INTERVIEW WITH MARIE KUBANKOVA – BIOEAST HUB CZECH REPUBLIC

Marie Kubankova is a coordinator of the first national BIOEAST HUB Czech Republic established in 2020 with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture CZ as a working body of the BIOEAST Initiative. She is leading the BIOEAST TWG Fresh Water Based Bioeconomy and co-leading TWG Bioeconomy Education. BIOEAST HUB leads the establishment and continuous operation of the BEAMING Alliance and its key building blocks, the Communities of Practice.

Q: How does the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI contribute to fostering an inclusive innovation cultuIn the BEAMING project, BIOEAST HUB is in charge of building the BEAMING Alliance as well as the Community of Practice in the first sixteen months. Could you explain what is the difference between those concepts and how they will benefit the initiative?

A: The Alliance is a tool to support the goal of the BEAMING project, it networks all project partners to improve structural reforms, educational priorities, and a culture of excellence in higher education institutions from Widening countries. Alliance shall assist them achieve these specific.
A Community of Practice is a group of people who share a common interest or profession and engage in regular interaction to learn from each other, solve problems, and develop best practices within their domain. It’s often informal and collaborative, focusing on knowledge sharing and building expertise.

Q: What are the main objectives and impacts of the Alliance and why do you think is important for the BEAMING project?

A: The purpose of the BEAMING Alliance is to boost excellence in bioeconomy research and innovation by strengthening collaboration between higher education institutions in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European EU Member States, and the Western Balkans. The goal of the BEAMING Alliance is to help higher education institutions from Widening countries to become better and more well-known. The Alliance focuses on making improvements primarily in these topics: bioeconomy research, open science practice or knowledge valorization to name but a few examples.

Q: How does BIOEAST HUB CR collaborate with other partners in BEAMING to strengthen the Alliance and facilitate knowledge exchange among the Communities of Practice?

A: BEAMING Alliance is networking all partners. Each of us have a different role in it.  BIOEAST HUB CR mapped   partners’ expectations, discussed their role, provided a match making and reflected it all  into the BEAMING Road Map that we are finalising at the moment. Once the Road map will be ready, we will advance on the CoP in the same co-creative style.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to brief about the Alliance, my team and me myself is happy to communicate about both Communities of Practice and Alliance development.