Testimonial Ellen Moors

Professor of Innovation and Sustainability at the Faculty of Geosciences

Major social issues

Ellen Moors: “I started as a biochemist, but I have always been interested in major social issues. An interdisciplinary, broad field of research fits in well with that, and I find that reflected in my work at Utrecht University.

“As a Professor of Innovation and Sustainability, I’m a researcher and a lecturer and work for the Innovation Studies Group within the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. Within this group, we are involved in new developments in the field of sustainability. Not just green sustainability, but social sustainability as well. By working interdisciplinary, we can provide innovative education and work on solutions to major social problems. For example, we are investigating how new medicines can be made affordable and accessible to the patients who need them.”

“By working interdisciplinary, our research can provide solutions to major social problems.”

From alpha to beta and gamma

“The education I provide also touches on various disciplines: in our Bachelor's programmes Science and Innovation Management (in Dutch), and Global Sustainability Science, we educate Bachelor's students in an interdisciplinary way from day one. Utrecht is ahead of the curve in that regard.

“Interdisciplinary education and research are really being taken seriously here. In hubs - interdisciplinary teams that work on solutions for societal issues - I collaborate with pharmacists, medical staff, veterinarians, but also with historians, economists, lawyers and governance experts. From alpha to beta and gamma – it is precisely these combinations that make this university unique. Without the hubs, that would have been more difficult. Then everyone would stay in the ivory tower with their own research."