Arantzazulab marks a milestone with the collaborative research space of Basque universities

[This text has been translated with Deepl/Google translate]

Only three months after holding its presentation ceremony, Arantzazulab has organised a conference that is already considered historic, with the participation of 40 researchers from the University of the Basque Country, Mondragon University and the University of Deusto. The aim of the seminar was, on the one hand, to discuss the main research trends and reflect on their influence on the challenges we face as a society; and, on the other hand, to reflect collaboratively on the contents to be researched in the laboratory in the coming years.

One of the pillars of Arantzazulab is the collaboration between the aforementioned universities, which have played a key role in both the reflection and the original design of the laboratory, a fact that is already considered a milestone in the collaboration between the three entities. Today, the three universities continue to participate actively, not only in the Arantzazulab Advisory Board, but also in the research framework promoted by the laboratory. It is not very common to find this type of collaboration framework in the academic sphere -the three entities compete in various aspects-, a circumstance that gives Arantzazulab a special singularity.

Thanks to the creation of this meeting point for generating knowledge, rather than competing, the universities will join forces to research in the fields of research proposed by Arantzazulab. This is a truly innovative concept in itself, as the universities will not bring to the centre what they are researching on their own, but will work within a broader framework, beyond specific projects. Thus, both Basic Research and Applied Research will be developed. The aim is to promote innovative research that encourages reflection on the global and complex social challenges we have in common. Based on a shared vision of social challenges, Arantzazulab seeks to promote collaboration between different stakeholders in the university and knowledge sphere. And, in this sense, the universities have shown a great willingness to contribute to this framework. Furthermore, the research will be accompanied by the dissemination and training of the knowledge generated.

This form of research will also serve to connect with international research and knowledge, learn from advanced experiences and set up collaborations with some of the world’s leading universities. Furthermore, it will position our town as an international benchmark in the areas of research to be developed. And that is another of Arantzazulab’s objectives.

Interdisciplinary participants

The session was attended by university researchers and experts in various disciplines such as sociology, economics, law, communication, engineering, philosophy, education and psychology. The list of participants provided a plural vision that is very necessary in the current context, where diverse social challenges require knowledge in multiple fields. It should also be noted that the conference brought together researchers from different generations, combining different levels of vision and experience. Under the direction of the representatives of Arantzazulab, the conference was conducted entirely in Basque.

Agenda of the day

The day began with a presentation by Naiara Goia, Managing Director of Arantzazulab. “The current context and the magnitude of the challenges we face require new forms of organisation and work. We need approaches and forms of organisation that respond appropriately to complex social challenges. For this reason, rather than adding up the individual research of the different universities, what we propose is collaborative reflection and research, in order to be able to provide a collective response. Arantzazulab is not an ordinary research centre; it is a different kind of research, with an innovative and transformative approach. We have created a meeting point to capture and disseminate the necessary knowledge that will allow us to delve deeper into the social challenges facing us as a people”, said Goia.

In the morning, it was the turn of the presentations, where the participants were able to listen to the presentations of 12 researchers from the three universities, as well as contributing their own reflections. The researchers explained the research trends that exist worldwide and the main questions that arise in our country. In the afternoon, there was a group dynamic in which everyone reflected and debated on the four main areas of research that Arantzazulab proposed to the universities: Democracy, Wellbeing, Coexistence and Work. They also discussed the added value that Arantzazulab can have in the research of these emerging issues as a laboratory of social innovation, as well as the contribution of value that it can give back to citizens.

The next step will be to design and implement a specific research plan for the coming years, which the three universities will carry out under the supervision of Arantzazulab. The laboratory’s new research methodology is already in place: a team of researchers from the three Basque universities will continue to generate knowledge in the laboratory, which is not only innovative, but also satisfactory in these times.