RRI Archives - Page 2 of 4

Featured Image STARBIOS2 Blog Ethics Oxford

Ethics in Biosciences Research, University of Oxford

Editorial Team 10th January 2018 Ethics, RRI

How do you understand Ethics in biosciences research? Ethics in biosciences research should be understood as means to ensure high-quality research and guarantee the protection of fundamental rights. Even though ethic principles are well defined and established, as biosciences research progresses, new ethical conflicts may arise. All biosciences research must be carried out within the good practice framework that Ethics represents. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Ethics in your University and in your country? In the case of human subjects’ research, all research conducted on National Health Service (NHS) patients or their information must be approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) which coordinates RECs across the UK. If the research does not include NHS patients or their information, the University of Oxford has its own system of research ethics governance: the Central University Research Ethics Committee (CUREC). The majority of approvals are decentralised to Interdivisional RECs, and then to Departmental RECs. In the case of research conducted on animals, the UK has strict regulations that are overseen by the Home Office Department of the Government. Researchers must be trained and be granted a Home Office License in order to be able to conduct research on animals. What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Ethics standards for your institute? In relation to Ethics, our strategy is to raise awareness and evaluate the procedures for planning and including research ethical issues in …

Featured Image STARBIOS2 Blog Gender University of Bremen

Gender in Biosciences Research, University of Bremen

Editorial Team 3rd January 2018 Gender, RRI

How do you understand Gender in biosciences research? Women are under-represented in research generally, and in STEM occupations specifically. The explanations for these patterns vary from discrimination of women and “glass-ceiling” effects, to implications of gender differences in household and family, and to modern men and women making different choices due to different life values and life priorities. Historically, natural science has been perceived as a male domain. Today, gender in biology study programs is balanced up to and including the doctoral level (see Figure 1 – the proportion of men and women in Faculty 02 Biology and Chemistry at the University of Bremen). The critical point is the retention of women in and after the postdoctoral career level. In average, in academic biosciences in Germany only 15 per cent of Professors are female. The “leak” of women from the science pipeline means a regrettable waste of expertise. Gender diversity enriches scientific enquiry, promotes excellence, and opens the horizon for societal contextualized questions and research. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Gender in the University of Bremen? The Action Plan of Science 2020 of the Senator of Science and Research of the Federal State of Bremen states the need of cultivating a more gender-balanced environment at the institutions of higher education. Gender inequality in scientific careers undermines the principles of fairness, equality of opportunity and social justice. Therefore, structural principles to cover gender-political measurements are in the core of the recently launched Diversity Strategy of the …

STARBIOS2 Blog Open Access in Biosciences UG

Open Access in Biosciences Research, Gdansk University

Editorial Team 27th December 2017 Open Access, RRI

How do you understand Open Access in biosciences research? Open Access (OA) is providing a free-of-charge access to research results – scientific publications – via online access. Individuals and institutions that would otherwise not easily have access to research findings gain knowledge about new discoveries when these information are disseminated in OA. This increases the benefit for society: research findings can be accessed, used and reused, further developed by scientists from different backgrounds and disciplines as well as by non-scientists. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Open Access in your University and in your country? The Polish Ministry for Science and Higher Education supports OA and recommends its implementation by research institutions. Several reports have been published on the state-of-the-art of OA in Poland. There are units and initiatives strongly supporting the development of OA in Poland, such as Platform for Open Science, Coalition for Open Education. Recently, the University of Gdańsk has adopted its policy on OA. What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Open Access standards for your institute? Our goal is to support an institution-wide strategy towards improved OA to the results worked out by our scientists. We believe that OA is only possible with the joint efforts of authors, editors, librarians, supporting staff, and funders. In our project activities we focus on rising awareness among scientists on the importance and benefits of OA. At the same time, we conduct actions aimed at educating authors …

Societal Engagement in Biosciences, University of Bremen

Editorial Team 20th December 2017 RRI, Societal Engagement

How do you understand Societal Engagement in biosciences research? According to our understanding, Societal Engagement in biosciences research is the encouragement of all relevant societal actors for an engagement in the biosciences research and innovation process. The relationship between science and society and the communication between these groups has undergone a great change: from “science” and ‘”society” and the “deficit model of public understanding” (Gross, 1994: 6) to the idea of “science with and for society” and public participation. Two crucial points for investigating as well as fostering interactions between scientists and citizens at the University of Bremen are the technology transfer and the communication of scientific knowledge through contextualization. There are two different ways to transfer concepts, methods, results and applications. Science-internal technology transfer means transfer to the scientific community (as a part of society). Science-external technology transfer refers to transfer into economy and/or society. The diversity of transfer products and target areas requires a broadened concept of technology, since a theoretical concept may well be the starting point of an application development. Research contextualization supports the communication process through emphasizing the particular societal relevance while obliging scientists to take into account ethical and political issues as well as issues of public interest/relevance. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Societal Engagement in the University of Bremen? The relevance of technology transfer within the research institutes of the University of Bremen seems to be very heterogeneous, so far. This is due to the fact that both basic research as …

Gender in Biosciences research in the University of Gdansk

Editorial Team 13th December 2017 Gender, RRI

How do you understand “gender” in Biosciences research? Our focus on gender is intersectional as it overlaps with other important roles women and men undertake: The gender of the researcher: it is important to bear in mind the number of male and female staff at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG (IFB) and of different obstacles to their research careers that might result from gender stereotypes that influence the concepts of what men/women should and shouldn’t do. The gender of the student: we are aware of IFB being a faculty with a majority of women, so we know it is good to design the teaching programmes in such a way as to attract also more male students and give equal chances for both genders. The gender and the management level in institutions: it is necessary to highlight that gender stereotypes have a strong impact on leadership structure, so we understand the meaning of tailored training in leadership skills. The gender and role-models: in our opinion well promoted roles models of both male and female scientists encourage researchers to take up new tasks and that work-life balance has a positive effect on facilitating gender equality in institutions. What are the current standarts and actions to achieve better gender equality in Gdansk University and in Poland in general? The University of Gdańsk has experience in introducing the standards of gender equality policy promoted by the EU. Researchers take part in projects financed by external funders which focus on implementing gender …

STARBIOS2_FEATURES IMAGE education in Biosciences

Education as a key RRI issue, seen by the University of Oxford

Editorial Team 29th November 2017 Education, RRI

How do you understand Education in biosciences research? Science education is a key element of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework. The aim is to better connect science and society through various educational approaches and interventions. This is particularly important in biosciences, which can help address some of the key societal challenges identified in Horizon 2020, including health, demographic change and wellbeing as well as food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, and the bioeconomy. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Education in your University and in your country? NIHR Oxford BRC Research and Education Working group offers a variety of opportunities for training aimed to increase the research capacity of those working in the NHS. There are research Grand Rounds (lectures) for nurses and weekly newsletters to raise awareness of internal and external funding opportunities. The University of Oxford also hosts the Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School, which offers an academic foundation programme and Academic Fellowships. What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Education standards for your institute? There are many educational opportunities at the University of Oxford via departmental seminars and training programmes associated with the NIHR Oxford BRC. We aim to identify the most appropriate avenues to disseminate RRI. These opportunities will fit into the delivery mechanism of the educational programmes, the local entrepreneurial milieu, and focus on the work of the NIHR Oxford BRC. What kind of actions are you going to establish to …

Open Access in Biosciences at the University of Primorska

Editorial Team 22nd November 2017 Open Access, RRI

How do you understand Open Access in biosciences research? The open access publications enable the new forms of scientific communication, networking and transfer of knowledge. In the so-called “Open Science” movement, teachers and researchers share their research results and information in real time with each other and with the public. With open access, this information can also be used by those persons and institutions that have not previously access to research results and could not finance such access. Scientists and academics are not the only groups that can benefit from open access publications. The demand from the business sector and individual citizens for access to research results in the form of data in publications is also important. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Open Access in your University and in your country? The departments of biosciences (Biodiversity, Biopsychology and Applied sciences), at the University of Primorska, aim to raise awareness for accessing and sharing research results and publications. Introduction of Open Access policy is relatively new for our University and also to the other research institutions in Slovenia. A brief overview of Open Access situation is presented on the Open Science website. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the National Strategy of Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in Slovenia 2015-2020 in September 2015 (ROARMAP record) and the action plan in May 2017. What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Open Access standards for your …

STARBIOS2_FEATURED IMAGE_Societal Enagagement iin Biosciences_University of Gdansk

Societal Engagement in Biosciences, seen by the University of Gdansk, Poland

Editorial Team 15th November 2017 Societal Engagement

How do you understand Societal Engagement in biosciences research? Scientists have a responsibility to engage in public dialogue about the implications of biosciences findings and to help distinguish between socially beneficial and socially harmful applications. The relation between science and society, including politics, is the base of social and economical development. The state decides about directions of development by legal and financial instruments, but it also suffers consequences of the lack of social acceptance of new technology. Bioscience is a cutting-edge area of science in which the pace of progress is perhaps faster than society’s capacity to deal with its ethical and social implications – therefore needs to be addressed properly. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Societal Engagement in your University and in your country? State scientific policy is not consistent in defining the role and function of scientific communication. There is a great discrepancy between ambitious goals set for research units and academics in this area and financial support or the raising of the rank of activity in this field in the periodic assessment of a scientific unit or the processes of scientific career development. Popularization of science is part of the Development Strategy of the University of Gdańsk until 2020 – in the field of strengthening of the university’s ties with the economic and social environment of Pomorskie. What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Societal Engagement standards for your institute? The Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology …

STARBIOS2-FEATURES IMAGE - UNITOV- Education

Education in Biosciences, seen by the University of Rome – Tor Vergata, Italy

Editorial Team 25th October 2017 Education, RRI

Dr. Carla Montesano – Assistant Professor of General Pathology and Immunology, member of STARBIOS2 Coordination Team, and responsible for the STARBIOS2 Action Plan of University of Rome – Tor Vergata. Dr. Antonella Minutolo – PhD in Experimental Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Specialist in Microbiology and Virology; member of STARBIOS2 Coordination Team. How do you understand Education, as RRI key? Education is a crucial RRI key, which deeply affect the relationship between scientific research and society. It’s important to enhance current education process and organization so as to provide future researchers and other social actors having the capacity to take responsibility in research and innovations process, and attracting children and youths to maths, science and technology. In the framework of STARBIOS2, through our Action Plan, we seek to develop a specific approach to education, tailored to specific features of biosciences. What are the current actions to achieve better Education, as RRI key, in your Department? In research and teaching activities of the Department of Biology, we have started to deal more systematically, besides the general issues of the topic we work on, also aspects related to social issues. We are trying to enhance what we are already doing in our Department in this regard. The invitation we make to all members of the Department and students is to understand the link between scientific research and society, to avoid self-referential approaches, and to pay attention to the instances of society. This means, among other things, more conscientiously addressing the issues of …

Feature_Image_Societal_Engagement_University_Primorska_STARBIOS2

Societal Engagement in Biosciences, seen by the University of Primorska, Slovenia

Editorial Team 11th October 2017 RRI, Societal Engagement

University of Primorska, Department of Biodiversity Sandra Hasić – research assistant at the Department of Biodiversity of the University of Primorska. How do you understand Societal Engagement in biosciences research? Societal engagement for us is not just the involvement of the department’s work in the local environment, but it is one of the most important factors for the long-term influence of our research. Nature conservation can be successful only in collaboration with different stakeholders involved in the processes, such as the local population, representatives of the authorities, NGOs, national institutions, the economy, and policy makers. Therefore, raising awareness regarding biosciences research is an important part of the process. Only with the transfer of knowledge and technologies, as a structural change in field of nature conservation, goal can be achieved. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Societal Engagement in your University and in your country? University of Primorska is a very young University and we are still establishing our position at the local environment, and public engagement is one of the crucial points of gaining recognition in the area. The societal engagement should be focused on future collaborations with different stakeholders in the region and on promotion and integration of biosciences departments. At the national level, we can achieve progress in societal engagement with the establishment of specially designed project scheme for funding the collaborative projects between the University and local stakeholders, the economy and NGOs. Our faculty is very successful in applying for grants in schemes. …

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