The workshop was held online from 08:00 to 11:30 (CET) / 16:00 to 19:30 (JST) on January 31, 2025, to connect early-career researchers within the GCT Resilient Cities and Communities initiative and to provide advice in preparation for the upcoming seed funding round. A total of 38 participants attended, including 32 researchers (22 from Sweden and 10 from Japan) and MIRAI Project Managers, among others.
Participating universities: Kyushu University, Nagoya University, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Hiroshima University, Karlstad University, Umeå University, Linköping University, University of Gothenburg, Örebro University, Luleå University of Technology, Uppsala University, Linnaeus University, Jönköping University
The workshop started with a presentation of the MIRAI consortium and GCT resilient cities and communities by Irina Mancheva, Assistant Professor of Umeå University as one of the researcher representatives, and MIRAI Project managers. Then Dr. Jonathan Roques, Associate Professor of University of Gothenburg and Dr. Alexander Keeley Ryota, Associate Professor of Kyushu University presented their previously seed-funded projects, shared their experiences, and provided tips and advice for the upcoming seed-funding application round.
Each participant briefly introduced themselves in a virtual roundtable, sharing their name, position, university, and research topic. This was followed by seven 1-slide presentations where individual researchers or teams of researchers could present their research ideas. Based on the themes presented in these short presentations, four breakout rooms were created:
(Breakout Room 1) Building Resilience and Well-being in Sustainable Urban Environments
(Breakout Room 2) Governance, Justice, and Social Equity in Sustainability Transitions
(Breakout Room 3) Urban Transitions, Mobility, and Spatial Justice
(Breakout Room 4) Sustainability, Innovation, and Economic Impact In each of these rooms, the researchers could discuss further their ideas, get in contact with counterparts from other countries, and discuss potential collaborations and seed-funding opportunities.