Research initiatives
ATHENA alliance aims to promote excellent research projects, raise public awareness about the impact and benefits of research and innovation, and increase young people’s interest in science and research careers. Promoting the culture of innovation, highlighting the societal importance of research and innovation, and presenting its impact on the individual’s daily life are the main tools used in these endeavours.
ATHENA Talks
The ATHENA Talks in Science, under the coordination of the Hellenic Mediterranean University, started in October 2021. In the seminar presentations, the distinguished scientists within the ATHENA alliance and beyond present their world-class research work.
ATHENA's World Intellectual Property Day
The purpose of the events is to highlight the importance of intellectual property (IP) in the innovation ecosystem. The annual events aim to spread the meaning of intellectual property by targeting various stakeholder groups.
The events are organised yearly on 21 April since 2022:
ATHENA Women and Girls in STEM
ATHENA European University strives for gender equality, inclusion, and balance in STEM disciplines and science in general by clearly acknowledging such issues in our program and addressing them in our daily activities.
Several events were organised to celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science (each year on February 11th), International Women’s Day (8 March), International Girls in ICT Day (each year on April 25th) and International Women in Engineering Day.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February 2024)
On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), ATHENA is reflected on the progress made and the challenges that still lie ahead in achieving gender equality in science. The ATHENA talk by Mar Fernandez Cendon on ‘The illusion of university equality: an approach to the gender gaps in academia’ underscored the need for critical discussions and actions to promote equality and diversity.
Interviews with women and girls scientists (2023)
Starting with International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11, 2023) over International Women’s Day (March 8, 2023) to International Girls in ICT Day (April 27, 2023) and International Women in Engineering Day (June 23, 2023), ATHENA celebrated women and girls scientists by publishing interviews with them.
Girls in ICT Day (28 April 2022)
Many initiatives for integrating women in STEM fields, Girls in ICT Day being one of them, have been actively expanding and developing in recent years. In the article Analysis of guidelines for involving more women students and researchers in STEM fields written by Lucija Brezočnik, Tatjana Welzer Družovec and Lili Nemec Zlatolas, such initiatives have been introduced, and guidelines for integrating women in STEM fields have been presented. More is presented on the ATHENA for Girls in ICT Day 2022.
Round table: Women in Leadership (8 March 2022)
According to the European Strategy for Universities, a persistent gender gap remains in some fields of study and research and in decision–making positions at universities. Gender balance clearly decreases with seniority among heads of higher education institutions, where women hold slightly below 24% of these positions in EU27.
The ATHENA European University organised an online round table discussion with females in top scientific or leadership positions to celebrate Women’s Day on 8 March 2022 (at 16.00 CET). Women’s career challenges and possible strategies to overcome them were discussed.
Motivating Women and Girls in ICT (28 April 2021)
As a part of International Girls in ICT Day (28 April 2021), ATHENA University applied its sub-event: Motivating Women and Girls in ICT. The event was within ATHENA, celebrated collecting and publishing quotes from fellow girls and women in STEM disciplines, as we wished to motivate future engineers, scientists, and innovators. Collecting motivational quotes and publishing them on the webpage is an ongoing process as we wish to tackle gender inequality throughout the year.
Round table: Women in Science (8 March 2021)
In celebration of Women’s Day, the ATHENA European University, in collaboration with the HMU International Relations Office, organised a Women in Science webinar. To raise awareness of gender equality in sciences, ATHENA organised a panel discussion with distinguished female scientists from Sweden, Denmark, France, Spain, Greece and Israel about what can be done to address the gender representation gap.
ATHENA Seminar Series 2021
- Digitalization of processes (University of Maribor), 18 November
- Interlinking with regional stakeholders (University of Siegen), 30 November
- Fostering linguistic diversity (University of Orleans), 7 December
- Legal frameworks for effective cooperation (Politécnico do Porto), 14 December
- From European policy to practice on the ground: Solutions for smart integration (University of Orléans), 28 February.
European Researcher's Night
24 September 2021
ATHENA participated in the European Researcher’s Night, which was in Slovenia organised by the University of Maribor. ATHENA European University and the possibilities for its stakeholders were presented in a talk about research excellence and opportunities and at a research fair intended for visitors of the general public.
