Maria Azucena Gutierrez Gonzalez

Om

With over 25 years of international experience in research administration, education, and organizational development, I am a strategic advisor and project leader specializing in complex interdisciplinary collaborations. I bring a deep understanding of Scandinavian academic & public organizations, build on over 18 years of professional engagement at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Trondheim Municipality. I hold a Master's degree in Management and Business Administration and have completed doctoral-level training in System Change, that addresses root causes of complex problems by shifting the underlying structures, power dynamics, policies, and mindsets that hold a problem in place.

My career is defined by a proven ability to secure and manage substantial external funding from major programs such as Horizon Europe and the Research Council of Norway. As a Work Package Coordination Lead for the Horizon Europe (HE) project DiverSea and Project Manager for the municipality within the University City initiative, I have successfully designed cross-sector partnerships, optimized administrative workflows, and driven systemic change through designing and facilitating Communities of Practice as effective arenas for knowledge transfer. Earlier roles involved coordinating the strategic research area NTNU Oceans and managing the Center for Sustainable Arctic Marine and Coastal Technology (SAMCoT), where I oversaw PhD coordination and communication strategies. My portfolio includes the climate resilience HE project ClimaGen and leading capacity-building efforts in NORHED II projects connecting global North and South institutions.

In addition to my administrative expertise, I am deeply committed to pedagogy and capacity building. I have served as a lecturer/'village leader' and course coordinator for several NTNU master's programs, including Experts in Teamwork and Humanities in the Workplace (HiP), mentoring students in addressing real-world societal challenges.

I specialize in anchoring initiatives across organizational levels, building high-performing teams, and fostering innovation in research environments. Whether coordinating large-scale international consortia or designing educational frameworks, my approach centers on sustainability, efficiency, and effective knowledge transfer.

Forskning

As researcher I am interested in better understanding interdisciplinarity and the approaches for building more efficient and sustainable collaborative projects/programmes.

Researching the role of 'the facilitator' in the the creation of Communities of Practice and exploring their impact (both of facilitator and the CoPs) in the design and management of collaborative programmes.

Current Research Projects:

Jan. 2026... -

Sept. 2023... - Project co-coordinator & Leader of the WorkPackage Coordination for the Horizon Europe Project DiverSea: Integrated Observation, Mapping, Monitoring and Prediction for Functional Biodiversity of Coastal Seas (96,9Mkr)

Past Research Projects:

2020-23 - Building Capacity to Crosslink Coastal Pollution with Climate Change (BC5) – a strategic north-south-south collaboration project funded by NORAD under Norhed II (20Mkr).

2020-22: PDP2 - Atlantic Observatory/EEA Grants program/Norway NTNU representative partner at the projects’ advisory group

2021-22: In collaboration with Kunstakademiet i Trondheim KiT _ Real-Time Telematic Audiovisual Improvisation (RTAI): artistic frameworks and techniques for technology enabled learning. Grant (3Mkr) provided by The Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (NARP)

Horizon Europe Project DiverSea: Integrated Observation, Mapping, Monitoring and Prediction for Functional Biodiversity of Coastal Seas

DiverSea is a HORIZON EU project. DiverSea develops novel marine observation and monitoring technology.

Publikasjoner

New Publication soon to be published - Teaching & Learning Inquiry

Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice

ABSTRACT

Skills in interdisciplinary collaboration are required to address many complex problems facing society. As such, interdisciplinarity is a critical competency for students to develop. Experts in Teamwork (EiT) is a MSc programme in a Norwegian university that develops students’ interdisciplinary teamwork skills through projects that address real-world challenges. However, teachers’ effectiveness in teaching interdisciplinarity is often hindered by silo structures within university faculties. To address this issue, a community of practice (CoP) evolved among teachers from different EiT classes. Over a period of twenty months, CoP members participated in digital and in-person discussions, lecture exchanges, student and professional conferences, and co-evaluation of student work, with an aim of better understanding interdisciplinarity and approaches for teaching it to students. The success of the CoP in achieving these aims was evaluated through a series of focus groups consisting of members of the CoP. The CoP achieved some success in fostering pedagogical conversations that were transformative for participants’ understanding of interdisciplinarity in their practice. Participants reported that CoP participation influenced their interactions with students, ultimately helping students to develop a better understanding of interdisciplinarity. However, participants reported limitations in the CoP as a professional development resource, citing its newness and the required time commitment. Participants felt that these issues could be addressed via greater institutional support.

2024

Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena; Mandeville, Caitlin Marie; Edwards, Ferne Leigh; Rice, Paula Maria. (2024) Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice. Teaching and Learning Inquiry
Vitenskapelig artikkel

2023

Østern, Tone Pernille; Bichao, Helena; Preston, Carol; Ardelan, Murat van; Kumarswamy, Manola Gayatri; Martin, Rosemary Kate; Buck, Ralph; Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena. (2023) Water education, ocean literacy and arts integration. A literature review in an interdisciplinary team. Nordic Journal of Art & Research (A & R)
Vitenskapelig artikkel

Tidsskriftspublikasjoner

Østern, Tone Pernille; Bichao, Helena; Preston, Carol; Ardelan, Murat van; Kumarswamy, Manola Gayatri; Martin, Rosemary Kate; Buck, Ralph; Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena. (2023) Water education, ocean literacy and arts integration. A literature review in an interdisciplinary team. Nordic Journal of Art & Research (A & R)
Vitenskapelig artikkel
Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena; Mandeville, Caitlin Marie; Edwards, Ferne Leigh; Rice, Paula Maria. (2024) Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice. Teaching and Learning Inquiry
Vitenskapelig artikkel

Undervisning

Past Teaching:

Humanities in the Workplace (HiP) 2022 & 21 - Course responsible - Teaching, programme responsible, external partner collaborations & project definition.
Experts in Teamwork EiT Villages 2022 & 21 - Village Leader - An Ocean for All: Ocean Literacy for Sustainability

Management of NTNU Ocean's internship program and supervision of research projects linked to the internship work 2018-2022. Supervision of MSc and BSc student from different programmes belonging to:

Faculty Engineering: Dept. Civil & Environmental Engineering
Faculty of Humanities:
- Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture
- Dept. of Historical Studies
- Dept. of Geography
- Music Department, NTNU/UiO
- Dept. Art & Media Studies
Faculty Social & Educational Studies: Dept. of Psychology
Faculty of Architecture & Design: Dept. Design/NTNU Gjøvik

Formidling

Humanistisk kunnskapsinnovasjon gjennom praksis’

For virkelig å forstå hva samfunnet trenger, må universitetene våge seg ut av komfortsonen og knytte kontakt med aktører utenfor akademia

2022

Konferanseforedrag

Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena; Mandeville, Caitlin; Edwards, Ferne Leigh; Rice, Paula Maria. (2022) Innovative online collegial coaching: a virtual community of practice for interdisciplinary educators. Interdisciplinary Teamwork Skills for the 21st Century, 6th Annual Meeting

2021

Intervju

Erichsen, Ingrid; Salaberria, Iurgi; Blindheimsvik, Thea Farstad; Mendez, Andres; Mészey, András; Wojtczak, Weronika; Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena. (2021) Action Ocean Plastic Waste.

Språkvelger

Maria Azucena Gutierrez Gonzalez