The 1st UPC Prize for Social Commitment, addressed to the University community, has distinguished the work in this area of the UNESCO Chair of Sustainability, the UPC Reus program and professors Lídia Montero and Núria Sal.n. The jury has also made a posthumous recognition of Professor Montserrat Soliva. The awards ceremony took place on October 4, at the Auditorium of the Vertex, at the opening ceremony of the new academic year.
Called for the first time this academic year, at the initiative of Vice-rectorate for Social Responsibility and Equality, and in collaboration with the Social Council of the UPC, the UPC Prize for Social Commitment has been founded with the aim of highlighting the programs, projects and activities developed by the UPC community (students, Administration and Services Staff, and Teaching and Research Staff) directly related to social commitment.
The winners of the first edition of this prize, in the four planned modalities, are the following:
- In Inclusion, professor Lídia Montero, from FIB, for the promotion of the Meetup program, a pioneering action to support students with autism spectrum disorders that other universities are taking as a model.
- In that of the Gender Equality, professor Núria Salán, from the Higher School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering of Terrassa (ESEIAAT), for her tireless career and voluntary dedication to promoting the technological vocations of girls.
- In Cooperation, the programme UPC Reuses, coordinated by Professor >Fermín S’nchez, from the Faculty of Computer Science of Barcelona (FIB) and which encourages the reuse of computer equipment, due to its long history and its integral impact in the educational, local and international field.
- In the field of Sustainability, the UNESCO Chair in Sustainability, promoted by a pioneering university group at the UPC that was concerned about the issues of sustainable human development more than 20 years ago, for its long history and integral impact in the educational and scientific, local and international field.
The jury wanted to make one posthumous recognition to professor Montserrat Soliva, who has recently passed away, due to her long teaching and research career, focused primarily on composting, with the mission of preserving and improving the environment, protecting the soil and increasing agricultural productivity.