PYRO hosted the networking lunch under the theme "Connect. Discover. Collaborate.", drawing about 40 researchers from across the university. The event paired quick peer introductions with a "Meet the Experts" session, establishing a way to compare research interests across faculties and identify openings for joint work.

The morning opened with one-minute introductions, followed by a coffee break and then the "Meet the Experts" segment, where invited speakers described how they approach partnerships and where they can offer support to other researchers.

Bernd Striberny, Managing Director of InnoHub, the university's shared innovation support unit for the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Technology, presented what his team offers researchers turning findings into applications. He introduced InnoHub's upcoming Research Innovation Bootcamp, running November 30 to December 3, aimed at researchers and PhD students who want to translate their findings into validated innovation opportunities.

Anne Kristin McLaren Berge, from UNN's Regional Centre for Precision Medicine, presented opportunities for collaboration between UiT researchers and the hospital side of precision medicine work….

Lynn Butler, from the Translational Vascular Research Group at IKM, and Erik Knutsen, from the Tumour Biology Research Group at IMB, each presented their own approach to collaboration, offering two different models for how a research group can open itself to outside partners: one rooted in vascular biology, the other in tumour biology.

The profiles ranged widely, from single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to forensic DNA analysis, molecular dynamics simulations, advanced microscopy, psychology and marine biology.

The event is one of several PYRO runs each year to support career development for young researchers at UiT, alongside workshops, grant seminars, and social activities; a career day and a second AI workshop are both on the calendar for the months ahead.