Collaborate, Share, & Innovate (CSI) is a weekly initiative that aims (spoiler alert: it has!) to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation among researchers in enterprise systems engineering! CSI is a space where we discuss opportunities, occasionally solve problems, welcome new members, or simply enjoy leisure moments as a team.
Collaborate
It all started in 2019 (certainly on a sunny day), from the results of the master’s thesis in Information Science at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, by our founder and CEO (CSI Emeritus Originator) Fábio Almeida – with the grandiose title ‘Knowledge sharing in project-based organisations: the case study of a research and development centre’. CSI is now a landmark in our group, dedicated to creating “routines for knowledge sharing and collaboration among researchers” – something we did achieve. On Tuesdays, we rendezvous at our indoor “garden”, whether to share lunch or enjoy home-made snacks at the end of the day; regardless of the time, there’s always a group of people willing to spend their free time generating value.
After our CEO left us for “greener pastures”, the CSI team continued to grow (certainly in number, quality…) and we’ve since been joined by Elder Hernández, Carolina Catorze, and Alexandre Sousa. Today we welcome four members – Romão Santos, Henrique Diogo Silva, Ana Carolina Tavares and Henrique Piqueiro – responsible for all the logistical (and often creative and moral) support. In every session, each person puts on their best multidisciplinary t-shirt (merchandise coming soon) and takes on the role of designer, copywriter, creative mind, presenter, coach, event organiser, and much more.
Share
Over the past five (almost six) years, CSI has gone through several iterations, or “seasons”, as someone cleverly called them. Initially, during Fábio Silva’s internship period and subsequent months, the sessions focused on the presentation of project results and dissemination actions (papers, workshops, etc.). The second “season” – already with (a certain) structure and a stronger identity – began in 2021. From this moment forward, the team began a relentless effort to ensure that CSI is not just a series of presentations on what has been done, but rather a space where people can (co-)create something new, spectacular, unique, and fantastic! Then, we started a series of different sessions: some like workshops – with special events dedicated to Docker – and others closer to team-building events, including a series of “Summer Sessions” to celebrate the arrival of Summer. Gradually, as people started to know CSI and our researchers found free spaces in their agendas (and hearts) to promote it, the team realised that taking down barriers – initially established in the 45 to 60 minutes dedicated to each session – was crucial. We also realised that the debates, conversations, or disagreements that started in that space were having a lasting effect on people and the work done together.
This new concept of what CSI could be, combining “new blood” with fresh (since we’re all quite young) ideas, proved to be an “explosive” mix, leading to the third iteration. In this new “season”, currently ongoing, we adopted three types of sessions:
- Thematic: for the discussion of technical topics, but always interesting. We follow a presenter-audience approach, often inviting external guests;
- Brainstorming: for the discussion/co-creation/debate of more ambitious ideas. In this case, we adapt the methodology to the theme, with different approaches: from “mini hackathons” to serious games;
- Caffe: for (even more) informal sessions where people can discuss a little bit about everything; in less formal moments, there’s always (sometimes, even extra) room for creativity and science!
These sessions are, for the most part, led by INESC TEC researchers, responsible for defining their approach and content – always supported by the team.
We organised many sessions, and it’s hard to choose; over the last season, we promoted:
- Thematic sessions based on cross-cutting topics, like “Using AI in Industrial Problems”, “New approaches to user profile modelling in industrial domains” or “Kidney Exchange Journey: Matching for Better Outcomes”.
- Brainstorm sessions focused on AI application ideas for the industry sector or smart technologies we can implement in the sector, using 5G;
- Sessions with external guests who guided creative writing workshops, and even the presentation of the book “WARP SPEED HABITS: Criando Hábitos de Sucesso com a Ajuda da Neurociência”;
- A session with the company Infinite Foundry, which shared their vision and new developments in collaboration with the CESE;
- The “CESE Vai à Neve” session: we organised a snow expedition to demonstrate the different stages of a project management process guided by PMBOK good practices;
- Four thematic sessions dedicated to festivities like Easter, São João, Halloween and Christmas;
- Other special and “far from home” events, like the “CSI Special – CESE goes to Senhor de Matosinhos”, our “CSI Gala” or the “Brazilian Barbecue”.
Despite the effort involved in organising weekly sessions (both for the team and for those who occasionally… volunteered to lead sessions), it is undoubtedly rewarding to create a space where everyone feels comfortable to share what they do every day, and what inspires and drives them! We are (almost) all human, with a life beyond these four walls; we have hobbies, tastes, peculiarities and some eccentricities that, when shared, make us a team, rather than co-workers. From the youngest to the oldest, we know that every week, CSI helps everyone feel more connected, better, and truly welcome.
Innovate
And since we don’t want to (or even can) slow down, and are always aiming to improve CSI, this season we have several new initiatives starting and a set of plans for the future!
First, we’re trying to advance the CSI “brand”. With almost six years of existence, CSI’s “personality” is starting to shine through, and the graphic and linguistic style we’ve adopted are vital to how we operate and our motto.
Second, we believe and invest in CSI not only as an environment to promote science, but as an initiative where people can make science! In the first semester of the 2024/25 school year, we welcomed undergraduate students in Information Science working on our knowledge management processes (the results of which are already being put into practice); now, we are preparing a master’s thesis proposal submission on CSI.
Third, and because of the first Brainstorming session of 2025, the team has prepared a set of resolutions that we are working towards:
- Scheduling collaboration sessions/visits to other Centres: since INESC TEC is growing, it is increasingly important to get to know the institution where we work.
- Organising visits to companies: science is also born from practice. And we wish to visit the places where practice happens every day, to feel inspired.
- Promoting a session led by a member of the Board: we hope there’s already someone interested in joining us!
What began as a master’s thesis, driven by one person’s passion to bring together the researchers of a centre, ended up uniting them. The past six years were filled with weekly events, lunches and snacks, and sessions that we seek to keep organising annually. We were far from imagining (or even believing) that CSI could be this relevant to INESC TEC and people’s lives; but here we are, writing an opinion piece for the FOCUS section, to show that there’s much more to INESC TEC than just a 9-to-5 job.
Lastly, it’s important to acknowledge the people who helped CSI grow: all the former members, for setting the foundation for CSI to become what it is today; our administrative assistants, Grasiela Almeida and Marta Oliveira, for all the logistical support, lunches, and snacks that satisfy the hungry CSI members; our Centre coordinators and “commanders”, Rui Rebelo and Lucas Soares, for actively supporting us and giving us the creative freedom to do… whatever we want; and INESC TEC for (after a little encouragement) providing us with fruit for our desserts. Finally, we’re forever grateful for those who, each Tuesday, show up in our “garden” and make sure that… in informal – yet serious – events, we can create science!
See you next Tuesday,
The CSI Team
Note: CSI is an internal initiative developed by a group of researchers from one of INESC TEC’s 13 R&D Centres. When, throughout the text, researchers use the CESE nomenclature to explain the name of some activities promoted by CSI, it means “Centre for Enterprise Systems Engineering”.
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