The matchmaking event brought together digital-sector researchers and companies
On 20 November, the Estonian Research Council hosted a collaboration day that brought together researchers and companies from the digital field. The discussion tables focused on topics related to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, smart automation, and human-centered design. The event followed a speed dating format, which enabled participants to connect with a wide range of potential partners for future collaboration projects.
The School of Digital Technologies was represented by Research Professor in Digital Transformation Merja Lina M. Bauters, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction David Jose Ribeiro Lamas, Associate Professor in Digital Transformation Nuno Correia, and Junior Research Fellow Anar Abilakimova, who introduced their research projects and potential avenues for cooperation.
The meeting highlighted the digital development challenges that companies are currently facing and opened space to explore how research could support them with practical solutions. Participants were also introduced to cooperation supporting programmes such as SEKMO and TemTA, which help companies and universities launch joint research and development projects.
According to the participating DTI researchers, the event further strengthened collaboration between the School of Digital Technologies and industry partners. In addition to securing a company鈥檚 participation in a workshop the next day, the event opened several promising long-term connections.
Companies aligned with the (TemTa) project were identified in knowledge co-creation, forecasting, and information visualisation. One partnership has already progressed with a follow-up meeting, plans to formalise mutual access to know-how and data, and an outline for two doctoral-level knowledge-transfer positions.
The discussions proved especially productive. Companies expressed their expectations for collaboration with researchers clearly, which was reflected both in the depth of the conversations and in the concrete next steps agreed upon.