Matchmaking Day
I participated a Matchmaking Day, which they also called Networking for Dummies, in Ås. This day was organised from the Nordic Forest Research (SNS), The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research (NKJ), NordGen and The European Forest Research Institute Nordic Division (EFINOR).
First of all, I have to say that before receiving an invitation to this day I did not hear about those organisations. That said it was a good day after some days of just writing on an article. Entering the room, I was greeted by the facilitator of the event and quickly found some coffee and other participants that were fantastic to talk to. Being a joined Nordic event and the Baltics, participants travelled from Finnland, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden and not the least Norway. After a short introduction, we continued with some low-tech networking. This meant to sketch my head on a card, putting this card on a wall and then draw lines to the head of other people I already met. Followed by presentations of the different organisations and their opportunities. I have to check out their websites, but for now, they support, find and coordinate networks for collaborations in the Nordics and Baltics as do they provide funding for projects within their strategies.
Warm lunch invited us to enlarge our network and sit beside people that we have not yet met, thus increasing the lines we draw on the wall before. The afternoon started with a presentation on a creative team climate. With some points to keep in mind
Participate safely (equality)
Support creativity (be creative)
Task orientation (communication)
Objectives (set objectives and make sure everyone understands them in the same way)
In the last group effort, we talked about experiences of collaborations and concluded with five sentences on those experiences within the group:
Create an informal setting to communicate freely
Have diversity with empathy
Choose a facilitator that creates a positive environment
Communicate clearly with an effort
Be active and engage
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