FnAK’s annual report 2019 can be downloaded here. (French)

At this time, the country is getting back on track after the Covid-19 outbreak. What will mobility look like in the future?

Researcher mobility helps networks and countries meet the challenges of the future. But how much do researchers in a digitised world really need to be in the same place at the same time to work together and benefit from each other? Do new technologies make it possible to avoid climate-damaging air travel to conferences and research visits?

Physical and virtual mobility should not be in opposition to each other. The challenge is how to reconcile the two in the highly flexible and dynamic mesh of interconnected networks, to produce the knowledge we need for the future.
A large mass of users have easy access to specialised knowledge that they can continue to process. A new framework is emerging in which knowledge is exchanged and generated. This virtual mobility of knowledge changes the form of knowledge itself. What is lost, however, are the informal conversations over coffee or dinner that are so productive.

It is only by maintaining a trusting relationship with experienced researchers that young scientists and academics can learn from their informal working methods and practices and form unexpected connections.

For example, today’s researchers have long been involved in many networks at the same time, both analogue and digital. They need to be able to circulate themselves and their knowledge both digitally and analogically. Travel, especially by air, will probably be less frequent. But it will not often be possible to find a substitute for personal meetings.