Breaking the ice between disciplines:
I.C.E. is a new monthly seminar series at Maastricht University designed to bring together curious minds from all levels; undergraduate and graduate students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and professors, to explore the growing intersections between complex societal challenges and theories, data, computation, and that many fields that need them for transformations.
Our goal is direct: to advance an open, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant space where ideas flow freely and collaboration begins naturally. We think that research is confined to silos or titles; everyone (including external stakeholders, companies, social organisations, public bodies) can contribute, pose questions, and co-create new knowledge together to create positive impact.
Each month, I.C.E. will feature two complementary sessions:
1. The Open Session: a free-form discussion and brainstorming forum where participants can share ideas, research questions, or early results, seek feedback, reading recommendations, or look for potential collaborators.
2. The Focus Session: a structured meeting featuring short presentations on selected topics or projects emerging from the previous open discussion, a showcase of ideas that took shape through engagement.
The spirit of I.C.E. is learning-centered and collaborative, fostering creativity, curiosity, and community across faculties, academic citizenship, and outreach to external stakeholders. Whether you’re working on societal challenges, novel ideas or methods, computational models in social sciences, data analytics in business, simulations in environmental studies, or topological approaches in finance, you’re welcome!
Everyone is invited, from within UM and beyond: students, researchers, industry stakeholders, and anyone interested in interdisciplinary issue identification, problem definition, solution designs, computational, and data-driven explorations.
Let’s melt the barriers between disciplines and see what we can build when ideas interact, fuse and crystallize.
Join us at I.C.E.! Location: t.b.a
An interdepartmental initiative by
Dr. Ioannis Diamantis & Dr. Serdar Türkeli
the I.C.E. – Interdisciplinary and Computational Engagement Community at Maastricht University
Dr. Ioannis Diamantis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Data Analytics and Digitalisation (SBE) at Maastricht University. His research bridges topology, computation, and applied mathematics, focusing on how geometric and topological methods can reveal structure in complex systems, from financial networks to biological molecules. His recent work includes the study of bonded knots, introducing a topological model for protein folding and molecular bonding, and the analysis of doubly periodic tangles, offering new perspectives for material science and biological pattern formation. He is also the author of the VIBE Framework, a student-centered approach to teaching mathematical creativity, and Knotted Minds, an interdisciplinary exploration linking topology and cognition. In collaboration with his students, Ioannis has applied Topological Data Analysis (TDA) to real-world problems ranging from currency dynamics and consumer behavior to stock market structures, resulting in award-winning theses, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations at major conferences such as MORSE. He is deeply committed to student-driven research, mentoring MSc and BSc projects that bridge theory and application and have earned distinctions including the Best BSc Thesis Award 2025 (SBE).
Dr. Serdar Türkeli is an Assistant Professor in the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) at Maastricht University. His research bridges innovation, sustainability, policy and governance, focusing on how novel theoretical and conceptual approaches, qualitative and quantitative data and methods can reveal patterns and regularities in complex systems, from scientific knowledge networks to technological innovations and transformations. His recent work includes the study of social and institutional innovations, twin transition of digitalisation and decarbonisation, triple transitions towards environmental sustainability, digitalisation and social change, regional inclusive biobased entrepreneurship solutions, interactions among various economy visions and practices (e.g. social economy, circular economy, bioeconomy, digital economy, wellbeing economy, creative economy …), interdisciplinary and computational engagement on-site and online ePlatforms (Fusio(n), Photo(n), Litoscope Academic, Litoscope Policy) and communities. With his peer-reviewed publications, funded research projects at local, national and European levels, and presentations at major conferences and societies, he is active in every level of education and supervision of BSc, MSc, PhD research.
Updated 30/10/2025
