Àngels Codina Relat
As part of Science Week 2018, we take a look at how this UOC research centre contributes to a more sustainable, resilient, safe and inclusive society
In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Report coined the term sustainable development, which it defined as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Over thirty years later, the concept of sustainability forms part of our language and our lives, but global challenges such as climate change, inequalities, the management of migration flows and the depletion of resources highlight how we are still in need of a profound transformation of values, attitudes, lifestyles and ways of thinking. To tackle this, on 25 September 2015, the UN General Assembly approved the 2030 Agenda, whereby the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) became the focus of the international agenda.
As a university, the UOC plays a fundamental role in this transformation process, which it exercises through education, scientific research and innovation. The Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), a key player in achieving these SDGs, is the UOC research centre that brings together ten research groups specializing in the study of the internet and the effects of interaction between digital technologies and human activity. David Megías, director of the Institute, is convinced of the role that research centres should play in the 2030 Agenda: “we need to promote thinking and working in new and more interdisciplinary ways, and with sustainability as a cornerstone”.
The IN3’s two star SDGs
“We researchers must provide data and scientific evidence on the issues with most social impact, raising awareness about changes that can lead to a fairer and more sustainable society”, asserted the principal investigator of the GenTIC research group, Mila Sáinz. In fact, the SDG area to which IN3 research groups contribute the most is social sciences, reinforced by the fact that IN3 research projects have the most impact on two specific goals: to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” and to “reduce inequality within and among countries”.
One of the IN3 research groups that is very much in line with the SDGs is DIMMONS, led by Mayo Fuster, Ramón y Cajal researcher at the UOC. The group works on projects related to economic innovation, public policy and the development of technical solutions that foster a more inclusive and democratic platform economy. For Fuster, “in the current scenario of crises and the new era of post-truth politics, universities and researchers are of key importance, as now, more than ever, to come up with solutions we need a well-educated public who can make decisions based on scientific evidence, experimentation and research”.
Besides DIMMONS, the other group that is most geared towards achieving the SDGs is CARENET, which is committed to “highly participative and qualitative forms of open science and co-research”, as explained by the group’s leader, researcher Israel Rodríguez. The group works “collaboratively with experts and groups involved in the production of knowledge and opportunities for social change and intervention”. CARENET has applied this way of understanding research to projects that promote independent living and the full inclusion of people with disabilities and serious mental disorders, and to designing solutions to tackle the challenges posed by global ageing: the risks of exclusion, loneliness and discrimination against the elderly. The group also runs projects to construct global resilience and reduce the risks of natural disasters, especially in the area of climate change.
More sustainable infrastructures and cities
The other SDGs, in order of importance, to which the IN3 research groups contribute are: to “build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation” and to “make cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
The research groups that contribute most significantly are SOM and COSIN3. The first is led by Jordi Cabot, ICREA research professor at the UOC, who defines software as “the digital infrastructure of society”, which is why “it is important to maintain it in a good condition and ensure that everyone can use it and contribute to it”.
As regards the second group, Javier Borge, principal investigator at COSIN3, highlighted how one of his group’s research lines is the so-called “urban science”, and that it is in this line that they are developing traffic models – to design measures that reduce congestion and pollution in cities – and road safety models – to prevent accidents between vehicles and pedestrians in urban environments.