NEWS On Friday 27 April, the focus environment MIT place opens with a robot competition organised by students in engineering physics. The inauguration programme continues on 2 and 3 May with speeches and inspiring lectures in the MIT Building.
This focus environment specialises in mathematics, statistics and IT – which are common subjects for most educations and research areas in the building. It also aims to be a bridge between education, research and outreach with trade and industry.
“MIT place will become a meeting place for everyone in the building – students, researchers and the general public alike – can partake in joint activities,” says Mats Johansson, coordinator for MIT place.
The facility mixes high-tech solutions and flexible furnishing that can rapidly be transformed into an event space with a stage, lecture or exhibit space. Students already see the potential of the premises by setting their annual robot competition in the MIT place on 28 April.
“Last year, over four hundred spectators showed up for our robot competition, and we are looking forward to just as many this year,” says Ellinor Klintåker, project manager of the competition.
The objective of the competition is for students to have fun and simultaneously learn to build robust technology with smart solutions to seemingly insolvable problems.
13:00 Robot competition organised by engineering physics students
10:00 Inspirational lectures from MIT Building departments11:30 Creative environments for research and education that engage society,Sofia Seifarth, VD, Visualiseringscentrum, Norrköping.13:00 Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson opens MIT place13:15 Emerging Technologies – Past, Present and Future Introduction by professor Lars-Erik Janlert. Paneldiskussion: Dialogues with Interactive Intelligent Systems: an Example of Multi-Professional Research14:15 Emerging research in MIT that are bridging research groups, faculties and societal organisations: Plan for enriching the new envirionment
15:15 Mingle
Doctoral Student Day
Umeå University wants to promotoe various types of creative learning and focus environments. In 2014, Umeå University decided to develop a focus environment in the MIT building focusing on mathematics, statistics and IT.
MIT place is strategically placed at the main entrance of the MIT Building so that visitors join the space and its exhibitions as soon as they enter the building.
The robot competition is organised by students, supported by the programme management at the Engineering Physics Programme. The competition starts in December with instructions for the first part of the competition which helps to pick out the eight teams for the final in April. The competing teams come from various programmes and institutions.
Mats Johansson, coordinator of the focus environment MIT placePhone: +46 90-786 62 89
Email: mats.v.johansson@umu.se
Jonathan Dartland, organiser of the robot competition
Phone: +46 73-697 73 15
Editor: Anna Lawrence