Two EELISA communities participated for the first time in this initiative that brought together 70 students from 8 countries at the ETSIAAB to discuss and propose solutions to global problems following the United Nations Model.
Model United Nations (MUN) is a popular UN-like discussion activity in academia that brings together hundreds of thousands of students from around the world and at all levels of education each year. It aims to build and maintain strong links between this organization and the participants in the MUN, teaching them what it is like and how to improve the simulations of the debates, while promoting the values promoted by the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On April 12, 13, and 14, the third edition of this initiative was held at the ETSIAAB UPMMUN, which for the first time has the collaboration of EELISA. In this interview we talk to some of the protagonists who made it possible and the role of this alliance of European universities.
Q. What were the objectives of UPM MUN and the dynamics of its sessions?
A. Lourdes Pomposo, organizer of the event, professor of the Department of Applied Linguistics of the UPM, and assistant to the Director of the ETSIAAB for Student Services:
The main objectives of UPMMUN were to foster interest in engineering and science, research, and innovation, as well as to develop transversal skills in problem-solving, communication, ethical and professional commitment, organization and planning, critical and systemic thinking, work in interdisciplinary and intercultural teams, leadership, creativity, and decision-making. All this is done while they learn to search for information and negotiate, using the English language. We sought to raise awareness about the complexity of international organizations and decision-making, which are sometimes key to solving a problem or developing a country.
Students were divided into committees that discussed issues that had been previously raised. In this edition, there were three: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), IBC (International Bioethics Committee), and DISEC (Disarmament and International Security Committee). Whether individually or in teams, they researched, debated, and drafted proposals and resolutions over the weekend. The Chairs of each Committee then applied the rules following the United Nations procedure and the participants defended their positions according to the country they represented, negotiating with other countries to resolve. At the closing ceremony, awards were given to the best speakers and the best Delegation of each Committee.
Q. You mentioned that this is the first year that EELISA collaborates in this activity. What does this collaboration consist of?
R. Rafael Miñano, co-coordinator of the EELISA community ESCE (Ethics, Social Commitment & Entrepreneurship) and professor at the ETSI Sistemas Informáticos: I found out about UPM MUN after the comments of a student who knew it and who, together with other students, wanted to create a discussion group on UPM’s Campus Sur. I contacted the organizers of the ETSIAAB and, as I learned more, it seemed to me that it is an activity that is aligned with the mission of the EELISA alliance, which promotes academic excellence linked to social impact and commitment. Moreover, it was aligned with the mission of our community, as we promote the development of transversal skills that allow us to face the challenges of sustainable development, such as those mentioned by Lourdes before. In addition, one of our lines of work is Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, which fits into the theme of the DISEC committee focused on the military uses of AI. We disseminated it among the students of Campus Sur and we are happy that there was a great response and they have valued it. The comments of some of my students who have participated are along these lines and valued the experience very positively.
In addition, I believe that it is a very conducive activity to integrate students from other universities of the alliance who also have their MUN and it is an attractive and viable framework to promote mobility between universities. That is one of our challenges for UPM MUN 2025, maybe EELISA MUN 2025?
Q. How was the attendance? Was there a lot of participation?
A. Lourdes: Between those who participated directly and those who helped in the organization, 70 students attended. As it was the first time that we linked the activity to EELISA, we did not have time to expand the activity to other universities of the alliance so that they could attend in person. However, we did have students from different UPM faculties, Spanish universities (UC3M, UCM, UCLM, URJC), and countries in addition to Spain: France, Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay, China, Germany, and Morocco. The DISEC debate was also broadcast online on the ETSIAAB’s YouTube channel.
David Menoyo, coordinator of the EELISA Sustainable Food Production community and professor at the ETSI de Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas: As Rafael said, this activity is also carried out at the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and Istanbul Technical University (ITU) so I think that EELISA can contribute to the enrichment of the activity by bringing an international dimension to it.
UPM MUN mainly addressed two SDGs that are closely linked to our community: zero hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture (SDG2); ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG12).
Q. What do you highlight about this edition?
R. Lourdes: In addition to including two EELISA communities, the participation of the student body has been much greater than in other years, perhaps because for the first time 2 ECTS were recognized and because three Committees were created with very diverse themes. This sparked interest and brought richness and variety to the discussions, which was also the case at coffee breaks and meals, where participants were able to mingle with members of other committees.
R. Jing Zhang, PhD student at UPM and member of the DISEC committee:
I highlight the enthusiasm of classmates and professors and the close connections between the countries we participate in. In our committee, we discuss the use of artificial intelligence in warfare and how it will play a fundamental role in the future military field: from algorithms to master large amounts of data (big data) to greater precision in military targets or the protection of strategic information. If with AI we allow conflicts to escalate infinitely, we will endanger the survival of our species and the Earth, so we conclude that it is necessary to establish an expert advisory committee of engineers and scientists in artificial intelligence that promotes cooperation between governments and countries in pursuit of planetary conservation.
This third edition of UPMMUN has been organized by ETSIAAB professors Lourdes Pomposo, José Álvarez, Antonio Martínez, and José Luis Yagüe, together with the general secretary of UPM-MUN Diana Azpurua, the deputy secretary Alberto Martín and Alberto Gutiérrez as promoter. In addition to EELISA, the activity has been endorsed by the General Council of the Official Association of Agricultural Technical Engineers of Spain (CGCOITAE) and has had the collaboration of the Official College of Agricultural Technical Engineers of the CITAC Center.