The next generation of innovators: Inside the 2025 InnoGuard Summer School
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The InnoGuard project, a European Union project with funding from MSCA Doctoral Networks, focused on developing Accountable Cyber-Physical Systems (ACPS), recently convened its 2025 Innoguard Summer School which was hosted at Simula in Oslo.
The week-long summer school programme brought together the project's PhD candidates and supervisors for a curriculum designed to accelerate research, build technical expertise, and strengthen professional networks.
Here’s a summary of the summer school week agenda in terms of collaborative learning and high-impact research and training.
Establishing a Collaborative Foundation
The school began with an overview of the InnoGuard project's strategic goals & the common consortium objectives, and was presented by Project Coordinator Aitor Arrieta. Next, facilitators Sebastiano Panichella and Miren Ivankovic led dedicated team-building activities to integrate the international cohort of students for greater synergy during the intensive agenda planned for the week.
Bridging technical skills with theory
A technical highlight was the "Hands-on with LeoRover" session, led by Chenglie Lu and Pablo Valle. Participants engaged directly with the ROS (Robot Operating System) programming, gaining practical experience in robotics and autonomous systems, a critical domain for the InnoGuard project.
In addition to this focus on applied skills, there were strategic sessions on research impact. Pablo Sanchez guided a workshop on effective dissemination strategies, while Miren Ivankovic led a session on network development, equipping the researchers with tools for collaboration and visibility within the scientific ,community.
Research leaders: ethics and career strategy
Ivano Malavolta led a session and practical lab on ethics in research, underlining that impactful research demands rigorous ethical standards. This provided a framework for responsible conduct throughout the doctoral process.
Also, in support of the candidates' long-term career development, several sessions focused on academic strategy. Miren Ivankovic provided an in-depth look into the structure and expectations of the InnoGuard doctoral programme. Subsequently, Aitor Arrieta presented a session on "Online positioning on research and research lookout tools," empowering students to navigate the academic landscape effectively.
Connecting research with industry
A main feature of the summer school was the direct engagement with industry, highlighting the project's focus on real-world application. Shaukat Ali, Simula Chief Research Scientist/Research Professor, presented the "Visiting Industrialist - DNV" session, offering students a real-world perspective on industry applications. All PhD students under the InnoGuard project then presented their research plans to the DNV team, fostering a direct dialogue on the industrial relevance of their work on ACPS.
This synergy between academia and industry was furthered in a series of ideation workshops. Led by Aitor Arrieta and Shaukat Ali, these sessions provided a dynamic platform for students to generate, present, and refine innovative research concepts in a collaborative setting.
The 2025 InnoGuard Summer School successfully advanced the project's mission by preparing its doctoral candidates with essential skills, fostering a robust and collaborative network, and reinforcing the foundations of ethical and impactful research. The aim going forward is for continued innovation emerging from the InnoGuard consortium.