CT BETA launches the podcast “From BETA to ZETA”
CT BETA has produced a first series of 5 chapters, with the aim of promoting scientific culture and giving visibility to the institution's research work
BETA Technological Centre from UVic -UCC has launched “From BETA to ZETA“, its first podcast experience. It features five 15-minute episodes in Catalan presenting the research conducted at the center in various fields. The podcast was created with the support of the audiovisual technical team of the UVic -UCC Faculty of Business and Communication and was based on interviews with the center’s researchers. Each episode also contains short informative capsules created by other team members, which complement and enrich the content contributed by each researcher. The podcasts are now available on all three platforms: Youtube, Spotify and Ivoox.
With this initiative, CT BETA reaffirms its commitment to scientific outreach and the transfer of knowledge to society. Podcasts have become a relatable and accessible tool for understanding how research contributes to building a more sustainable future, raising awareness about current environmental challenges, and highlighting the work of researchers working to transform the world through science and innovation.
“The goal of disseminating information in this format is to bring the science conducted at CT BETA closer to the general public, foster scientific culture, and highlight the wide variety of profiles we have on the team”, says Albert Palou, head of institutional relations and communications at CT BETA.
A total of 20 experts and researchers from CT BETA, in addition to the center’s own communications team, participated in the development of these first five chapters. The series cover a variety of topics and focuses on how to care for the nature around us, how to harness its resources to create more sustainable materials, how nature offers solutions to current environmental challenges, and how to be more aware of the environmental footprint humans create.
Nature as a response to environmental challenges
The first episode discusses biomaterials as a sustainable alternative. It explains how research transforms food industry waste into sustainable bioproducts, and how bioplastics offer eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.
The second explains how nature can offer solutions to current environmental challenges through its regenerative and balancing capacity. CT BETA researchers promote this approach through Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs), such as riverbank restoration, the creation of green spaces, and water purification with plants.
The third episode focuses on bats, the only flying mammals, but they play an essential role in ecosystems. They are pest controllers and a natural and sustainable alternative to pesticides. This episode features researchers from the BiBio group at the Granollers Natural Science Museum, who have been studying their biology and conservation since the 1980s.
The fourth focuses on carbon farming, which can help capture carbon in the soil, reduce emissions, and thus improve biodiversity and the circular economy. Researchers note that, despite its potential, it still faces challenges for large-scale implementation.
The fifth and final episode addresses how food sustainability requires rethinking the entire production and consumption chain to reduce waste, which affects one-third of food. Waste must be minimized and a fair and sustainable diet guaranteed in the face of challenges such as population growth, inequalities, and the disappearance of the peasantry.
