Two undergraduate theses supervised by researchers from the iHC win the Arcadi Oliveres Global Justice Transformation Awards for the 2024-2025 academic year

On April 28th, the ninth Arcadi Oliveres Awards for Bachelor's Degree Final Project (TFG) focused on transformation for Global Justice were presented at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Sponsored by the Autonomous Solidarity Foundation (FAS), the awards aim to promote social change under the umbrella of Global Justice and are aligned with the commitment of both FAS and the UAB to the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Global Justice is a perspective that allows for a critical understanding and reversal of the global system of inequalities, as well as a tool for collectively influencing the transformation of problems at both local and global levels. Therefore, the Arcadi Oliveres Awards seek to encourage the completion of Bachelor's Degree Final Project that analyze the causes and impacts of social inequalities and environmental problems, while also promoting alternatives that contribute to building fairer and more sustainable social, economic, and environmental contexts, in accordance with respect for and compliance with Human Rights. Among the 31 works awarded this year, we highlight two, which have been directed by researchers from the iHC.

Lost in translation: La barrera idiomàtica i les seves implicacions en salut ("Lost in translation: The language barrier and its implications for health") is the project presented by Natàlia Berthet Martí, a student of the bachelor's degree in Medicine, and supervised by the iHC researcher Carlos Tabernero Holgado. It is often assumed that patients are able to understand the instructions given by healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The language barrier is one of the main obstacles in primary care, especially in multicultural areas with a large migrant population. It reduces adherence to treatment, hinders access to medical services, worsens clinical outcomes—particularly in chronic diseases that require active monitoring and constant patient involvement—and increases healthcare professional dissatisfaction.

Berthet's study explores, through statistical analysis of clinical data and questionnaires completed by patients and healthcare professionals, the impact of the language barrier on the healthcare of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The results show a clear relationship between the language barrier and patient health, assessed through glycemic control and the number of emergency room visits. Furthermore, they highlight an often overlooked phenomenon: the emotional stress experienced by healthcare professionals when caring for patients with whom communication is limited or difficult; stress that can have consequences for both the quality of care and the well-being of the professional. Therefore, the study underscores the need to incorporate the perspective of linguistic diversity into healthcare planning and provides tools to move towards more empathetic, efficient, and equitable care, centered on the realities of all users of the healthcare system, regardless of their language, place of origin, or socioeconomic status.

Pot la IA ser sostenible? Una mirada a l'interior de la megamàquina (“Can AI be sustainable? A look inside the megamachine? “) This is the project carried out by Berta Vidal Aznar, a student of the bachelor's begree in bcience, technology, and humanities, and supervised by the iHC researcher Jaume Sastre Juan. The project stems from concerns about the exponential increase in the use of artificial intelligence. This technology, presented as an emblem of progress, is becoming an attractive investment for governments and companies worldwide. Accompanied by a cultural narrative that reinforces the image of a disruptive and inevitable phenomenon, it is being received with the expectation that it will lead us to a better future. However, the large-scale AI models that dominate the global stage represent a logic that perpetuates environmental, economic, and social exploitation, throwing the balance of global sustainability off. This study, therefore, highlights the urgent need to abandon the illusion that AI will solve the inequalities generated by capitalism and to understand that the current ecosocial crisis demands a transformation of our imperialistic ways of life.

With the aim of answering the question of whether AI can be sustainable, Vidal's work traces the impacts of this technology throughout its life cycle and analyzes its intersections with sustainability. It also draws on the contributions of researchers from the Sustainable Artificial Intelligence group at the Technology and Telecommunications Centre of Catalonia (CTTC), who propose strategies such as downsizing, transparency, reduced consumption, and distributed learning of models. Undoubtedly, new ways of thinking about and designing AI are required so that it embodies values ​​and practices geared toward a more sustainable and democratic future.

Congratulations to the winners!

More information about the awards and the ceremony.