EPFL Pavilions is a stakeholder in the PIC cultural innovation program alongside several other cultural institutions in French-speaking Switzerland. The program’s objective is to create a pole of expertise for developing new approaches to culture and heritage, starting with a series of Open Labs to help achieve this goal.
Hosted by the dhCenter, PIC brings together EPFL and UNIL actors in digital studies and innovation to conduct research in the fields of culture and heritage — a sector that has been plunged into deep and sometimes threatening uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. There is a need to facilitate both the development of effective solutions to deal with the current situation, and strengthen innovation in the longer term and think about a sustainable future for cultural activities.
The first Open Lab was held in summer 2020, a four-week event combining online and in-person interaction to begin developing new technical and conceptual approaches to culture in our increasingly digital world.