ATTRACT

Developing breakthrough technologies for science and society

ATTRACT is run by six Europe’s leading scientific laboratories and three European institutions – including Aalto University – to develop breakthrough technologies for science and society. The overall goal of the ATTRACT is to turn scientific breakthroughs in imaging, detection and computational technologies into commercialized products and services for industrial markets. Currently, ATTRACT Phase 2 has started to scale up activities by utilizing three independent open calls, including one for Research, Development & Innovation, one for student activities, and one for socio-economic studies. To maximize the benefits of state-of-the-art technologies in the R&D&I initiatives on society, student programs and socio-economic research studies are initiated to leverage the concepts and technologies to develop products and services.

In addition to taking part in the larger ATTRACT program, Design Factory runs one of the research projects, CORE, and a connected educational initiative, SPOT.

ATTRACT CORE

Innovation networks and ecosystems benefit highly from diverse, rich and serendipitous interactions among community members. The importance of providing possibilities for interactions and exposure to ideas, thoughts, and concepts outside one’s own domain is a widely acknowledged aspect of triggering creative thinking that forms the core of innovation. CORE – as in ‘Capability development for Open and Responsible innovation Ecosystems’ – is a collaboration between Aalto University and TU Delft, funded through ATTRACT. The research project explores the micro-foundations of European Research Infrastructure innovation ecosystems to help build a clear understanding of the social capabilities and networks that such ecosystems rely upon, and the effect of participation in joint activities on the development of these capabilities. 

Examining how the ATTRACT R&D&I initiative and student project ecosystem actors identify and leverage social and societal connections in pursuing innovation opportunities, and how these capabilities are affected by participation in initiatives like ATTRACT, ATTRACT CORE seeks to establish research-based development and pedagogical guidance for leveraging co-creation and networks to build innovation capabilities. In ATTRACT SPOT (Societal Perspectives to innovation Opportunities in Technology), these lessons are piloted in engineering education in Aalto University and design education at TU Delft.

Publications

Aalto Contacts

Tua BjörklundATTRACT