Mondragon University organizes the international UniverCity seminar to discuss sustainable urban transitions
Mondragon University organizes the international UniverCity seminar to discuss sustainable urban transitions
Mondragon University organizes the international UniverCity seminar to discuss sustainable urban transitions
The Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences organized the third annual UniverCity seminar, an international seminar that aims to demonstrate the role of research and education in achieving a democratic and sustainable urban transition.
The Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences of Mondragon University organized the third annual UniverCity seminar, which this year focused on the role of research and education in the Social Sciences and Humanities and their contribution to achieving sustainable urban transitions. The event took place on December 14 and 15 at Bilbao AS Fabrik, and was attended by John Andersen from Roskilde University, Neda Aramipour from the University of Groningen, Susan Wright from Aarhus University, Igor Calzada from Cardiff University, and Nagore Ipiña and Aitor Zuberogoitia from Mondragon University, among others.
The third year of the UniverCity seminar focused on research and education aimed at democratic social change. The participants presented different examples of urban and social transformation and discussed the role of research and education in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and how research and education help us to understand and facilitate the partnership and cooperation of stakeholders in change. In addition, they delved into the contribution of research and education to democratic social change, sustainable cooperation and urban transitions.
For the organizers of the seminar, the processes of urban transformation play a fundamental role in the attempt to address the great social challenges of our time. The main concerns regarding these urban transformations focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability. The sustainability of urban transitions also depends on the cooperative capacity of a wide range of people and social agents. With this seminar, Mondragon University aims to promote the cooperation and collaboration of different academic and social actors in research and education with and for the city.
The conference was opened by Mondragon University researcher Txema Egaña, who thanked the international students and researchers for coming and stressed the importance of the university in research on urban transformations. Once the introductions were made, the participants shared different experiences in research and transformation.
Researcher Neda Aramipour explained the methodology used at the University of Groningen to identify the different problems affecting children and propose solutions through social innovation. For his part, John Andersen of Roskilde University concluded that “social innovation, citizen empowerment and participatory planning are possible thanks to the permanent commitment and collaborative creation of the parties involved in the city and in society.”
On the other hand, Colan Mehaffey, Head of Digital Innovation in the Cardiff Capital Region, provided one of the keys to the growth of cities and communities: innovation. To this end, in this region, there are more than 16 research centers, 350 people among three universities and 12 schools.
Mondragon University researcher Aitor Zuberogoitia explained that the university’s location in Zorrozaurre is not a coincidence. “We wanted to commit to the transformation of the city, especially with this disadvantaged industrial area. AS Fabrik is more than a campus, it is a transformation project in collaboration with the different institutions, public administrations and social agents of the city.” Nagore Ipiña, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences, highlighted Mondragon University’s commitment to training students as active agents in social transformation.
The conference concluded with a talk by Susan Wright from Aarhus University, in which the researcher reviewed the topics discussed at the conference and reflected on the progress made by the university and the Zorrozaurre area since the first UniverCity seminar in 2019.