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Who are We?
PRIMER is constituted by the consortium of academic and scientific institutions (see methodological approach) listed below, as well as by a TEAM of collaborating colleagues from these institutions by which the commitments are carried out.
PRIMER Consortium
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Organizational structure and strategic perspective
For the development of the PRIMER initiative the human and institutional team was set up by professionals whose previous cooperation in the development of interdisciplinary studies progressively defined the space of collaboration and relevancy for the different components of the approach. Among them, the University of Leon (Spain) has been a key player for the coordination and development of activities, as well as BITrum research group (Spain) for the development of the interdisciplinary study of the information through an international network of researchers from many different disciplines..
Altogether, PRIMER teams are based on an extensive experience and dedication on the three integrating disciplines that set up its theoretical-methodological core.
Within Systems Science, the activity of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (Austria) stands out and it is often linked to activities supported by the Vienna University of Technology (Austria). In the same field but more focused on the study of complexity and its modelling, the Center of Complexity Science of the UNAM (México) has well-reputed international experience.
Regarding Design Science, the capacities and experiences that stand out are the ones gathered by the teams from: the Institute for Design Science (Germany), often linked to activities of the Munich University of Applied Sciences (Germany); in addition, the research unit of the University of the Aegean (Greece) is distinguished in the applied area of IT-DS.
In the field of Open social innovation, remarkable capacities are provided by the teams of: Yachay Tech University (Ecuador), FLACSO-Ecuador and the Cybersociety Observatory (Spain); the later often operating in close cooperation with National Distance Education University (Spain). Moreover, concerning innovation in IT, Mälardalen University (Sweden) and the University of the Aegean (Greece) teams are prominent.
Finally, in the field of the interdisciplinary study of the information, not only the activity carried out by the mentioned BITrum research group, but also the International Society for Information Studies (Austria) offer an optimal context for the development of interdisciplinary studies which, beyond the study of the information, are progressivelly covering other knowledge areas (for instance, environmental and urbanism studies, etc). Increasing capacities in the same field are also offered by
Even though this breakdown of responsibilities offers an organic structure of the PRIMER Consortium, this is defined, as stated in its Constitution, as open in terms of incorporating new actors that enable the achievement of its purposes. These include the long term goal of establishing an international center of interdisciplinary studies, made up by the institutions involved. Compostela Group of Universities stands particularly at the service of the consolidation of the institutional network and long-term strategy.
Additionally other relevant capacities and expertise in specific knowledge fields are worth highlighting. These will serve to the application of the methodologies of scientific integration objective of this programme in areas of social concern. Among others, the areas of inclusive technologies and intercultural education of the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (Ecuador), the area of complexity management of the Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena or the area of Ecological Economy of FLACSO-Ecuador, constitute some of the fields of thematic interest for the application of interdisciplinary approaches.
Programme of Intercultural and Inclusive Pedagogy
This programme, subscribed among the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, la Universidad de León and the SGroup Network of European Universities, has the mission of deploying academic education at all levels for the establishment of studies of Intercultural and Inclusive Pedagogy rooted in Ecuadorian institutions, but at the same time supported by an international academic cooperation network of scholars from the numerous institutions involved. Projects proposed for the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission
The FIRE projects (aimed at the development of scientific integration capacities in Latin America which includes a programme of interlaced education and research) and PRIMER (which is an equivalent program for its development in Europe) are currently candidates for the European Erasmus + funding program, in two different strategic actions. Research frameworks for the development of interdisciplinary approaches The projects FIRE and PRIMER propose the development of research frameworks and crosscutting knowledge distributed among participant venues (León, Vienna, Siros, Quito, Urcuqui, Cuenca, Santa Elena and Mexico City). Each research framework addresses the application of interdisciplinary research to complex problems of societal relevance. An example of these frameworks is the development of a bicycle mobility laboratory in Santa Elena in which a university bicycle sharing system serves to collect information of diverse type that is used for the analysis, design and optimization of urban systems. |
