UB designated the winning projects of the second call Open Lab CIVIS – UB

On Monday, October 18, 2021, the University of Bucharest announced the selected projects following the evaluation of the applications submitted in the second call for proposals CIVIS Open Lab-UB for the co-financing of social responsibility projects.

The purpose of the open lab is to contribute to the development and implementation of those initiatives that provide solutions to address the challenges and needs facing the community. For each of the three proposed areas – Sustainability and Urban Resilience, Education and Culture and Research and Digital Transformation – the evaluation team chose a project that will receive funding from the CIVIS-UB Open Lab.

For the field of Sustainability and Urban Resilience, the selected project belongs to the Faculty of Biology of the UB – “Urban lakes microscouts. Identification and quantification of microplastics in urban aquatic systems for sustainable development”. In the field of Education and Culture, funding was provided to the UB Faculty of Chemistry for the “Traveling Laboratory” project, while the British Council Romania will receive funding for the “Science for All” project, part of the Digital Research and Transformation field.

The list of projects submitted under the second CIVIS Open Lab-UB call for proposals for the co-financing of social responsibility projects and the scores obtained by them can be downloaded here, and from here you can download the list of projects selected for funding under the call.

10,000 Euros, the budget allocated by the CIVIS-UB Open Lab to the second call for projects.

For this call, the CIVIS-UB Open Lab has allocated a total budget of 10,000 Euros. The call was opened to all stakeholders in the areas where the University of Bucharest operates through the existing education and research structures.

Thus, the following categories were able to propose projects for Open Lab-UB: research institutes – related to the UB profile; actors in the field of education: schools, universities, educational centers, etc.; representatives of the business environment: corporations and SMEs, chambers of commerce; NGOs, various associations and foundations (including UB students’); public authorities or other entities; members of the UB academic community – students, teachers, researchers.

More details on the CIVIS-UB Open Lab can be found on the University of Bucharest website.

About winning projects

Urban lakes microscouts. Identification and quantification of microplastics in urban aquatic systems for sustainable development

The project aims to identify and quantify the distribution and types of microplastics in five urban aquatic systems (Străulești, Fundeni, Circului, Tineretului, Văcărești lakes) with different roles in providing ecosystem services, by involving stakeholders from university, academia and pre-university milieus. The project was won by the Faculty of Biology of the University of Bucharest in partnership with the Bucharest Institute of Biology, the Department of Ecology, Taxonomy and Nature Conservation, Romanian Academy; “Victor Babeș” National College, along with which 4 other organizations have assumed support, collaborators with expertise in the field, but also with a role in disseminating activities and results among students, pupils and direct users of lakes and parks: Lakes Parks and Leisure Administration, General Association of Sport Hunters and Fishermen in Romania, Văcărești Natural Park Association, Biology Students Association within the Faculty of Biology.

The traveling laboratory

The project consists in identifying both children with a disadvantaged material situation and those of Roma ethnicity and co-opting them into a program of multidisciplinary courses and laboratories, which include theoretical aspects in the fields of biology, chemistry and geography, as well as laboratories with practical experimental activities. It will facilitate students’ access to alternative teaching methods or sources, in order to improve their knowledge of the environment through STEM approaches. Also, students will be involved in trips for instructional and educational purposes to various institutions in Bucharest. The project was won by the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Bucharest, in partnership with: Prahova School Inspectorate, Gorgota commune town hall – Prahova county; “PH Chim” Association – Prahova County; “Saint Nicholas” Association Gorgota – Prahova; Faculty of Geography – University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology – University of Bucharest, Faculty of Pharmacy – “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Association of Teachers of the Faculty of Pharmacy (ACDFFB).

Science for all

The project aims to help increase resilience to current threats by combating the spread of pseudo-science and conspiracy theories, which is largely due to the absence of a sufficient number of communicators prepared to convey to the general public’s understanding, what is called “evidence-based science” and help the most disadvantaged in terms of access to basic science education to distinguish between scientific truth and fiction. The aim will be to develop the skills needed to communicate science to the general public, as well as basic communication skills for a future career in research, such as: developing convincing project proposals; obtaining funding from national and international bodies; effective communication with different categories that do not have a special training in their fields of study and research (mass media, political decision makers, etc.). The project is won by the British Council Romania, together with its partners: the Ad Astra Association of Romanian researchers; Biomentorhub Association; Romanian Science Festival (RSF) through the Local Diaspora Association; Scientific Organization of Medical Students (SOMS), Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, – Faculty of General Medicine; “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu; Polytechnic University of Timisoara.

About UB & CIVIS

The University of Bucharest is an institution with responsibility towards Romanian society, constantly acting to defend its principles, cultural, social and moral values, to preserve and capitalize on the achievements of past and present generations and, especially, to form future elites. Currently, the University of Bucharest is part, along with seven other European universities, of the European alliance CIVIS.

European Civic University CIVIS is a European academic alliance and brings together eight of the most important and reputable universities in Europe: Aix-Marseille Université, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Bucharest, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Sapienza Università di Roma, Stockholm University and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen. CIVIS brings together a community of over 384,000 students and 55,000 employees, of whom 30,000 are teaching staff and researchers. In December 2020, the European Commission approved the application to integrate the University of Glasgow into the alliance of CIVIS universities as an associated partner.