The EU H2020 funded project HEIRRI – Higher Education Institutions and Responsible Research and Innovation – aims to promote the integration of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) within the education of future scientists, engineers and other professionals involved in the research and innovation (R&I) process. HEIRRI stresses the importance and potential of RRI as a transformative, critical and radical concept based also on the six RRI key aspects identified by the European Commission (EC) – public engagement, gender, open access, science education, ethics and governance.
RRI is an approach that anticipates and assesses potential implications and societal expectations with the aim to foster inclusive and sustainable R&I.
HEIRRI has done an inventory of RRI teaching, including a State of the Art Review and a Database of inspiring cases (WP2). This work has been crucial for the design of the HEIRRI training programmes (WP3). The programmes have been the base for the elaboration of the teaching materials (WP4). These programmes and materials have been tested during the piloting phase (WP5). Results from these pilots have helped refine the materials at the end of the project, and they are now open to everyone via the RRI Tools website. Transversal actions of HEIRRI have been the Forum Online, communication activities, internationalisation actions and an internal evaluation. HEIRRI has organised two international conferences gathering stakeholders from all over the world to discuss about the integration of RRI in universities.
HEIRRI has a strong consortium formed by four European HEI (UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA (UPF) (ES) – Coordinating Legal Entity; UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN (UiB) (NO); AARHUS UNIVERSITET (AU) (DK); SVEUCILISTE U SPLITU (UNIVERSITY OF SPLIT), (UNIST) (HR), INSTITUT FUER HOEHERE STUDIEN - INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES (IHS) (AT), a European network of science centres and museums – the ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE DES EXPOSITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES TECHNIQUES ET INDUSTRIELLES (AEESTI/Ecsite) (BE), “la Caixa” Foundation (FUNDACION BANCARIA CAIXA D ESTALVIS I PENSIONS DE BARCELONA LA CAIXA) (FBLC) (ES), a network of universities (the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ASSOCIACIO CATALANA D'UNIVERSITATS PUBLIQUES) (ACUP) that chairs GUNi, the Global University Network for Innovation) and a SME specialised in innovation – INNOVATEC (ES).
The main objectives of HEIRRI, and that have been achieved, are:
1) to create an inventory of cases and practices of RRI in HEI and share it on Open Access (OA).
2) to start and spread a forum on RRI and RRI learning with online and offline activities.
3) to design RRI training programs and materials and then test them in pilot experiences.
4) to disseminate, internationalise and refine the HEIRRI programs, materials and other outcomes to: (a) encourage teaching and learning RRI; (b) spread the visibility of HEIRRI objectives and results; (c) carry out strategic actions with international networks of HEI and SC-SM; (d) improve materials and the whole project.
