The Biocultural Diversity Lab focuses on the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), a set of knowledge related to the environment, shared within communities in a specific place. The Biocultural Diversity Lab research has a specific focus on ethnobotany and ethnobiology. The Biocultural Diversity Lab was born during the implementation of the ERC project ‘Divided Generations’ (ERC-StG-2016 DiGe), which carried out research on the medicinal and food uses of plants among different ethnic groups in Eastern and Northern Europe divided during creation or following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, examining the impact of sources, medicine, education, and laws governing their use.
The focal points of the permanent activities of the Biocultural Diversity Lab are the evolution of knowledge based on the relationships between humans and the environment, both today and in past centuries, through various qualitative and quantitative methods. The application of the results of the research of the Biocultural Diversity Lab is education, the development of local products, participatory conservation strategies, and policy suggestions.
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We invite the candidates to participate in our three main research projects that will be covered in 2024:
a) DiGe has clearly demonstrated the devastating effect of Russian occupation on the LEK of the studied traditional societies/minor ethnic groups. We detected erosion, homogenization and standardization of the knowledge within state borders and cross-border differences in knowledge transmission. We will continue studying the medicinal plant use in the researched area, looking for common patterns and the effects of literature and the official Soviet medical system on local ethnomedicine.
b) The research on the people-nature relations in migration concentrates on the historical Italian migrants to Brazil, exploring the specific plant species that were brought, adapted, or learnt from the local environments, the techniques used for cultivation, and the cultural and social factors that influenced these practices. The ultimate goal of the research is to identify best practices for bicultural conservation considering the local identities and to inform policy and decision-making in this area.
c) Fishery practices of Laguna di Venezia in Italy and Laguna di Bay in the Philippines are studied from the perspective of the local fishers, involving them as experts in identifying the drivers of changes (both climate and anthropogenic) and searching for sustainable and community-friendly solutions.
IIT’s headquarters are in Genoa, constantly linked to its Centres in Italy and two outstations based in the USA. The journalist’s residency may be located in Genoa, where the majority of IIT’s researchers have their labs, or in the network Centers sites: Milano, Torino, Venezia, Rovereto, Ferrara, Pisa, Napoli, Roma, Lecce. The IIT staff comprises more than 1,900 people from about 70 countries, with an average age of 35.
Currently, IIT is conducting the 2018-2023 scientific plan developing four strategic research domains: Robotics, Nanomaterials, Technologies for Life Science, and Computational Sciences. In 2024 a new scientific plan will be launched with an additional focus on Artificial Intelligence. The main goal is to produce technologies that will have a positive impact on some important societal challenges, such as sustainability and the environment, healthcare and aging society.
Read moreAmong the most advanced research results at IIT, there is the first edible and rechargeable battery, the robots iCub, ErgoCub, Alterego, Centauro and HyQ, the soft robots Plantoid and iSeed, the new smart materials obtained by food waste, and 34 start-up companies.
IIT is an example of multidisciplinarity, which is one of the most significant characteristics of current scientific research and, also, the great variety of topics that a science journalist is expected to handle in his/her work. IIT is an ideal venue for science journalists who wish to discover and experience a heterogeneous and international scientific environment, ranging from biology to robotics, from new materials to neuroscience, from basic science to technology transfer.
The shores of the North Atlantic house diverse architectural cultures and its waters are home to a wealth of fish species. The industrialisation of fisheries in the early 19th century and the globalisation of the industry at the end of the 20th century impacted the area’s fishing architecture. The project will assess the ecological impact of fishing constructions and the natural resources they depend upon. Specifically, it will advance our understanding of the ecological impact of human activity. The project will focus on marine ecosystems, fishing technology, food processing, politics, and consumption habits in order to offer a new perspective on construction, in which fishing landscapes bring together land and sea.