On February 11, the host of Latvian Radio NABA program “In the Name of Science” Ieva Siliņa had invited Andris Anspoks, ISSP UL’s deputy director for innovation, to an interview.
In the interview, Mr. Anspoks talks about his path to science that began in childhood, about choosing the direction of physics and coming to the Institute of Solid State Physics already during school. He is currently working in the field of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and studying the structure of substances.
Over time, working in business in the field of information technology, in various associations and also in public administration, A. Anspoks had accumulated extensive experience, which helped to create a platform for cooperation between science and industry. So, Materize was established - a platform for cooperation with industry to promote mutual cooperation between ISSP UL’s scientists and Latvian and foreign companies in the field of high technology in materials science. Materize aims to make scientific competence, expertise and experience understandable, easily accessible and valuable to industry and businesses.
The institute already has good experience in cooperation with successful Latvian high-tech companies “GroGlass”, “Lightguide”, “Ceram Optec”, “Baltic Scientific Instruments” and others who represent such fields as anti-reflective glasses, optical fibers, radiation detectors, scientific and vacuum coating equipment, liquid crystal and 3D screens, microelectronics, etc.
The next topic of conversation is hackathons. Their origins can be traced to the information technology industry, but now they have transformed in various ways and formats. The "Deep Science hackathon" organized by the Institute of Solid State Physics involves a wide range of participants: students, interested parties, successful scientists, business representatives, people with ideas from companies and start-ups. Ideas are developed and presented within 48 hours, which would normally take months.
Student hackathons are also organized to attract young people to STEM fields and to show how interesting it is, what opportunities these industries open up, and how much can be achieved and accomplished in them. A good example of promoting the interests of young people is the Solar Cup competition, which has been organized by ISSP UL since 2008. Its aim is to involve students in the invention and development of vehicle models, who have to cover the set distance in the shortest possible time, using only the solar energy available at the time of the competition.
"We need to create innovation and cooperation - friendly ecosystem that can address the various existing challenges. In such an ecosystem, companies meet with each other, cooperate with research institutions, and public institutions and society are also involved in this process. Latvia has excellent science and excellent high-tech companies, all you have to do is learn to work together and be able to convey this message to society and especially to young people, ”says Andris Anspoks.
And Andris also reminds that a scientist is not just a profession, but a calling. And a scientist is definitely a person who travels, sings, dances, rides a boat and participates in various interesting events. Andris himself loves hiking in the mountains, watching mountain landscapes and reading - science fiction among other things.
Full interview recording in Latvian: https://naba.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/zinatnes-varda/inovacijas-augstas-tehnologijas-latvijas-uznemumos-un-dzila-zina.a140133/
