Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) presents Crowd-UC3M, its first call for participants in its search for crowdfunding for thirteen R+D+i projects. The objective is to establish new channels for collaboration, interaction and implication with society, which will contribute to social, economic and cultural progress.
With the Crowd-UC3M project, which has been promoted by the Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia (Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Transfer) and managed by the Science Park, it has been possible to gather initiatives from all the members of the university community. It is based on the idea of crowdfunding for a reward, a form of collective financing that attempts to make society itself into a patron, with society, in turn, then benefitting from the advances that are made.
The objective of this initiative, according to the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Transfer, Carlos Balaguer, is “the collective participation of society in research and transfer projects that are proposed by our university community: students, professors, researchers, administrative and service personnel, entrepreneurs and alumni.” This will enable the active involvement of “all of us who want to see R+D+i projects with social impact become a reality,” notes the director of the Science Park, Paloma Domingo.
Following an analysis of the Spanish platforms for crowdfunding, it was decided that the project would be established on Goteo, which belongs to the Fuentes Abiertas Foundation. This platform has collected 1.5 million Euros in two years and obtained financing for 67% of the projects that were announced. In addition, it has previous experience with university projects.
The promoters of each initiative use this platform to show their project and its objectives, establish minimum and optimum budgets, and set the rewards for their financiers. They only receive their funds if they manage to obtain enough to cover at least their minimum budget; if not, the donations are returned to the donors.
The 13 Crowd-UC3M projects, which are already seeking financing, have a “high potential for impact on the advancement of society in UC3M’s various fields of endeavor.” Moreover, “they will contribute to free knowledge” and “will be carried out within one year’s time,” according to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Transfer.
Medical skin diagnosis. A prototype that facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis, alopecia, etc., using image processing technology.
Improvement of visual disabilities. This uses a low-cost augmented reality device, which will help patients with a reduced visual field gain autonomy in moving about.
History, art and tourism. A mobile application using augmented reality allows users to virtually visit the Roman village of Fuente Álamo (Córdoba) and its mosaics.
Diagnosis of diseases. Innovative biomolecular sensors improve the diagnosis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Public health and food safety. A new antimicrobial plastic to make containers for food and medical material, in order to prevent illnesses in developing countries.
The handicapped and the public. A 3D wheelchair simulator to learn to move in surroundings with obstacles and to raise public awareness.
Social justice. Establishment at UC3M of a Legal Clinic to provide free legal advice to low-income individuals.
Photography and gender. Development of an audiovisual and publishing platform to foment a greater presence of female photographers, through their work.
Employment and social protection. Proposals for the improvements of the social safety net and employability for unemployed young people and long-term unemployed workers.
Psychology: overcoming grief. Online support platform for parents of children who have died due to cardiac problems, with the support of the Menudos Corazones Foundation.
Pedagogy and science. Development of 3D and audiovisual material. The initial idea is to teach science to children in a practical and fun manner.
Sociology and documentation. A web application to transmit and share documents about migration during the 20th century among institutions and/or family members.
Competition and education. Development of a single-seater race car to participate in Formula Student, and international student competition.
The researcher from Madrid had worked in video games and fashion before the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed her up. Her experiences in machine learning and behavioral prediction models will help to improve the learning apps used by midwives in resource-poor countries. The goal is to reduce maternal and infant deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.
Spanish researchers at MIT have developed a system to produce electrodes for vanadium flow batteries, used in renewable energy storage. The electrodes are made from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects. The advantage of this component is that it contains nitrogen in addition to carbon, which is then incorporated into the structure of the electron during the production process, improving electrode’s performance.
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