I had the pleasure of returning to RITMO, staying from March to June 2024, hosted by Jim T?rresen – having previously visited for a week in April 2023.
My enduring memories of RITMO are of the people: an incredibly diverse, talented and warm group. With so many highlights, I could write at length but instead I have decided to focus on three memories that I feel best illustrate my range of experiences.
17th April: Networked Music-Dance Performance at the Popsenteret
I loved this event for its sheer vision of having different members of a band perform in different rooms in the Pop Centre. How could this possibly work for the musicians, the dancers, the audience? How could band members, who were physically separated, synchronise their playing – and how would a live audience of high school children react? I look forward to hearing about the formal results, but my subjective experience was of being spellbound. The band’s interpretation of John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy’ would have been remarkable in itself – but the audience response and the dancers improvision showed me that music connects, and technology can be a powerful medium for that.
May 29-30th: Tour de RITMO, Summer Edition
The quaint Tyrifjorden Hotel was a lovely venue for this event. My contribution was running a session about career development for PhD students and Post Docs. So, I was glad to have gotten to know people well enough, by then, to pitch at a deeper level than career success – and, so, pose questions about what a successful life might look like. The Tour was also a chance for me to learn about the broader strategy of RITMO and so – once again – be impressed with its ambition.
7th June: My Team’s visit
I got to share my experiences of RITMO and Oslo when some of my research team came out to present their work at a joint mini symposium – between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Oslo – on Future Directions in Human-Robot Interaction. Having my Norwegian PhD student Birthe Nesset being there (coincidence, fate, synchronicity?!) was another special connection.
I had wonderful time and I’m still processing my many experiences and memories. The moment I left, was the moment I was already looking forward to my next visit.
(Pride of place in my kitchen)