The Centro de Estudios Andaluces Foundation (Centra) resumes its training program with seven new proposals for this year focused on specialized and methodological training in the field of Social Sciences.
As a novelty for this edition, the Specialization Courses program, mainly aimed at researchers, professors, and doctoral students, as well as professionals in the public or private sector, has the collaboration of the Andalusian Association of Sociology (AAS) with the purpose of adapting training actions to new trends and needs of the sector and integrating new lines of work.
For this year, the training offer consists of seven courses, in online format, covering from the application of new methodological approaches, oriented to the revision of scientific literature, as well as the management, dissemination, and dissemination of results, to learning the latest tools applied to the design and development of research, in addition to data collection and automated processing.
Especially, the Centra Foundation is committed to integrating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in social research and exploring the opportunities that this technology offers to innovate in methodologies and enhance its impact. AI facilitates the design of more dynamic and personalized studies, improves evidence-based decision-making, and opens up new ways to understand complex phenomena in real-time, allowing for quick and precise analysis of large amounts of data.
These are the specialization courses that the Centra Foundation will offer in 2025:
- Systematic reviews of scientific literature in Social Sciences. 3, 5, 9, 11, 12 June, and 24, 26 June. Teaching team: Rafael Serrano del Rosal (IESA-CSIC) and Gema Serrano Gemes (University of León), in collaboration with the AAS.
- How to guide research to increase its visibility and social impact. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 June. Teaching team: Juan Sebastián Fernández-Prados (University of Almería), José Luis Ortega (IESA-CSIC), and Ángel M. Delgado-Vázquez (University Pablo de Olavide), in collaboration with the AAS.
- Web Scraping with R and RStudio. 24, 26 June, and 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17 July. Teaching team: Agustín Nieto (National Council of Scientific and Technical Research), in collaboration with the AAS.
- Discovering and applying AI in the design and development of research. 24, 25, 26 June, and 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 July. Teaching team: Wenceslao Arroyo-Machado (University of Granada), Carlos Lopezosa (University of Barcelona), and Daniel Torres-Salinas (University of Granada), in collaboration with the AAS.
- Approaches and participatory research techniques for social change. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, and 26 September. Teaching team: Cristina Cuenca-Piqueras (University of Málaga), Juan Sebastián Fernández-Prados (University of Almería), María José González Moreno (University of Almería), María D. López-Rodríguez (University of Almería), and Rubén Rodríguez Puertas (University of Almería), in collaboration with the AAS.
- Research data: Management and governance plans within a research. 18, 23, 25, 30 September, and 2, 7, 9, 14 October. Teaching team: Yusnelkis Milanés Guisado (University of Granada) and Mireia Alcalá Ponce de León (Consortium of University Services of Catalonia).
- AI tools for researching in Social Sciences. 16, 18, 23, 25, 30 September, and 2, 7, 9 October. Teacher: Jordi Morales i Gras (Network Outsight Technologies and University Business School, Bilbao).
The registrations for the first four courses that will take place during the months of June and July will open from April 28th.
Methodology, duration, and bonuses
Classes will be conducted live via ‘Teams’. Students will have access to a virtual campus where they will find materials, recordings, and a forum to connect with the teaching team. The duration of the courses will be 16 or 20 hours of instruction, and the registration fee will range from 150 euros to 180 euros.
Regarding bonuses, students can benefit from up to a maximum of 40% discount on the registration fee. For long-term unemployed individuals or students under 30 years old, a 40% discount is available, and unemployed individuals or members of large families will receive a 20% discount, as well as groups of five or more people.
Furthermore, members of the Andalusian Association of Sociology can enjoy a 20% discount on courses co-organized with this entity, as well as a 10% discount on the remaining courses included in the annual program. Likewise, professional members of the Official College of Political Sciences and Sociology of Andalusia, members of the Andalusian Association of Anthropology, or the Official College of Psychology of Eastern Andalusia can benefit from a 10% discount. Finally, a general 10% discount is offered on subsequent course registrations within the same edition.