Last September 29th, at Pavilhão do Conhecimento, the 5th edition of the European Researchers’ Night (ERN) took place. Known for gathering scientists and the general public in an informal atmosphere, ERN happens every year on the last Friday of September in around 300 European cities.
The 2017 edition, much like last year’s, was dedicated to “Day to Day Science” and it intended to bring awareness to the importance of Science in day-to-day life, its quality and the impact it has on society’s development. From 6:30 p.m. until 2 a.m., there were 120 investigators, 60 projects and eight programmed hours, without breaks, that included workshops, conversations, demonstrations, shows, and several experiments for people of all age.
Nova School of Business and Economics teamed up with Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva and participated in this innovative night with the subject “Foresight”, tackling the future and creating futuristic scenarios. Professors José A. Ferreira Machado and Miguel Pina e Cunha were part of a sprint-debate – a 16min conversation in which they defended two opposite sides – about the topic “Future of Companies”. With this debate, all those present got economic and management insights about the entrepreneurial organization as we know it.
However, this wasn’t the only Nova SBE contribution. Pavilhão do Conhecimento’s IT team along with Nova SBE’s Ph.D. students, came up with “Bolsa do Futuro” – an electronic app that allowed ERN visitors to invest in the knowledge areas they thought were the most promising.
This edition was, without a doubt, a night filled with interesting activities, offering everyone there the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences, and allowing them to understand what it means to be a scientist, what is Science and what are the main research subjects.