Round-table with HE decision makers

During October and November, HEIDI academic partners (University College London, University of Paris and University of Malta) held a series of roundtables (15 in total)  to learn more about the drivers and barriers of Higher Education Engagement in Digital Action as a catalyst for social change during the COVID-19 crisis.

Three of these roundtables (one per partner institution) involved Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) decision makers (directors, coordinators, heads of departments) to talk about their own experiences with citizen science, maker movements and hackathons.

After lengthy discussions, it became evident that participants were aware of DA between HEIs and the community at a local and global scale, providing many examples of digital action that involved environmental research and documenting social needs. They suggested that DA created new pathways for good research practice and to reach different sectors of society. On the whole, it was agreed that benefits of increased digital literacy can contribute to better decision-making and that management meetings that were held online have proven to be a flexible and positive experience.