FindingPheno is a four year long collaborative research project with a consortium of eight organisations from five countries. This brings challenges with internal alignment and coordination of efforts between partners to achieve the project goals. Therefore, we place a high importance on internal communication and regular meetings to mitigate these issues and ensure smooth running throughout the project period.
The Plenary Kick-Off Meeting held on 19 April was an important first step to opening the lines of communication between partners. This meeting brought together all participants in FindingPheno for the first time, allowing us to get to know each other and to launch the project in a good way. The meeting was organised by the UCPH Project Team and held virtually, i.e. on Zoom, due to the current coronavirus situation. This had the benefit of fast organisation and low time commitment but, of course, also the drawback of missing the extra relationship building that comes from an in person meeting. However, the small group discussions held in the second part of the project made good use of Zoom breakout room functionality to get everyone interacting, resulting in really good ideas for the project going forward.
Overall the meeting was well received and all feedback was positive. Each session kept to time, there were no technical issues, and everyone remained engaged and interested throughout the meeting. With this excellent launch we see that FindingPheno is off to a great start.
Written by Shelley Edmunds