On arrival, please collect your name bagde and conference materials at the registration desk. 

After registration, all participants will be served a light lunch before the official program begins. 

Moderator: Mr. Nick Ishmael-Perkins, Editor-in-Chief, C&EN

1 PM: Opening Introduction by Prof. David Budtz Pedersen, Chair of CeRRA Programme Committee, Aalborg University 

1:10 PM: Welcome by Prof. Per Michael Johansen, Rector, Aalborg University

1:20 PM: Welcome by Ms. Christina Egelund, Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science 

1:30 PM: Lightening Talk by Dr. Yensi Flores Bueso, Co-Chair, Global Young Academy: Fostering Sustainable and Inclusive Research Cultures

(This session will be live streamed) 

Keynote Speaker:

Prof. Sander van der Linden, University of Cambridge

(This session will be live streamed) 

(This session will be live streamed) 

Session outline: 

In this opening plenary panel, speakers take stock of current and future dimensions of research assessment to maximize the quality and impact of research and innovation. Urgent imperatives include the need for incentives and rewards that foster the production, transmission and implementation of knowledge and innovation by equipping individual researchers, universities, and funding agencies with the necessary infrastructures and frameworks to enable scientific leadership. Speakers represent a range of voices from the academic community and the science funding ecosystem. The panel explores evolving expectations of European and international research teams to play an active role in securing competitiveness, democratic values, and scientific autonomy. A prerequisite for a vibrant science and innovation system is sustainable research cultures that enable excellence and impact through flexible and diverse career paths, mobility in all its forms, and evaluations that properly acknowledge and support the many values at the core of our research systems.

Chairs: 

• Prof. David Budtz Pedersen, Chair of CeRRA Programme Committee, Aalborg University 
• Dr. Karen Stroobants, Vice-Chair, CoARA

Panelists:

• Prof. Gemma Modinos, King's College London
• Ms. Cecilie Brøkner, CEO, Innovation Fund Denmark 
• Prof. Maria Leptin, President, European Research Council 
• Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp, Head of Division, German Research Foundation
• Mr. Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

(This session will be live streamed) 

Wrap-up and invitation to drinks reception by Moderator Mr. Nick Ishmael-Perkins.

Morning Check-in:

Wrap-up of Day 1 and side events.

Introduction to Day 2's Program by:

• Moderator Mr. Nick Ishmael-Perkins, Editor-in-Chief, C&EN
• Prof. David Budtz Pedersen, Chair of the CeRRA Programme Committee, Aalborg University

(This session will be live streamed) 

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Ana Peršić, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Open Science Programme 

(This session will be live streamed) 

Session Outline: 

This session addresses emerging research focusing on research assessment, indicators, metrics, and drivers of cultural change. To foster sustainable reform of research assessment, the session takes stock of the progress and promising practices generated by a selection of research projects. More specifically, the session presents studies of research assessment practices and their impact on academic practices and career development. To support cultural change, studies are needed to analyze researcher’s attitudes, behaviors, publication practices, impact and collaborative abilities. The session provides an overview of evidence relating to the assessment reforms so far. The aim of the session is to map research assessment activities that are tested, developed and implemented through on-going projects, and to support the dissemination of good practices stemming from them. 

Chairs:

• Ms. Karen Skytte Larsen, Head of Programme, Villum Foundation 
• Dr. James Morris, Senior Policy Officer, Science Europe 

Panelists:

• Prof. James Wilsdon, Executive Director, Research on Research Institute, UCL
• Dr. Ismael Rafols, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Polytechnic University of València, UNESCO Chair at Leiden University
• Prof. Emanuel Kulczycki, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
• Dr. Tanja Kuchenmüller, Head of Unit, World Health Organization  
• Prof. Asa Nakano, Kyoto University

Session Outline: 

This thematic session engages with some of the key institutions in Europe and beyond who have been instrumental in experimenting with new metrics, indicators, and assessment frameworks. Highlighting the need for integrity, rigor, quality, and impact in science, the session takes a closer look at some of the leading institutions in the reform of research assessment. The session is designed to promote peer learning and leave the participants with genuine inspiration to embark on similar exercises and experiments at the local and national level. Institutional leadership and leading by example are the guiding principles for the session. 

Chairs:

• Dr. Sean Sapcariu, Programme Manager, Luxembourg National Research Fund
• Prof. Søren Serritzlew, President, Independent Research Fund Denmark  

Panelists:

• Dr. Kathrine Bjerg Bennike, Specialist Consultant, Aalborg University
• Mr. Poul Meier Melchiorsen, Senior Consultant, Aalborg University  
• Prof. Hester Bijl, Rector Magnificus, Leiden University
• Prof. Peter Aronsson, Vice-Chancellor, Linnaeus University
• Dr. Paula Adam, Director, Research Lab at the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia 
• Prof. Kelly Cobey, Chair DORA, University of Ottawa  

Session Outline: 

In today’s advanced knowledge economies, competition serves as a main driving force behind new inventions and scientific breakthroughs. Researchers are competing for funding. Universities are competing for visibility and impact. Countries are competing for talent. However, healthy competition requires standardized principles and openness for collaboration. While competitive behaviors continue to drive scientific breakthroughs, it is clear that collaboration and networks based on trust and inclusion are necessary components in the advancement of scientific creativity, innovation and excellence. This topical session asks how to balance competition with collaboration as a cornerstone of healthy, connected scientific institutions. How do universities and research funding agencies establish rules and principles for sound competition and collaboration? How do they ensure that European universities stay at the forefront of global science? 

Chairs:

• Dr. Katarina Bjelke, Director General, Swedish Research Council

Panelists:

• Prof. Elisa Reis, Member Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and IPSP
• Dr. Carthage Smith, Senior Policy Analyst, Technology and Innovation (OECD)  
• Prof. Bente Merete Stallknecht, Dean, University of Copenhagen 
• Dr. Mattias Björnmalm, Secretary General, CESAER
• Prof. Sandra Lapointe, McMaster University

Session Outline: 

Discussions on reforming research assessment have gained significant momentum at the global scene. World-wide, research-performing organisations and funding agencies have addressed the need for reform of rewards and recognition. In Europe, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) has captured and embodied the call for inclusive and responsible assessment. However, for reforms to be truly impactful, they need to be based in a global conversation about foundational values and promising practices. The design and direction of research careers, incentives, rewards, and metrics are highly co-dependent across countries and regions. Hence, this closing plenary panel offers a platform to discuss - and challenge - the idea of transferable credentials and rewards, and the values underpinning global reforms.  The closing panel features representatives from North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America to discuss emerging global approaches to research assessment including the role of global funding agencies in creating an inclusive and responsible global assessment cultures. 

Chair:

• Mr. Nick Ishmael-Perkins, Editor-in-Chief, C&EN   

Panelists:

• Prof. Gunnar Sivertsen, Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education 
• Dr. Elizabeth Gadd, Vice-Chair, CoARA 
• Dr. Henrik Barslund Fosse, Head of Impact Management, Novo Nordic Foundation 
• Dr. Angela Bednarek, Director, Scientific Advancement, The Pew Charitable Trusts 
• Prof. Virginia Barbour, Queensland University of Technology   
• Dr. Andiswa Mfengu, University of Cape Town

(This session will be live streamed) 

Chair of the Conference Prof. David Budtz Pedersen will present take aways as well as wrap-up the conference with the panelists: 

Chair: 

• Prof. David Budtz Pedersen, Chair of CeRRA Programme Committee, Aalborg University

Panelists: 

• Mr. Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
• Prof. Henk Kummeling, Chair, CoARA 
• Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián, Secretary General, Science Europe 

(This session will be live streamed)