Consortium meeting in Thessaloniki

In the middle of autumn, we had the pleasure of getting together in Thessaloniki, Greece! The HEDIMED consortium meeting was held on 11th-13th October with the great help of our Thessaloniki partner Gnomon.

Prior to the meeting, three HEDIMED subgroups took a head start on 10th October, as many attendees had already arrived in Thessaloniki. During the week, three more such meetings were held as part of the event. In total, we heard 34 interesting scientific presentations, including preliminary results and updates of many of the tasks and studies. Attendees were active, and the discussion time after each presentation was often used up to the last minute. There were plenty of questions, perceptive comments, and knowledgeable responses!

One of the workshops focused on stakeholder engagement. This aspect is not very prominent in the daily work of researchers, but it is a vital part of science, aiding prominent results to break through on the right platforms and potentially make a difference in people’s lives. In many instances, HEDIMED research looks into the future: many of the findings will be paving the way for new ideas and research, and novel methods developed during the project will help future studies to be more efficient. Additionally, many studies support existing research and the work we do can support the entity on which the stakeholders base their decisions and actions.

sosialising

Despite full days of an intensive scientific program, socialising was not overlooked. We were lucky with the weather, and we really enjoyed the warm evenings of the lively city of Thessaloniki with delicious Greek cuisine.

On Thursday evening we had a consortium dinner with all the meeting attendees. Before that, we took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the very eventful history of Thessaloniki and to have simultaneously a refreshing walk after hours of sitting still.

During the walking tour we saw Aristotle Square, Modiano arcade, Bey Hamam, Roman Forum and the Early Christian Basilica of Saint Demetrios. Thank you to our guides Maria and Vivi!

Some cheerful faces at the dinner!

Again, we got to see how fruitful it is to meet face-to-face. In the end, everyone concluded that these meetings are vital for cooperation in this big consortium. Thank you all for your active participation! Our scientific processes were helped big strides forward!

finally, an unresolved contest..

We had some delicacies with us for coffee breaks, and an unofficial “battle of kisses” (soft marshmallows) was held. Here are the Greek and the Finnish ones. A winner was not declared, but some slightly biased opinions were expressed. The Danish candidates did not show up, so we must just believe when they say, theirs are delicious too. 😉