A study that aims to know how the training or research of the UOC Community is responding to the challenges of contemporary ruralities
In line with the ongoing commitment of the UOC and the UOC Rural Network with the rural world, this study seeks to know how the UOC Community and the knowledge generated by our university is responding to the current needs of contemporary ruralities and contributing to bridge the regional divide and redress the socioeconomic, gender and environmental inequalities that this entails. In this way we will understand the scope and transformative capacity of the UOC in rural areas.
The project has different approaches. The first one seeks to identify and map the actions that our community is developing on rural territories. This analysis is a first approach to our community to subsequently promote future projects and build more UOC Community. The second line of action seeks to know which competencies the UOC is transferring to the rural areas through teaching in order to assess our capacity building and employability. Within this same line of work, an additional study will be carried out from a feminist and intersectional perspective with the intention to learn more deeply about the processes of individual and collective transformation that online training is promoting in gender systems and identities in rural areas. Finally, the third line of work consists of identifying the innovative capacity of our community and its fields of action through a specific study of academic Final Projects (Bachelor’s and Master’s Final Projects).
Depending on the line of work and objectives to be achieved for each line of work, both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be applied. Among the former, Big Data and Data Mining will be used, and among the latter, the research will be carried out by conducting in-depth interviews and learning circles. The results will be published i the form of internal reports and visual and dynamic maps as well as a co-created and interactive documentary.
Project details:
Funding: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Project Start Date: March 2024
Project End Date: November 2024
Main researcher: Soledad Morales Pérez
Research team: Marina Checa
