The launch of the More Than Human Studies Lab provided the perfect opportunity to bring together a variety of ideas and collaborations. On 29 January 2024, the Centre for Sustainable Development was visited by students from Utrecht University at the invitation of programme coordinator Irena Chawrilska, PhD.
The More-than-human Studies Lab is a programme of open, transnational, collaboration between academia, arts organisations and NGOs that explores how we can create new and different scenarios of life on our planet in the turbulent times of the 21st century.
“Our long-standing collaboration with Utrecht University has allowed us to involve ten students from their interdisciplinary Honours programme, who came to Gdansk to work together with students from our university,’”says Irena Chawrilska.
The meeting was attended by Professor Rick Dolphijn, professor of media&culture studies and founder of the More-than-Human Studies Lab at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). The students also had the opportunity to meet the distinguished Professor Alex Taek-Gwang Lee, founder of the Centre for Technology in Humanities at Kyung Hee University in South Korea.
The meeting provided an opportunity for joint debate on topics central to More Than Human Studies. Students concerted on areas such as artificial intelligence, plant life, food studies and other transdisciplinary topics that resonate across academic disciplines. As part of their visit to Gdansk, they also visited the European Solidarity Centre and the grounds of the Gdansk Shipyard. In addition, they also conducted field research and interviews with other students and passers-by in the city.