#ENRIITCyourCoffee takes on International Coffee Day!

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Welcome to the recap of #ENRIITCyourCoffee season 4 episode 5, which was a special edition in celebration of the International Coffee Day (1 October 2021)! During the session, members of our community came together to have an informal discussion regarding the progress of the ENRIITC Network thus far, as well as brainstorm how it can continue to develop and improve. In order to ensure participants would feel comfortable giving their most honest feedback, the session was not recorded.

The meeting started with a tour de table where all participants of the meeting briefly introduced themselves, their professions and why they decided to join the Network. A few key responses to the last point were as follows:

  1. To network, connect, learn and discuss with fellow ICOs and ILOs
  2. To have the possibility to exchange best practices with colleagues on common initiatives and projects
  3. To learn how to reach industries and engage with SMEs

One of the main objectives of ENRIITC is to build a pan-European network of ILOs and ICOs. In order to assess the Network’s level of success in this area, what have our participants gained from being a part of the community? Some of their responses are listed below:

  1. New contacts with ILOs and ICOs working in similar institutions
  2. Knowledge of best practices regarding ILO and ICO activities
  3. A better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of ILOs and ICOs
  4. Information of events taking place in the field

Participants were then asked to access the #ENRIITCyourCoffee series, which launched its first episode on 17 November 2020 concerning how ILOs and ICOs and better collaborate. This series was established in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of providing ENRIITC community members a safe, virtual environment to convene on a weekly basis in order to get to know each other, share best practices, discuss common issues and brainstorm potential solutions. The series has been vital to the growth of the community with the first 3 seasons bringing in around 595 participants in total.

Those within this session were asked what they have enjoyed about the series so far, as well as how the series could be improved for future episodes. In response to what has been enjoyed, many indicated that they simply appreciate having a short break in their week that allows them to meet with other professionals in similar positions, to learn and debate together and, mostly, to stay connected. Others pointed out that having a fresh, new topic each week to learn about and discuss with the other participants is a fun and refreshing exercise.

The following ideas for how the series can be improved were also shared:

  1. Sharing the presentations in advance could potentially contribute to a more collaborative Q/A sessions as the participants would be better prepared
  2. Instilling a stricter presentation time (15 minutes max) would ensure that there is enough time for a fruitful discussion during the remaining 15 minutes of the call

This episode provided invaluable feedback to the ENRIITC Consortium on how the project has performed so far, as well as how it can continue to provide great support to its members. Be on the look-out for future “special edition” episodes that you can take part of in order to be a key player in the development of ENRIITC and its Network!