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I was delighted to attend the third annual meeting of the European diasporas in the UK, hosted at the the Portuguese Embassy in London and organized by Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK). This event brought together the European scientific community and diplomatic representatives to: 🔹 Discuss inter-diaspora relations and how to foster stronger connections. 🔹 Identify priorities for the European scientific community in the UK. 🔹 Explore opportunities to reinforce the role of science diplomacy in addressing global challenges. 🔹 Understand how platforms like CONNECTS-UK can enable cross-border collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation. CONNECTS-UK presented its activities after one year of existence, highlighting key milestones: ➡️ Launch Event at Imperial College London ➡️ Networking Event at Coventry University ➡️ Open forum at #Edinburgh on "Democratic backsliding" ➡️ Open forum at #Cardiff on "AI what does it means to society and to you" ➡️ Webinars info ➡️ Report on the Impact of Brexit on Students and Academic Mobility These achievements reflect the power of collective efforts in building stronger scientific networks and promoting cross-border collaborations. Congratulations to the CONNECTS-UK team for these impressive milestones—looking forward to seeing the continued impact of this initiative! It was clear during the meeting that, to fulfill their role effectively, scientific diasporas must develop their own administrative capacity, including: ✔ Legal status to formalize their structure and operations. ✔ Dedicated coordinators to provide operational efficiency. ✔ Active members to ensure dynamic participation and community engagement. ✔ Independent funding sources to guarantee sustainability and autonomy. These elements are key to empowering diasporas to act as effective bridges, fostering collaboration between researchers, institutions, and policymakers while complementing diplomatic efforts. A huge thank you to #PARSUK for organizing this insightful event. Together, we can continue to strengthen the role of science and innovation as drivers of collaboration and progress. Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU) , Dutch Academic Network UK , Polonium Foundation, AISUK, Društvo VTIS - Association of Slovenes Educated Abroad FERN-UK European Union Delegation to the United Kingdom Ambascience UK Ambassade de France au Royaume-Uni Sébastien Bidaud Laurent Toulouse Audrene Eloit #ScienceDiplomacy #EuropeanDiasporas #ResearchAndInnovation #Collaboration #Science
Thank you very much for your participation, your inputs in the panel were truly impactful.
It was great having you with us, Patrick Nédellec! I hope we can continue this important dialogue - there’s a lot to learn from each other.
Patrick Nédellec, thank you for joining us and emphasizing the vital role that scientific attachés and counselors play in advancing diplomacy!