The Future of Innovation: the fictional renaming of the Vening Meinesz building

Dear UU colleagues,

We would like to warmly invite you to the fictional renaming of the Vening-Meinesz Building (VM) on Wednesday, June 25th, from 9:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the bistro of the current VM-A (Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht). During this event, we will reflect on the impact of digitale innovation on society, the dominance of Big Tech's in shaping (the discourse around) innovation, and how scientists and others can contribute to reconnecting (digital) innovation with the goals for a more sustainable, economically vital, just, and human society.

The year 2051

We have arrived in 2051, a year to reflect and to appreciate our common world. To remember: the dark years 2030-2033. Years when the Netherlands fell apart, and our faculty was placed under the trusteeship of two large consulting firms overseeing the usefulness, neutrality, and value of research, as well as the enforcement of the ban on ‘academic activism’, such as the research with nitrogen models; culminating in the renaming of our faculty as ‘The McKinsay Institute for Radical Change’. A critical moment in the appropriation of the concept ‘innovation’ by Big Tech and the surveillance of what can and cannot be said or researched. To celebrate: the societal reclaiming of innovation and science after 2033, to which many of us have contributed, and the reappointment to ‘The Copernicus Institute’ in the process. A period during which we rediscovered how innovation in the Netherlands can contribute to positive societal outcomes and the powerful role that science can play in making this happen.

Fictional renaming of the VM (NB: event in Dutch)

On Wednesday, June 25, we will look back on the ‘capture’ of Big Tech, the central role AI technologies played in making this happen, and the positive turn in the decades between 2033 and 2051. To honor this public recapture of innovation, a new namesake will be selected for the VM building: an influential innovation researcher who has actively contributed to the public revival of science and innovation. A carefully selected delegation of nine scientists has been chosen, and on Wednesday, June 25, the final decision will be made.

The ceremony invites everyone to look back once more and appreciate what we have achieved. To reflect on where we are now, how we got there, and who played an important role for making this happen Ultimately, we will collectively choose a new namesake for the building. There will be space for discussion, to agree or disagree, and for reflection.

The event for the fictional reappointment of the VM is developed by students from the course Innovating in and with Society in the Bachelor Science and Innovation Management, in collaboration with the Academy of Hope (all part of the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development), with support from many others.

We sincerely hope to welcome you on Wednesday, June 25th!

Warm regards,
The students and teachers of the course Innovating in and with Society