Last month, Florence Belaën, a distinguished professional from the Université Lumière Lyon 2 in the field of science, culture and society, visited Medialab at the University of Granada (UGR). 

Last month, Florence Belaën, a distinguished professional from the Université Lumière Lyon 2 in the field of science, culture and society, visited Medialab at the University of Granada (UGR). 

Monday, April 22nd

The visit started on Monday, April 22nd when Florence Belaën was welcomed and introduced to Medialab facilities and the Vice-Chancellor’s office in order to get familiarised with our workplace. At the same time, she had time to have a look at the planning and the objectives of the overall visit. 

Afterwards, she had a meeting with Esteban Romero Frías, the Vice-Rector for Social Innovation, Employability and Entrepreneurship in order to discuss programs of common interest, citizen science programs, and knowledge connection with the territory initiatives. The meeting aimed to explore collaboration opportunities and shared interests under the EngageGreen project and other mutual areas.

Tuesday, April 23rd

On Tuesday, April 23rd, she had an opportunity to participate in the roundtable discussion Women in La Vega. This event was part of the project Salvemos La Vega Week, organised by Medialab UGR in the framework of Impronta Granada. This roundtable was an integral part of a series of events aimed at highlighting the role of women in the Vega area, fostering discussions on social and environmental sustainability. In addition to that, there was time for visiting other services and facilities of the university, such as Hospital Real and La Madraza.

Wednesday, April 24th

The next day, Wednesday, April 24th Florence Belaën held the open seminar: «Science and society, a new axis in French research policy», which explored global innovation policies, France’s approach to these themes, and the role of citizen science. After the presentation, there was time to discuss all these topics. This relevant event was followed online and in-person.

Thursday, April 25th

Finally, on Thursday, April 25th, Florence held the seminar «The Return of the Science Shop, a way of linking university and territory” in the framework of the Urban Imprint European project. This was a great time to share insights on Lyon 2’s policies and the broader Lyon university network’s strategies for engaging with the territory. The seminar introduced the concept of «science shops» among other innovative formats. It was followed online and in-person as well.

Afterwards, she attended the working session: Preparation of Citizen science actions in schools within the UGR’s Citizen Science programme, organised by Medialab UGR with the collaboration of researchers, schools, etc. This program aims to make science accessible for children through different activities. 

Throughout the different activities that week, there were chances for informal meals, breakfasts, visits to other centres and units, and involvement in the design of ongoing programs, such as those focusing on political talent development.

Florence Belaën’s stay in Granada was full of activities in which to share knowledge and exchange experiences in the academia from different methodologies of each country. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn, share and innovate the work in each university.