Fitxa persona

Monique Leivas Vargas holds a PhD in Local Development and International Cooperation from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV, 2022) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitat de València (UV). She is also a researcher at the University Institute of Creativity and Educational Innovation (UV), a member of the Research Group on City, Public Spaces and Culture (CICU) at UV, and a collaborating researcher at the INGENIO Institute (CSIC-UPV) since 2015.

She completed the Official Master’s Degree in Development Cooperation at UPV (specialization in Project and Development Process Management, 2015-2017), holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UV (2015), a Diploma in Integration Policies, Advisory and Service Provision for Immigrants from UV (2011), and a Higher Technician in Social Integration (2010).

She teaches in the Bachelor’s programs in Tourism, Pedagogy, and Primary Education, as well as in the Official Master’s Degree in Development Cooperation (UPV), the Specialization Diploma in Innovation for Social and Environmental Transformation (UPV), and the Specialization Diploma in Promotion of Citizen Participation (UV). In addition, she coordinates and participates in educational innovation projects (PIMEs) focused on teaching sociology through participatory and transformative methodologies.

Her research interests include citizen participation, transformative participatory methodologies, committed citizen auditing, educational innovation, participatory action research, epistemic justice in higher education, co-production of knowledge between university and society, critical university outreach, ecosocial transitions, and international cooperation.

She has published scientific articles and book chapters in prestigious national and international publishers and has participated in local, national, and international research projects. She has collaborated in three agreements between the Generalitat Valenciana and the INGENIO Institute (CSIC-UPV) on the co-design of the Committed Citizen Audit mechanism and the facilitation of pilot projects to evaluate public policies.

She is currently the Principal Investigator of the project CIGE/2024/032 “Committed Citizen Audit and Transformative Participatory Evaluation”, funded by the Program for the Promotion of Scientific Research, Technological Development, and Innovation in the Valencian Community (emerging research groups).

She has conducted research stays abroad at the National University of Costa Rica (UNA), the University of Antioquia (UdeA, Colombia), the University of the Free State (South Africa), and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, Brazil).