2017_06_21_ics_graduacion_mics

graduate Nine students from Spain, Puerto Rico and El Salvador have joined the first graduating class of Master's Degree at research in Social Sciences (MICS) of the University of Navarra. The ceremony was presided over by the program's director, Ana Marta González, scientific coordinator of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS); and the deputy directors, Inés Olza and Jesús López Fidalgo, researcher at the Institute and director of the Statistics Unit, respectively.

The graduating class includes María José Benítez, Sofía Brotons Arnau, Marta Castillo González, Iñaki Celaya Echarri, Mª Fernanda Novoa Jaso, Silvia Marcela Pleites, Pablo Quiñonero Pertusa, Fátima Ruiz Fuster and Kathia Salinas Muñiz.

Four of them have attended the Master's Degree thanks to an scholarship of Social Trends Institute; two, to a scholarship of Incentivation of the University of Navarra; and another, to a scholarship of Incentivation and a scholarship University of Navarra-group Santander.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Inés Olza reviewed some data of the academic report of the course. Among other aspects, she emphasized the participation of outstanding international professors, including Emanuela Mora and Laura Bovone, from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy); Richard Madsen, Professor Emeritus at the University of California-San Diego (USA); Margaret Archer, from the University of Warwick (UK); and Iain Wilkinson, from the University of Kent (UK).

He also mentioned the social impact of the students' work at research , "which seeks to offer answers to current challenges and delve into social representations of human issues that are of interest to everyone. Among other topics, the students have addressed the representation of families on television, how family breakdowns can generate inequality, violence among minors in El Salvador, the reflection of adolescents on identity and emotions through narratives, etc.

"We believe that these works reflect the spirit in which Master's Degree was born: to favor the open interdisciplinary research that makes use of varied and profound methodological tools and to provide answers to what concerns ustoday," he stressed.

award of the Competition of essay in Social Sciences

Afterwards, Sofía Brotons spoke on behalf of her classmates. She recalled the road they have traveled together in these months and the challenges they have faced until graduation.

After his words, the scholarships were awarded to the graduating class. The award of the first edition of the Contest of essay in Social Sciences 'Challenges of today's world' was also awarded to Mariajosé Martínez Quesada, a graduate in Philosophy and Journalism. The award consists of average scholarship to study MICS in the 2017-2018 academic year and a cash award .

Ana Marta González closed the event with a speech in which she focused on the search for truth and the meaning of the activity of researcher.

"Behind and in the midst of academic routines we recognize ourselves studying and delving into issues that will help us to better understand the world in which we live and to position ourselves constructively before the problems that will come our way in the future, whether inside or outside the academic environment, but always with a university mentality, which is as much as to say: broad-mindedness, capable of overcoming petty interests for its genuine commitment to the truth of things," he said.

"Throughout this year you have had the opportunity to ponder that in the cultivation of the social sciences, the honesty of every scientist is inseparable from an exquisite respect for people," he said.

"It is our methods of research ," he added, "that must be adapted to the reality of people, and not they to our aims of research. For, in final, the ultimate aim of the social research , with all the analytical rigor that is proper to it, is none other than to serve people. This consideration alone places you in front of specific ethical responsibilities, both as researchers and as persons, since both are difficult to discern".  

Six itineraries

The MICS is coordinated by the Institute for Culture and Society and has the direct partnership of the Schools of Communication, Law, Education and Psychology, Nursing, and Philosophy and Letters. It is accredited by the National Agency for Assessment of Quality and Accreditation.

It is offered as a gateway to entrance for students who wish to enter the interdisciplinaryresearch in the social sciences. Its training program allows students to specialize in six tracks: Communication, Geodemography, Linguistics, Education, Law and Nursing.