GS15 General Information

Gender Summit 15 – Europe (GS15)
"United in Science and through Science"
18–19 June 2018.  (Bush House, Aldwych,London WC2)

The 2018 Gender Summit in London is 15th in the series and the first for London. Like previous events it is led by influential science institutions, with the Science and Engineering South Consortium of leading universities as the principal partner.

GS15 builds on past discussions and recommendations and tackles fresh gender issues, in the context of new concerns such as: Brexit, impact of climate change, addressing societal challenges; opportunities and consequences of digital transformation, the 4th Industrial Revolution; strengthening societal responsibility and relevance of research and innovation; ensuring the success of the UN Sustainable Development agenda; and managing the interactions between scientific, political and policy agendas in a rapidly changing world.

Programme Format and Outline

The 2-day programme is organised under the theme: “United in Science and through Science”, and includes a mixture of keynotes, plenary panel sessions, and parallel sessions, as well as a poster exhibition, professional networking activities, and interlinked public engagement side-events. Speakers include world renown researchers, leaders in innovation, influential policy makers, and champions of evidence-led sustainable, socio-economic development. The goal is to use the ‘gender lens’ to identify gaps in knowledge, new applications for existing knowledge, discoveries that create new opportunities for innovation, and show how to achieve cross cutting benefits. The main themes are:

· Opportunities and methodologies for novel interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborations, e.g. for more effective vaccination design and use; development of resilient and nutritious food crops; improved mobility and safety of transport infrastructures; better governance and use of energy systems.

· Measuring and monitoring research performance, quality, and impact, e.g. assessing excellence through better statistics, indicators and benchmarks; enabling systematic and systemic organisational change; creating stronger scientific human capital.

· Integrating the values of inclusion and sustainability into research and innovation agendas, and in projects, e.g. to support the UN call “leave no one behind”; to ensure ecosystem-level awareness of impact; to advance technologies and interventions that produce positive spill-over effects.

· Strengthening co-operation between key actors in and outside the science landscape, e.g. between science publishers and research funding agencies to improve peer review process; between universities, governments, and research funders to improve working conditions for researchers; between research and development communities to achieve SDG targets; and between technology executives and Civil Society to improve understanding of what society expects from innovation

· Connecting the reality of the UN Sustainable Development targets with the vision of the 4th Industrial Revolution to prevent digital inequality between the Global North and the Global South, and as an opportunity to advance practical approaches to ‘open science’ and ‘open innovation’.

· Science knowledge making and application in the context of political and policy drivers, e.g. international scientific collaborations and mobility of researchers after Brexit; societal expectations, responsibility and relevance of research and innovation; ensuring wellbeing of natural environment as part of economic progress; focusing innovation on the needs of the poorest and most overlooked groups in society.

Call for Abstracts and Registration

Please see the registrations & abstracts page for further information.

For GS15 specific enquiries (NOT requests for registration - please use the registration system) please email team-eu-gs15@gender-summit.com