quizz (19,2%). The least favourite moments were the disco night (19,2%) and the keynotes (15.4%).

Innovative Character and Transferability

The event was launched in order to promote interaction between the very numerous young researchers at CERIS. Essentially it consists of a set of activities focused on team building and knowledge transfer, which can undoubtedly be replicated by CERIS and also the several other IST-based research centres. It is a complex exercise in logistics, given the coordination of the venue, the activities (new ideas, handling of resources, time management, etc) and, in the case of CERIS, the numerous amount of participants.

Its innovative character stems from the fact that the nature of the event allows for a simultaneous investment in several aspects which add value to both CERIS and IST, namely communication, spreading of ideas and knowledge and strengthening of a common identify.

• CERIS Open Day 2 (PDF, 142KB)
• Apresentação (PDF, 22MB)