UUniCORN starts construction
UUniCORN – Uppsala Univeristy Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus - has recently distributed the first catalyst agents to researchers at Uppsala University. In total, almost SEK 2 million has been distributed. The purpose of the grants is to start developing and building research programs within the institute's themes.
A total of 17 applications were received, of which 6 were granted. The largest proportion of applications were submitted from the Science Area of Humanities and Social Sciences (HumSam), but the granted applications all have a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary and networking.
It's great that there has been so much interest, despite the fact that the first round of applications was short and the institute is relatively new. There are many exciting research ideas and thoughts to work on, says UUniCORN director Mats Målqvist.
As a result of the catalyst call, thematic research programs will be formed, which focus on different goal conflicts in sustainable societal change and how they can be navigated. One will be about financial sustainability in business in relation to the ambition to change production to ecologically sustainable alternatives. A second theme will be about natural resource utilization versus the protection and conservation of biological diversity. A third area deals with the goal conflicts that can arise in society when new technological inventions and innovations are introduced. Additional themes will be developed later.
The response to the initiative with UUniCORN has been very positive in this first period. There are many who are curious and want to know more. We are now working on the website and will continuously update it as the institute develops, says Mats Målqvist.
During the spring, there will be continued opportunities for researchers at Uppsala University to express interest in being involved in developing UUniCORN and to seek support through targeted catalyst funds.
The activities will not be limited to the program ideas that are now under development, but we hope that more people will want to be involved in developing the institute. Ideas that fit within the thematic areas that are now formulated are also welcome. The goal is to develop strong, interdisciplinary and innovative research environments, says Mats Målqvist.
Facts
The following researchers have been granted funding for the development of UUniCORN:
- Christine Holmström Lind och David Freund, Dept. of Business Studies – “The EU Green Deal and the challenge of balancing resilient and environmental sustainability in multinational corporations”
- Ivo Zander, Dept. of Business Studies – “Reconciling entrepreneurship with imminent sustainability challenges”
- Karen Brounéus, Centre for Health and Sustainability – ”Navigating Polarization for Peace: Innovative action and research for sustainable transformation”
- Malgorzata Blicharska och Jayne Glass, Dept. of Geosciences – ”Conflicts between conservation and production: a new research network to find solutions”
- Klas Palm och Thomas Lennerfors, Dpet. of Civil and Industrial Engineering – ”Socio-technical sustainability conflicts”
- Gabriel Söderberg, Dept. of Economic Histo – ”Designing Digital Ecosystems for Sustainable Societal Transformation”
Link
Read more about the catalyst grants here!