“TRIPLE: Behind the Scenes” series #9: Gert Breitfuss

In the series “TRIPLE: Behind the Scenes”, we feature individual staff members from the TRIPLE project team to give a face to the people behind the scenes. What is their role in the project, their background, and how did they get in touch with the Open Science movement?

Gert Breitfuss. (Photo: Private)

This time, we introduce you to Gert Breitfuss. Gert works at Know-Center, a leading European Research Center for Data-Driven Business and Artificial Intelligence.

Gert, what is your role in the TRIPLE project?

In TRIPLE I am leading work package (WP) 7 which is dedicated to “Innovation, Exploitation and Sustainability”. To make a long story short, we want to develop a viable business model for GoTriple that keeps the platform up and running even after the end of the project. During our WP activities, we already finalised two reports for which we did, for instance, a stakeholder analysis, a competitor analysis and developed an initial GoTriple business model and also some business scenarios. In the next phase of the project, we are going to focus on refining, testing and evaluating the GoTriple business model. We are also developing, together with all WP7 partners, a suitable governance model for GoTriple.

What is your background in terms of previous work experience and academic discipline, and which specific perspective(s) does that background contribute to TRIPLE? 

From my basic education I am an electrical engineer, but my academic degree is in business administration with a major in innovation management. After several positions in industry, I changed to research and teaching in the field of innovation management, and this is how I finally ended up at the Know-Center. At the Know-Center I am primarily engaged in research on methods and tools to support data-driven business model innovations. This is also the connection point for TRIPLE. I am simply enthusiastic about transferring research into innovation. I have already succeeded once in transferring the results of an EU research project into a sustainable business and I want to achieve this again with TRIPLE.

View to the north of Graz from the rooftop terrace of Know-Center building at TU Graz Campus. (Photo: Private)

What are you currently working on in the TRIPLE project?

I am currently very happy that the intensive project phase with its many deliverable deadlines is over for our work package. Now I use the time to introduce my new colleague Leonie to the project and plan the next project activities in Task 7.3. Within this task, we take a closer look at the initial business model of GoTriple and the business scenarios we developed for the Report on Stakeholder – and Opportunity Analysis. For example, we investigate which long-term resources are, at the very least, needed to keep GoTriple up and running. Currently, we are getting external support for our exploitation activities from “Horizon Results Booster” (HRB), an initiative backed by the European Commission. The experts from HRB provide feedback on what we did so far and guide us on how to best disseminate and exploit our project results.

“I like to go on hikes as often as possible. This mountain is called ‘Hochschwab’ and is quite close to Graz”. (Photo: Private)

How has the pandemic changed your working routines in the TRIPLE project?

Not that much. Since we have so many project partners in different locations we are used to communicating and working with various online tools. What I miss are the personal face-to-face meetings where we also have the opportunity to exchange ideas outside of my work package activities and outside of the project. A help for this is our virtual TRIPLE Café, which is a great opportunity to interact informally with colleagues and which I like to attend whenever possible.

On a personal level, I experienced that working in my “home office” is not my favorite way to work. Of course, it is great to save yourself the time to commute to the office and thus to have extra time for work and your family. But I quickly realised that the personal exchange with my colleagues is very important to me.  That’s why meeting the TRIPLE partners face-to-face again in Pisa in November was simply wonderful.

“This is my favourite area for mountaineering, the Dolomites – South Tyrol, Italy” (Photo: Private)

Gert, thank you so much for the interview!

The TRIPLE project is funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme (H2020), Grant Agreement No. 863420. Project coordinator is Suzanne Dumouchel (Huma-Num), Co-coordinator of OPERAS. For more information please contact her at Suzanne.Dumouchel@huma-num.fr.