First Site Visit

News
26 Novembre 2021
In the last week of November, the first Site Visit of the NCCR Automation by the SNSF and the external Review Panel took place. Overall it was a very successful and fruitful event, resulting in plenty of food for thought for us.
Group picture NCCR Automation site visit
Group picture of the members of NCCR Automation present at this year's Site Visit. Image: Benjamin Sawicki

"You not only do high-quality research, but your members are also fantastic!", the chair of the Review Panel, Prof. Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli of UC Berkeley, said in the feedback session that concluded the first Site Visit of the NCCR Automation taking place at ETH Zürich.

Site visit day 1
Benjamin Sawicki, our KTT Coordinator, in discussion with the Review Panel (some of which joined remotely due to the pandemic). Image: Arian Bastani

The prior two days had been filled with presentations and lively discussions. On Monday, the overall progress of the NCCR and structural aspects such as Equal Opportunity and Knowledge and Technology Transfer were presented. There, especially the Moonshot project caught the interest of the panel and was a recurring topic of conversation. 

Tuesday was all about research. Principal Investigators introduced the NCCR Work Packages and a few select junior researchers introduced the projects they work on. In the following poster session, the floor was opened up for more research projects to be presented and discussed in a less formal setting. Overall the Panel – consisting of some of the most prominent people in the field – was very impressed with this work.

Site visit day 2
The poster session on the second day of the Site Visit at ETH Zurich. Junior researchers and the Review Panel discuss research projects in detail. Image: Arian Bastani

Overall, the NCCR was left with plenty of food for thought and valuable words of advice that we will take into account on the way forward.