Co-creating to address social issues

The European CIRCLET project will help teaching staff include community-engaged research and learning in their teaching.

Expert analysis of a neighbourhood's mobility issues or devising solutions to improve the quality of life of a community of patients are examples of the types of objectives that can be sought through science shops, where research and society work together to find a solution to a social need. In keeping with this spirit, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is part of a European project that aims to work with teaching staff to include participatory research and knowledge cocreation in their syllabuses.

The project, titled Curriculum Innovation through Research with Communities: Learning Circles of Educators and Technology (CIRCLET), has a duration of three years and is coordinated by Queen's University Belfast. The aim is to help teaching staff to integrate the co-creation of knowledge in the UOC's programmes.

Opportunities to boost dialogue between science and society to bring knowledge closer to citizens' real problems have been emerging across Europe for years. Nadja Gmelch, director of Open Knowledge Projects in Globalization and Cooperation at the UOC, explained that, "Thanks to our participation in this project, we'll have the chance to work with some of Europe's most accomplished and experienced science shops, such as those created by Queen's University Belfast and Vrije Universiteit Brussel."

CIRCLET focuses on equipping university teaching staff with the tools and skills required to adapt their programmes of study and offer students new opportunities to take part in community-engaged research and learning (CERL). The project is funded by the European Commission's Erasmus+ programme (grant agreement 2017-3351/001-001) and is in line with the European Union's aim of promoting socially responsible science that is open to all citizens.