Medialab UGR: Research Laboratory for Digital Culture and Society
Medialab UGR acts as a meeting point for research, analysis, and the dissemination of opportunities generated by digital technologies in the areas of culture and society.
Medialab UGR is part of the University of Granada’s Directorate for Participation and Social Innovation, within the Vice-Rectorate for Institutional Relations and Planning. It strives to serve as an open laboratory for the generation of proposals at the University and in society, as a research hub, and as an experimental space for exploring creativity and new ways of generating knowledge in digital societies. The Lab places special emphasis on prototyping and open knowledge (a superset encompassing the concepts of open data, open content and open access).
Medialab UGR has been developed as a cross-sectional open space by, and for, the University and society. It operates both as a physical hub and viasocial networks, with a view to connecting and (re)combining knowledge generated at the University and in society, particularly emphasizing the value of digital cultures in this process. An important objective of the UGR MediaLab is to incorporate technology within the frameworks of knowledge generation, social interaction, and public engagement.
Medialab UGR offers a specially designed working environment which fosters collaborations and knowledge exchanges, placing value on pressing societal concerns and personal pursuits. Moreover, the Lab stresses the importance of informal learning contexts and close working relationships, in line with the proposals of other laboratories such as the Prado MediaLab in Madrid.
Medialab UGR is structured horizontally, thereby making the most of potential opportunities, resources and networks from diverse centres and bodies at the UGR. It also enables these different centres to forge lasting ties with each other, as well as with other academic bodies and organizations in society. The Lab encourages proposals and provides support during open calls for applications, promoting active and broader participation in collaborative project development. In order to achieve this goal, the Lab runs a broad array of training courses, workshops, conferences, debates, group work sessions and seminars throughout the year.
Moreover, the Medialab UGR is active both in the physical and digital spheres, employing a natural and holistic work ethic that prevents discontinuities.It goes beyond artificial distinctions between the developmental aspects that contribute to shaping the Lab’s identity and the people working in it.
Our values
- An entrepreneurial attitude
- Activism in favour of open knowledge and free and open internet access
- Openness
- Active citizenship
- Creativity
- Experimentation
- Flexibility
- Innovation
- Two-way knowledge transfer: University→ Society, Society → University
Our mission
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.
Our objectives
- To strengthen research and knowledge transfer in the priority areas of the Medialab UGR: 1) Digital society 2) Digital humanities 3) Digital science.
- To foster debate and constructive criticism of problematic issues raised by digital society.
- To explore knowledge generation practices that encourage and enable people to configure, change and modify research processes and production by employing key elements from the sphere of digital culture.
- Foster research projects that are jointly developed between diverse groups, both at the UGR and externally, enabling individuals with different backgrounds (artistic, scientific, technical), different levels of specialization (experts and novices) and different levels of involvement to work effectively in collaboration with each other.
- Maintain an active community of users via the development of these collaborative projects.
- Identify new trends and tendencies in digital culture (educational, research-based and management-based) and carry out the corresponding proposals in order to improve these processes at our University.
The activities organized by the Medialab UGR are held in diverse university spaces in the UGR’s campuses in Granada, Ceuta, and Melilla, with a view to raising broader awareness of our proposals and activities.
Who are we?
The Medialab UGR is an open space that encourages researchers, administrative and service staff, students, and anyone interested in our activities to participate in, and propose, workshops and projects at the UGR. The Medialab UGR thrives on ever-expanding physical and digital networks.
What do we do?
We conduct and promote research, transfer knowledge, connect people, innovate, debate, criticize, display, and experiment.
The Medialab UGR distinguishes between two types of areas: strategic areas and lines of exploration. Our strategic areas are fixed and unchangeable. They are aimed at promoting research, knowledge transfer and dissemination.
Strategic areas
Digital society
The European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe, which forms one of the 7 pillars of the Horizon 2020 programme, sets forth key objectives for the digital transformation of society. At the UGR MediaLab, we identify and analyze significant opportunities for research, funding, and public debate at the University of Granada.
Digital Humanities
Technology and the Humanities constitute two fundamental areas for the creation of new spaces of knowledge generation. Through the adoption of digital practices in Humanities, we aim to strengthen the social impact and academic relevance of these two key areas.
Digital science
We create visual displays of bibliometric information developed at the UGR and promote digital strategies and tools among researchers, with the aim of encouraging more open academic practices that have a greater impact in society.
How to join Medialab UGR
In order to accomplish its objective of providing quality services to the University and society, the Medialab UGR requires broad and active participation. There are a variety of ways you can get involved and plenty of ways of getting in touch with us.
- Follow us on Twitter: @MedialabUGR
- Follow us on Facebook
- Sign up to our mailing list to find out about our upcoming activities: Sign up
- Sign up to receive new publications using RSS: posts and events
- You can also get in touch with us by writing to medialab@go.ugr.es
- If you would like to put forward a proposal we strongly encourage you to get in touch with us.
Address:
Medialab UGR
Research Laboratory for Digital Culture and Society
Vice-Rector for Institutional Policy and Planning
University of Granada
Espacio V Centenario
Avda. Madrid, 11, 1ª planta, P-11
C.P. 18012 – Granada (Spain)
