2PM & 1 Minute Pitch | MEC Newsletter2020-2

2PM and 1 Minute Pitch

A 2PM is a short presentation on either a MEI project related topic or on something particularly interesting, including thesis topics from our group of interns.

On top of that, our board meetings are held on every Tuesday with the objective of sharing updates on the ongoing projects, also providing space for our 1 Minute Pitch.

During this year, we had several interesting presentations, and to celebrate it, this newsletter edition promoted a voting round to feature the top-of-mind presentation/topics.

Best Voted 2PM of 2020: SenseMaker®, presented by Elijah Parisa.

Presentation cover.

The 2 PM presented on the 15th October, provided the team with comprehensive insights on SenseMaker®, a tool developed by Cognitive Edge, for monitoring and evaluating social dynamics within specific social settings, building its database based on a crowdsourced approach, aiming to collect ‘intangible’ qualitative data, considering human’s judgement, meaning and feelings, which can vary depending on specific settings and personal experiences. The term Sensemaking refers to the process of attributing meaning to the collective experiences of people, extending it to groups, enabling the identification of trends, monitoring and evaluation of impact, mapping of ideation cultures, mindsets and attitudes.

The tool has a good potential to integrate the methodologies applied in MEI projects, adding value to our efforts in considering the various environment, socio-economic and cultural settings, in which we collaborate. Want to discover more about SenseMaker? Check the presentation on our Drive!

Result from the 2PM Survey. Click here to check the full list.

Every Tuesday, alongside the board meeting, a one-minute pitch is conducted. Each time, a theme/topic is set, and everyone has to talk about it for a minute. The pitches are not evaluated; instead, they aim at stimulating creativity and the ability to filter comprehensive information concisely to a 1-minute timeframe. Topics are randomly chosen, predominantly the ones that help develop lateral thinking. In this quarter, there were so many interesting topics, and many thought-provoking pitches were presented and the most favourite of which has been selected through a survey. And guess what? We have a tie between 3 topics!

Now, let’s revisit the most favourite topics and spend a minute to think about it and see if our thought process has changed from the previous time or not.

Best Voted 1 Minute Pitch Topics of 2020:

22nd September - "...Choose an object on your desk, imagine you represent the company which produces the respective object. Pitch it to us! It is important that you keep your pitch clear: identify the problem, the market need, present the solution, why your solution is better than others out there."

15th September - "...Please imagine you are nominated to become the Minister of Sustainable Mobility in your home country - Please pitch to us your most important project idea"

25th August - "Was the generation before you (in your individual context), more sustainable, or are you in your generation living a more sustainable lifestyle? Why? Give us some examples of what practices you would like to inherit / have adopted or what needs to change about our older generation? Your answers may be specific to your country / cultural context."

Result from the 1 Minute Pitch Survey. Click here to check the full list.