ERC Proposals

Introduction

Tin has been hired as the only external individual to brainstorm, deliberate, and illustrate rethorical devices for Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), the department of Applied Sciences' first wave of applications that are sent to the European Research Council (ERC), since 2016. Collaborations with both national and international researchers range in the fields of photography, creative arts, big data analysis, youth, gender & social studies, anti-terrorism/counter-cyber terrorism, cybernetics, ICT, digital divide, robotics, marine technology, pandemics, Spanish flu, public health, East-African & European networks, sustainability, cultural heritage & strategies, urbanism etc.

A non-descriptive description

There is an emerging tendency among the top-ranked research applications; an elaborate use of visual persuasion and diagrams to convey the research. Can the simple nature of graphics be taken further, to the extent of sharpening the text, to renarrate and enhance the researcher's thought pattern and process, and potentially, increase the level of any academic excellency?

To be able to address this challenge, requires a rare combination of skills; academic proficiency, artistic license, clear storytelling, and rapid editing abilities (both graphical and theoretical). Each research project we deal with, test the possibilities and boundaries within a H2020 application; strict word-count dictating to-the-point text material, relevance of topic within a certain field presented in the paper, state-of-the-art factor, and lastly, commercial and societal transferability etc. These aspects are critical to any application, yet there is also another fundamental, oxymoronic issue with any intricate and complex research proposal; Does the proposal itself communicate the intended message? 

Each reinterpretation balance between complexity and simplicity of the material, and we speculate the possibility of condensing the text material through sharp interpretations and illustrations. Our hypothesis is that, if one is successful in condensing the research without losing its integrity, this will potentially allow space for more material in favor of the researcher and application, potentially increasing the winning chances.