Social Innovation Labs at Universities: the Case of Medialab UGR

U N I V E R S I D A D D E G R A N A D A
@ M E D I A L A B U G R | | M E D I A L A B @ U G R . E S
S O C I A L I N N O VAT I O N L A B S AT
U N I V E R S I T I E S : T H E C A S E O F M E D I A L A B U G R
– A R E S E A R C H L A B O R AT O RY F O R
D I G I TA L C U LT U R E A N D S O C I E T Y
E S T E B A N R O M E R O - F R Í A S
First cars and trains across Sydney Harbour Bridge, March 1932

We need a
critical vision
of the impact of
technology in society.

What answer do
we have at
A social lab
approach

medialab.ugr.es @MedialabUGR
What is Medialab UGR?
A meeting point for research, analysis, and the dissemination of opportunities generated
by digital technologies in the areas of culture and society.
part of the University of Granada’s Vice-Rectorate for
Research and Knowledge Transfer
an open laboratory made by and for the university and society.
a research hub and an experimental space for exploring creativity
and new ways of generating knowledge in digital societies

What is UGR-Medialab?
Our mission is to make critical contributions to the development
of research that employs digital technologies and that questions
the societal transformations generated by them. Our goal is to
construct a more creative, innovative, and prosperous University
and society based on the founding principles of openness and
active citizenship.

medialab.ugr.es @medialabUGR
1. Community

Learning through digital technology
Aprendizajes Conectados is a series of talks that
seeks to explore and analyze the proceses of
teaching and learning that the presence of
technology produces. Their content is articulated
according to a series of conferences that will be
developed throughout various academic disciplines.
In them, we will collectively reflect about what is truly
new and innovative in digital technology employment,
learn of experiences that combine different
methodologies, and, above all, look more closely into
how our forms of educating and learning are
changing in our increasingly digital environment.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/aprendizajes-
conectados/
Aprendizajes conectados

Fighting for an open and accessible
education
Initiative promoted within the framework of the Open
Education Week, a global event which intends to
highlight the positive effects that open access and the
use of knowledge has in the academic ﬁeld, for both
professors and students. According to this approach,
Open Education shows different projects, resources and
ideas created under this philosophy, vindicating the
contribution of the educative community – often
overlooked – in order to achieve more open, inclusive
and cooperative education.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/educacion-abierta/
Educación Abierta

2. Distributed and
emerging Leadership

3. Digital Identity

4. Experimentation

A Digital Radio Experience
RadioLab UGR is a streamable radio station, that corees
the communities of MediaLab UGR and other University
of Granada projects.
Broadcasted live/ Archived from SPREAKER: https://
www.spreaker.com/user/radiolabugr
PODCAST Downloadable onIVOOX / ITUNES: http://
www.ivoox.com/podcast-radiolab-
ugr_sq_f1402254_1.html
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/radiolab-ugr/
RadioLab UGR

Una experiencia de radio digital
RadioLab UGR es un canal radiofónico en streaming,
que da cobertura a las comunidades de MediaLab UGR
y a otros proyectos de la Universidad de Granada.
RadioLab UGR
17

A Digital Radio Experience
This is one of the programs
RadioLab UGR

medialab.ugr.es @MedialabUGR22

Innovative resolutions to resolve problems and
communicate ideas
In research, creative thinking is indispensable to
open new fields of study and contribute to the
advancement of knowledge. With this motto as
the guide, this project looks to analyze, develop
and come to know methodologies for its
application solving broad and complicated
problems. We include, among many, methods
like Design Thinking and Visual Thinking.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/pensamiento-
creativo-aplicado-a-la-investigacion/
Creative thinking applied to
research

5. Orientation towards
action

6. Technology,
also

Supporting the DIY philosophy
Makers are people who, supported by
technological advances and social networks,
construct devices for themselves.The primary
objective of this line of work is to give visibility to
this movement in Granada.To achieve this, every
year we present the most novel and innovative
projects in the area, and reflect about the impact
and reach of proposals of this type.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/maker-day-
granada/
Maker Day Granada

7. Critical thinking

F R E EO P E N N O C O S T
Copyright

Fotografía: “Pokemon Go” por Sascha Knauf con licencia CC by-nc 2.0 en https://ﬂic.kr/p/MgJcja

Fotografía: “Isaac lauging at a 21cp Magikarp in the Polly Woodside Gym in Pokemon Go” por Alpha con
licencia CC by-nc 2.0 en https://ﬂic.kr/p/Mi4mab

Fotografía: “Pokemon Go Station in Dusseldorf at
night” por Alen Djuderija Photography con licencia
CC by-nc-nd 2.0 en https://ﬂic.kr/p/MAAT4c
A Social
Experience

https://mobile.twitter.com/dirkvl/status/780510811072626688

‘Cue jeremiads on Twitter against our stupid, selﬁsh, vacuous age.’
Photograph: Barbara Kinney/Hillary Clinton campaign
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/26/taking-selﬁes-hillary-clinton-not-narcissists#img-1

8. The positioned and
the material

9. Growing our comfort
zones

Site for reflection and action about the
possibilities of higher education
A space for reflection and action about the present
and future of higher education. It is an open forum for
encounters between the various stakeholders who
hope to influence the decisions made by the makers
of academic policy with their ideas. In this
spirit, Facultad Cero will celebrate various
conferences each year, on several subjects under this
theme, that can be followed both in person and online.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/facultad-cero/
Facultad Cero

What would University
education be like if we were to
start from scratch?

10. Inclusion
and equity

How can technology contribute to a more
accesible world?
The project “Tecnologías Accesibles” is an initiative of
Medialab UGR and La Ciudad Accesible that aims to
generate a space for reflection, awareness and generation of
projects aimed towards the citizenry about the opportunities
that technology offers for the creation of a more accesible
environment for the needs of the people. Among other
aspects, it offers a chance to learn about practical
experiences that highlight the need for de the development of
digital, inclusive and non-discriminatory tools, not only as an
act of social justice, but also as a professional and economic
opportunity.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/tecnologias-accesibles/
Tecnologías accesibles

11. Games

A repository of games and video games
that serve various purposes
GamesFor was conceived as a platform for analysis and
diffusion of games and video games that allow the
development of various purposes. The name is an
invitation to center ourselves around “games for”
different objectives; among them: creativity, the teaching
of values, developing skills, learning about various
themes, science, etc. Our objectives are:
• Create a repository of reference for the education
community and other interested groups that look to use or
develop games with specific, positive purposes.
• Create a community of users who are interested in games
and video games.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/gamesfor/
GamesFor

The video game phenomenon and the
“gamer” culture
The intrinsic complexity of video games and the ‘gamer’
culture requires us to address the nature of this phenomenon
from as many angles as possible. In this spirit, the meetings
and workshops of “GGames” were born, with the hope of
putting members of diverse communities interested in video
games in contact for the generation of interdisciplinary work
and the formation of future projects on this theme. The
creators of this initiative show a clear calling to break down
barriers and bring disparate academic and professional
trajectories together with artists and investigators coming
from areas such as history, fine artes, or computer science.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/cultura-y-videojuegos-
ggames/
Cultura y videojuegos:
GGames
51

12. Humanism

An integrative space of reflection about the
digital humanities and social sciences
The initiative “Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Digitales del
Sur (#CSHDsur)” is a project for reflection and ongoing
action across whatever themes show a distinct and integrated
closeness to the transformations that have happened over
the past several years in the disciplines of the social sciences
and humanities. To do this, we use, cultural idiosyncrasies,
epistemologies, intellects, languages and social structures of
southern Europe and Latin America, as well as other areas of
knowledge and methodological focuses considered
peripheral by the dominant practices.
http://cshdsur.es/
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/ciencias-sociales-
humanidades-digitales-sur/
Ciencias Sociales y
Humanidades Digitales del Sur

Digital Territories: Building Digital Humanities
and Social Sciences
MediaLab UGR, as a part of the Vice-Rectory of Investigation and
Knowledge Transfer of The University of Granada, has created the
International Congress of“Territorios Digitales– Construyendo unas
Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Digitales” to inspire academic
discussion, such as the debate and encounter among the
participants in related themes within the large field of digital
transformation in the Social Science and Humanities. Territorios
Digitales hopes to be a meeting place to increase interdisciplinary
work and dialog between diverse areas and collectives that work or
are interested in the impact of technology in society. The
International Congress will occur annually, improving the knowledge
of the strategic work of MediaLab UGR, as well as digital humanities
and social sciences.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/territorios-digitales/
International Conference of
Digital Humanities & Social Science

http://medialab.ugr.es/i-international-conference-digital-territories-2017/

13. How to measure
digital society

A closer relationship to the production and
dissemination of scientific knowledge
Digital mediums are completely transforming the way in which we
produce and diffuse scientific knowledge. More recently, they are
also starting to change other areas that arrived later to the
technological revolution, such as the Social Sciences and
Humanities. However, these new digital tools do not always receive
the academic recognition they deserve, even though the
development of just one of these products could consume the
entire career of a researcher. Knowmetrics seeks to highlight the
work of digital humanists, using the uniqueness of their field of work
as a starting point, with a philosophy of open and cross-disciplinary
science, oriented towards collaborative work. Knowmetrics is a
project developed at MediaLab UGR with researchers from diverse
institutions across Spain, Europe and America and financed by the
BBVA foundation.
http://knowmetrics.org
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/knowmetrics-evaluacion-del-
conocimiento-en-la-sociedad-digital/
Knowmetrics: Knowledge Evaluation
in Digital Society

knowmetrics.org

Recognition for innovative practices in
digital communications
This award seeks to recognize the most innovative
practices and the impact of actions done through
digital communication:
• Individual: PDI, PAS
• Services: Research groups and projects at the
University of Granada los grupos y proyectos de
investigación de la Universidad de Granada.
We recognize the level of innovation of their
methods because of their internet presence and
digital identity.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/premio-medialab-
comunicacion-innovacion-medios-sociales/
 
“MediaLab UGR-Universidad de Granada -
Caja Rural” award for communication and
innovation through social media

14. Digital Science

Units of Excellence

15.Citizen participation
and innovation

The benefits and risks of digital society for
democracy
The voices of experts, representatives of public
institutions, and citizens are brought together in
this project to set off down a path of research and
debate about citizen participation and transparent
governance in the digital age, identifying the
opportunities, risks and problems that the mix of
new technologies and democratic principles
entails.
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/edemocracia-y-
participacion-ciudadana/
eDemocracia
y participación ciudadana

Ideas, prototypes, and projects to
change Granada
This project was founded as a citizen laboratory for Granada.
It is centered on the generation of ideas, prototyping of
solutions, and the development of projects for the city.
It makes up a two dimensional network of citizen
participation:
• A physical space (as a laboratory of citizen social
innovation in Granada) and
• A digital space (a global platform, distributed for the
generation of ideas and development of prototypes
and projects).
http://medialab.ugr.es/proyectos/labin-granada-laboratorio-
de-innovacion-ciudadana/

Esteban Romero - erf@ugr.es
Collaborative
intelligence

Esteban Romero - erf@ugr.es
The generation of evidence based ideas
gathered for Granada from all over the
world
Collaborative
intelligence

Ideas Prototypes Projects
Xaprendizaje

medialab@ugr.es
@MedialabUGR

Social Innovation Labs at Universities: the Case of Medialab UGR

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