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Educational tools to integrate responsible, open research with values of society

The project partners have published an article in the journal Forensic Sciences Research on the results of the evaluation of the international pilot tests, which were carried out in 19 universities around the world and collected data from 555 participants. 
22.11.2021

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UPF researchers have published an article on the results of the evaluation of the courses held during the Higher Education Institutions and Responsible Research and Innovation (HEIRRI) project. Responsible research and innovation, or RRI, pursues more open science, to reduce the gap between science and society, and to achieve more inclusive, transparent and collaborative science.

The European project HEIRRI, coordinated by Gema Revuelta, director of the Studies Center on Science, Communication and Society at UPF (CCS-UPF), was hatched to provide researchers with the skills to recognize and apply RRI values. “HEIRRI aimed to create educational tools to integrate RRI at different levels of education, including practising researchers, but also doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students, who will then learn to think, anticipate and observe their future careers from the perspective of RRI”, Gema Revuelta outlines.

HEIRRI aimed to create educational tools to integrate RRI at different levels of education, including practising researchers, but also doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students, who will then learn to think, anticipate and observe their future careers from the perspective of RRI.

The team developed ten RRI training programmes for different educational levels of higher education institutions, including a summer school and a massive open online course (MOOC). HEIRRI materials are suitable for a variety of disciplines, and can be adapted to specific contexts. They are available in open access on the RRI Tools platform. The programmes are mainly based on problem-based learning (PBL) methodology, in multidisciplinary scenarios of the future, with a strong focus on reflection and dialogue, and supported by videos, participatory dynamics and card games.

Now, the project partners have published an article in the journal Forensic Sciences Research on the results of the evaluation of the international pilot tests, which were carried out in 19 universities around the world and collected data from 555 participants. Through surveys, they evaluated participants’ attitudes and perceptions. “Satisfaction with the programmes was high, both for participants and trainers. They considered the design of the courses appropriate and stated that they could relate the course content to their work and that they appreciated the new and different points of view they were presented with”, explains Mar Carrió, leader of the Health Sciences Educational Research Group (GRECS), who also participated in the HEIRRI project. 

Satisfaction with the programmes was high, both for participants and trainers. They considered the design of the courses appropriate and stated that they could relate the course content to their work and that they appreciated the new and different points of view they were presented with.

Participant feedback was used to identify areas that required improving. The main suggestions were: a need for more real-world examples, as well as further examples from different fields of research; a lack of time for more in-depth discussion of the materials; and greater flexibility in programme scheduling and execution. All of them were applied in the final versions of the training programmes.

The study shows that HEIRRI training programmes are truly feasible and interactive resources in RRI training. “They constitute a toolbox of engaging activities that can be used flexibly so that universities and other higher education institutions can provide training in the values of responsible, inclusive, open research with social value”, Gema Revuelta concludes.

About the HEIRRI project

The other project participants were  Aarhus University (Denmark), the University of Bergen (Norway), the University of Split (Croatia), the Institute for Advanced Studies (Austria), the"la Caixa" Banking Foundation (Barcelona), the company Innovatec (Madrid), the European Network of Science Centres and Museums, Ecsite, and the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP, chaired by GUNi, the Global University Network for Innovation, with 208 universities from 78 countries).

Reference article:

Ružica Tokalić, Ivan Buljan, Niels Mejlgaard, Mar Carrió, Alexander Lang, Gema Revuelta, Ana Marušić & HEIRRI Consortium (2021) Responsible research and innovation training programs: implementation and evaluation of the HEIRRI project, Forensic Sciences Research, DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2021.1970319.

 

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Gema Revuelta

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