The University of Alicante (UA) has granted, for the first time, within the framework of the Own Program for the Promotion of Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Alicante 2024, a dozen grants for dissemination activities aimed at spreading and bringing research and innovation generated in its various centers closer to society in general and the non-specialized public.
With a total allocation of 8,000 euros, out of the nearly 40 proposals submitted, ten have been selected. These include actions such as workshops, exhibitions, digital resources, and the development of dissemination content or conferences, as indicated by the academic institution in a statement.
The Vice-Rector for Transfer, Entrepreneurship, and Scientific Dissemination, Mª Jesús Pastor Llorca, highlighted that «they did not expect so many applications, and above all, of such quality and originality.»
«Given the success of these first grants, we hope to be able to expand support to other projects in the coming years to promote scientific culture in Alicante society beyond the limits of the UA campus,» she stated.
Among the selected proposals is the creation and maintenance of a website to group activities and all the dissemination material on interesting geological sites in the province of Alicante.
In the same line, but from the humanities area, there is a project for the creation and maintenance of dissemination and educational resources in a blog about modern women activists from 1920 to 1939.
ACTIVITIES
To vindicate the figure of Anna Atkins, one of the first women to work in science in the 18th century, there is the workshop ‘Cyanotype: the technique that combines art and science: photography, chemistry, botany, and the female scientist’.
From a legal, economic, and social perspective, of the so-called «Right to Repair» (R2R), they also propose sustainable consumption workshops for Secondary, Baccalaureate, and Continuing Education students.
‘Mediterranean Women: The Architects and Their Works’ is a proposal that presents an application, exhibitions, talks, and numerous activities to showcase architecture works carried out exclusively by women in the first generation of Spanish democracy.
Another exhibition that has received support is the exhibition with over a hundred bird specimens that can now be visited at the UA Biodiversity Museum in Ibi (MUBIO) with several informative panels.
Additionally, there is a proposal for workshops, talks, and nature walks with oncology patients to bring the natural environment closer to this group and raise awareness of botanical research, in collaboration with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).
‘Experiment and Learn: Science without Barriers’ is another inclusive activity to carry out chemistry workshops with individuals with brain damage or neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
With a more virtual character, there is a project on science and marine restoration to disseminate scientific advances through social networks, as well as to carry out a face-to-face day with an interactive and multisensory action.
Lastly, through ten short videos for young people aged between ten and 12, from ‘AI Classroom: Introducing Artificial Intelligence in Primary Education,’ concepts such as machine learning, supervised and unsupervised learning, computer vision, AI and robotics, generative AI, and algorithms will be addressed.
