AIMday is a structured and proven method for bringing academics and external organisations together in a new and innovative exchange of knowledge and ideas. Developed by Uppsala University in 2008, the AIMday concept continues to expand and diversify to ensure better connectivity between business and society on the one hand and the academic world on the other.
Everyone wins something
Why AIMday?
Academics gain insights into real-world problems. Organisations explore how to solve a specific challenge. Universities succeed in making knowledge exchange really work.
Swedish synergy
AIMday has given me the opportunity to get closer to industry challenges and healthcare needs regarding the use and availability of antibiotics, while being the stepping stone for a close collaboration between academia, industry, healthcare and government agencies.
What’s in it for universities
Does your university share a passion for translating its academic know-how into discussing and solving real-world problems and challenges? If so, you need to explore the structured method for knowledge exchange offered by AIMday.
What’s in it for organisations
What’s the problem? AIMday is good news for any organisation willing to have a concrete challenge illuminated by academic researchers from several different disciplines. It simply starts with your question.
What’s in it for academics
AIMday offers a unique opportunity for academics to get valuable insights into what kind of issues different types of external organisations are having difficulties with and how these might relate to your own research.
Current AIMday partners
How AIMday works
AIMday stands for Academic Industry Meeting Day. As the name suggests, it’s a day where a university’s academic experts meet representatives from external organisations. But what makes AIMday special – many would say unique – is the format of that meeting.
01Questions are submitted by organisations
Specific questions raised by organisations kickstart the whole process and form the meeting day agenda. To take part, interested organisations must submit at least one question. Each question addresses an organisational challenge that they want academic researchers to discuss with them.
02Academics sign up for questions
Academics self-select questions, and prioritize, based on their specific competence and research interest. Since the idea is to bring different perspectives to each question a broad academic participation is encouraged.
03Matchmaking
Finding a perfect match for each question put forward by organisations is a main priority of the AIMday organiser. Based on researchers’ priorities and availability, the organiser does the logistics for an all-day-schedule that ensures efficiency and involvement of all attendees.
04Meeting day
Have your sights set on a day filled with a series of ‘one question, one hour’ workshops with teams on each side of the table candidly discussing each question. It’s an exchange of knowledge and ideas focused on finding novel pathways to solutions. What is more, there are ample opportunities to network and develop new and rewarding contacts.