Research Committee
Function
The Department of Cultures, Politics and Society Research Committee has resumed regular operations after the disruptions of the 2020-2022 pandemic, with the restrictions and changed priorities it brought. The Committee meets periodically on the basis of the timeframes established by the University and the Department, and at least three times a year. Meetings serve to promote initiatives linked to research, and in particular to the three stages of designing studies and building international networks, disseminating findings through seminars, publications and research networks, and social impact (Third Mission and Public Engagement). In line with the Department’s three-year plan, the Committee strives to enhance research quality, encourage interdisciplinarity, and strengthen the sense of community by promoting a culture of cooperation.
The Committee is made up of members drawn from the Department’s many disciplines and delegates appointed by the Department Chair for specific topics: Internationalization (Massimiliano Demata), Third Mission (Alberto Gherardini), Public Engagement (Marco Mariano), Research projects and national and European calls for proposals (Roberta Ricucci), and Gender equality (Cecilia Pennacini).
To implement the guidelines emerging from the Committee’s discussions, and leveraging the excellent level of collaboration between teaching faculty and the technical/administrative staff, the Committee is organized in work groups coordinated by its members and consisting of colleagues from the Department. The following working groups have been active since academic year 2021:
- "BookMark Group", coordinated by Antonella Meo; Members include Cecilia Biancalana, Maria Cristina Caimotto, Massimo Cuono, Barbara Sorgoni, and Alessandro Tuccillo; this book presentation and discussion initiative was organized by the Department to improve dialogue between researchers in different disciplines;
- Department-Bobbio Library Group, led by Cristina Fiore and Valentina Pazè; to strengthen collaboration between the Department and the Bobbio Library, the group organizes regular meetings dealing with:
- the university’s hardcopy and digital resources; the tools: catalogues of monographs and periodicals;
- databases and e-book platforms;
- the university’s digital holdings: subscription and access procedures, links; for purchases of specific electronic resources, the group works together with representatives of different research areas;
- Training in answering national and international calls for proposals: Roberta Ricucci; to provide the Department’s PhD students and post-doctoral fellows with the skills needed to participate successfully in competitive calls for proposals, the group organizes a 12-hour cycle consisting of three meetings on writing project proposals and applications for EU funding, ERC grants in particular;
- Social impact group (Third Mission and Public Engagement): Marco Mariano, Alberto Gherardini; in view of the growing role of the Third Mission and Public Engagement in the Italian university system, a new working group was set up in February 2023 to develop and monitor TM and PE initiatives; members: Silvia Bruzzi, Massimo Cuono, Stefania Ravazzi, Roberta Ricucci, Laura Caccamo (technical/administrative staff);
- Other working groups handle specific initiatives, such as the one coordinated by Antonella Meo and Alberto Gherardini which organized the seminar on “The Challenges of Applied Research”.