Blog post: Science and society – a changing framework and the role of RRI

Editorial Team RRI, STARBIOS2

Daniele Mezzana on a changing science-society relationship and the role RRI can play to bridge the gap in a recent blog post on the Uppsala University Ethics Blog based on the Discussion Note for our final event on 29 May: Responsible research in bioscience: Challenges for mainstreaming. “Taking on an approach such as RRI is not simply morally recommendable, but indispensable for attempting a re-alignment between scientific research and the needs of society. […] [A]s the Covid-19 pandemic is challenging our societies, our political and economic systems, we recognise that scientists are also being challenged. By the corona virus as well as by contextual challenges. The virus is testing their ability to play a key role to the public, to share information and to produce relevant knowledge. But when we go back to ‘normal’, the challenge of changing science-society relations will persist. And we will remain convinced that RRI and similar approaches will be a valuable contribution to addressing these challenges, now and in the future.” Read the full text on the Ethics Blog

Join our final event!

Editorial Team RRI, STARBIOS2

Science is a part of society and co-evolves with it. But science-society relationships are changing, and biosciences are at the core of these changes. Join us for our final event on 29 May, when we discuss the changing relationship between science and society, and what this means for responsible research and innovation (RRI). Responsible Research in Biosciences: Challenges for mainstreaming 9.00-17.30, 29 May 2020 Transformations in post-modern societies and science production pose new challenges for governance that RRI, or similar approaches, can certainly contribute to face. This may me truer than ever in this period of great emergency related to COVID-19, and will probably continue to be true in the future. STARBIOS2 has worked for 4 years to produce RRI institutional or “structural” changes in several bioscience organizations. We have learned that for RRI mainstreaming to be successful, we need contextualisation on four levels: organizational, disciplinary/sectoral, geopolitical/cultural, and historical. The preliminary programme for our final event is now public, and we are looking forward to in-depth discussions on the changing science-society relations and what this means for bioscience, as well as the special COVID-19 themed event that same afternoon. The STARBIOS2 final event will be dedicated to discussing these challenges for mainstreaming of responsible research in biosciences. We hope to see you there! Register here! Find out who is speaking ➜ Have a look at the preliminary programme! Find out what we will be talking about ➜ Download the discussion note or our strategic document! Can’t make it? Fill out …

STARBIOS2 at AAAS

STARBIOS2 at AAAS Annual Meeting 2019

Editorial Team RRI, STARBIOS2

Saturday, February 16th 2019, the STARBIOS2 session “Epigenetics in Infection, Diets and Environment: Responsible Research and Innovation” takes place at AAAS Annual Meeting 2019 in Washington DC.  Saturday, February 16, 2019 08:00 AM – 09:30 AM, Marriott Wardman Park – Washington 2 Synopsis The study of infections, nutrition, and the related epigenetic aspects are areas of the biosciences that cross scientific disciplines and concern diverse stakeholders. Relevant examples are recent viral epidemics that demonstrated the importance of DNA sequencing and big data analysis for molecular epidemiology and vaccine development, and issues related to nutrition that comprise environmental factors which affect health and that, under certain conditions, can even alter human gene expressions. Stakeholders are faced with raising public awareness of epidemics and vaccines, improving nutrition globally, and fostering open access to big data. The European Union has developed the Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) approach to address these challenges. The RRI encompasses public engagement, gender, open access, education, ethics, and governance. Understanding epigenetics in infections and nutrition requires RRI-related strategies to cross boundaries between disciplines and regions, as well as scientific and non-scientific communities. This session reports on projects from the European Union and Brazil which use the RRI approach to study recent viral epidemics and nutrition and provides indications of the various ways such an approach can be beneficial in these areas of research. Speakers Structural Change for RRI in Biosciences Research Institutions Claudia Colonnello, Laboratorio di Science della Cittadinanza , Rome, Italy RRI in Viral Infections and Nutrition …

Featured Image STARBIOS2 Technical Assistance

What is the role of Technical Assistance Team in STARBIOS2?

Editorial Team STARBIOS2

  Could you shortly describe your organisation, and who is involved in STARBIOS2 project? Our institute, Laboratory of Citizenship Science (LSC), is an association of researchers, trainers, knowledge managers and research project designers based in Rome, Italy. LSC works for promoting a better integration of social sciences perspectives in the spheres of scientific and technological research and for developing a better understanding of the social phenomena emerging in the interaction amongst science, technology and society. In STARBISOS2 project LSC is in charge of supporting the 6 Action Plans teams that are promoting a structural change toward RRI in their institutes, through a set of Technical Assistance (TA) activities. Furthermore LSC participates also in the development of a learning process for the whole project that will lead to design a model for RRI in biosciences. The Technical Assistance team is composed by Giovanni Caiati and Claudia Colonnello who are directly involved in the ordinary implementation of the TA activities. Furthermore our team includes other LSC experts who carry out back-office activities concerning the management and the scientific supervision. What is your role as technical assistance? Our role is to assist the Action Plans teams in order to successfully drive the Action Plans all along the project from the design phase to their completion. In practice we support the teams for coping with emerging problems or to benefit from emerging opportunities; we provide specific expertise on RRI and its 5 keys also suggesting and offering contacts with experts outside the consortium; we …

Celebrating IWD 2018 and Science Education Day in STARBIOS2

Editorial Team STARBIOS2

International Women’s Day 2018 Last week on the 8th of March the world celebrated the International Women’s Day (IWD). STARBIOS2 partners took part in this year’s campaign #PressForProgress, a strong call to unite and motivate everyone to think, act and be gender inclusive. In STARBIOS2, our first aim is to contribute to the advancement of the RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) which underpins Horizon 2020. RRI includes 5 key issues – Education, Gender, Ethics, Societal Engagement and Open Access  – each of them are intertwined and their successful application lead to the bigger goal of the STARBIOS2 project: conceiving and implementing Action Plans (APs) oriented to attain RRI structural change in 6 institutions active in the field of Biosciences. This is how Starbios2 partners celebrated IWD!                                   Science Education Day On Science Education Day (14 of March) we were happy to thank and show gratitude to all the teachers, educators, scientists, researchers and everyone who shares their passion for science with children and adults. STARBIOS2 partners are one of those people, as the Consortium consists mainly of scientists in different spheres of Biosciences. As Science Education is one of the key issues of RRI, we grabbed the opportunity to thank our outstanding partners for promoting Science Education!   And you, how did you celebrate International Woman’s day and Science Education Day? Write us in the comments! To receive more updates on the STARBIOS2 project, follow us on Twitter and Facebook! You …

STARBIOS2_FEATURES IMAGE - Women in Science University of Gdansk

WOMEN IN SCIENCE – STARBIOS2 events at Gdansk University

Editorial Team STARBIOS2

  As a part of the STARBIOS2 activities, the University of Gdansk organised two events, dedicated to Women in Science. Seminar: Women in Science An open seminar dedicated to women in science took place on 1st December 2017 at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of University of Gdansk. The meeting opened by Prof. D.Sc. Krzysztof Bielawski, a supervisor of the STARBIOS2 at the University of Gdansk, was moderated by Prof. D.Sc. Ewa Łojkowska, an outstanding woman researcher and a great supporter of women science career development, both as a head of The Laboratory of Plant Protection and Biotechnology at University of Gdańsk and as a Chair of the Jury of the “L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science” programme. In the first part of the meeting Dr Natasza Kosakowska – Berezecka and Dr Magdalena Żadkowska from University of Gdansk discussed and presented the results of the report Gender gap in Biosciences that they had conducted within STARBIOS 2 actions at the IFB of UG. The second presentation was led by a guest speaker Dr Magdalena Król University Professor at Warsaw University of Life Sciences, a renowned researcher granted several scientific prizes and distinctions including L`Oreal & Unesco “for Woman in Science” habitation fellowship. Dr Magdalena Król presented difficult aspects of women careers’ development in the past and today talking about its challenges and perspectives. The audience raised several questions and issues after both presentations. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN A TEAM An interactive workshop was conducted the same day by Dr Natasza Kosakowska–Berezecka and Dr Magdalena …

STARBIOS2-SCM Oxford - partners

Steering Committee Meeting of STARBIOS2 partners in Oxford

Editorial Team STARBIOS2

  On the 4th – 5th of October 2017, all the partners of the STARBIOS2 project came together for the Steering Committee Meeting at St Hugh’s College of the University of Oxford. Each of the partners presented their updates on the project and plans for the future on implementing 5 key issues of RRI (ethics, education, open access, societal engagement, gender) at their institutions. There are 12 partners involved in the STARBIOS2 project, including 6 Universities, implementing Action Plans, 3 support teams and 3 international partners. The coordinator of the STARBIOS2 project is Prof. Vittorio Colizzi from the University of Rome – Tor Vergata (UNITOV). Work Packages Each of the partners are responsible for different Work Packages within the project: WP Number WP Title Lead beneficiary Country WP1 Ethics Requirement UNITOV Italy WP2 Action Plan for RRI of the University of Tor Vergata UNITOV Itay WP3 Action Plan for RRI of the University of Oxford UOXF UK WP4 Action Plan for RRI of Primorska University UP Slovenia WP5 Action Plan for RRI of the University of Bremen and related road map Uni-HB Germany WP6 Action Plan for RRI of Agrobioinstitute Sofia ABI Bulgaria WP7 Action Plan for RRI of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG, UG UG Poland WP8 Technical Assistance LSC Italy WP9 Learning Process on RRI implementation in biosciences and set-up of a RRI model UNITOV Italy WP10 Monitoring and Assessment AU Denmark WP11 Communication and Dissemination SPARKS & CO France WP12 Project Management UNITOV Italy Formal …