Programme

The programme will create a synergy between all research areas (I.–III.) to enhance the quality of interdisciplinary research and transfer of knowledge. It will focus on the neglected research on the basic unit of civilisation – the household. In every era, households have been the epicentres of development (Household-hub), where interactions and reproduction of individuals and groups have been concentrated, i.e. biological reproduction, transmission of knowledge and behavioural patterns. As centres of consumption, households have contributed significantly to the production of GDP and to the technological progress of humanity. The constant drive to improve private life is enormous. This is why smart homes and the Internet of Things are on the agenda, as they create intelligent approaches and security risks. The methodological directions of the research topics follow:

 

• The interactions with the surrounding ecosystems, as households are key actors in the Anthropocene in a network of multiple relationships (including food);
• The development of bio/technologies, the processing of natural resources, i.e. the use of organic and inorganic materials, which have been the basis of food and security provision in different types of households in the past;
• The need for investments, finance, time and energy;
• The intervention in the landscape, its cultivation and destruction, to meet human and social needs;
• The space of social, economic and legal communication, since households are the basic units of social life.

The research is not confined to a specific time framework; it aims to monitor the past and the present, including current societal issues and national research priorities. The research responds in a targeted way to complex technological, social, environmental and economic challenges, in line with the National Research and Innovation Strategy RIS3. The synergy of such research, interconnecting engineering disciplines, natural sciences and humanities, will contribute to solving current challenges and risks:

1. civilisation versus AI and environmental protection
2. regional problems, in particular excluded localities, education, housing
3. at national level, in particular science industry cooperation, social and health policy, school models or student involvement,
4. at international level, in particular support of international projects, scientific networking, interdisciplinary teams.