Beyond Training: Building the ASTP Community

The Challenge: Staying Relevant Beyond Training

At ASTP, we have always been committed to delivering high-quality training and conferences to support our members’ professional development. But just over a decade ago, the Board and staff faced a critical question:

How do we stay relevant to our members once the training is done?

Many members had completed all the courses, earned their certifications… and were left wondering:

"I've done all the courses, now what?"

It was clear: to truly support our community, ASTP needed to provide ongoing, meaningful spaces where members could continue to connect, learn, and evolve together.

The Birth of Special Interest Groups

This reflection marked the beginning of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) — dedicated communities where members share knowledge, tackle challenges, and collaborate beyond one-off events.

The concept grew out of our Knowledge Stock Exchange (KSE) sessions, introduced during the ASTP Annual Conference. One of the most popular formats, the Initiative Sharing track, invited members to pitch ideas, exchange experiences, and openly discuss real-world challenges. No slides. No formal presentations. Just a circle of peers working together.

Our First SIG: SHAPE

In May 2015, during the Annual Conference in Istanbul, one of these KSE sessions focused on the unique needs of professionals working in Social Sciences, Humanities, and Valorisation. The energy in that room didn’t fade once the session ended. It became the foundation for ASTP’s first SIG: the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) SIG — today known as SHAPE. The following year, the Digital Innovations SIG was launched, and more followed.

Growing the SIG Community

Today, ASTP proudly hosts 11 Special Interest Groups, including:

• Agrifood
• AI for Knowledge Transfer (AI4KT)
• BioMedical
• Connect & Communicate with Impact (CCI)
• Digital Innovations (DI)
• Directors' Forum
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
• Legal
• New Professionals (NP)
• SHAPE
• Spin-off

Each group is led by members, for members — providing regular opportunities to meet, exchange ideas, and co-develop resources that advance knowledge transfer across Europe.

SIGs Today: A Vibrant Community

ASTP’s SIGs are more than professional groups; they are communities of belonging and purpose.

They enable members to:

1. Learn from peers who share similar challenges.
2. Collaborate on practical tools and solutions.
3. Grow their network and visibility within the knowledge transfer ecosystem.

Because at ASTP, we don't want our members to stop at:

"I've done all the courses."

We want them to proudly say:

"I'm part of the ASTP community, working to drive impact through knowledge."

Call to Action

Ready to join a SIG? Visit our Special Interest Groups page, explore the communities, and click Join Now in one or all the SIGs of your choice. Or log in to your ASTP account and select your choices under Account > SIGs.

Be part of the conversation. Be part of the community.