Of responsible research—Exploring the science‐society dialogue in undergraduate training within the life sciences

Abstract

We explore the integration of societal issues in undergraduate training within the life sciences. Skills in thinking about science, scientific knowledge production and the place of science in society are crucial in the context of the idea of responsible research and innovation. This idea became institutionalized and it is currently well-present in the scientific agenda. Developing abilities in this regard seems particularly relevant to training in the life sciences, as new developments in this area somehow evoke the involvement of all of us citizens, our engagement to debate and take part in processes of change. The present analysis draws from the implementation of a curricular unit focused on science-society dialogue, an optional course included in the Biochemistry Degree study plan offered at the University of Porto. This curricular unit was designed to be mostly an exploratory activity for the students, enabling them to undertake in-depth study in areas/topics of their specific interest. Mapping topics from students' final papers provided a means of analysis and became a useful tool in the exploratory collaborative construction of the course. We discuss both the relevance and the opportunity of thinking and questioning the science-society dialogue. As part of undergraduate training, this pedagogical practice was deemed successful.

A Pesquisa E Inovação Responsáveis No Contexto Educacional

“…Com isso, podemos perceber a importância da participação dos cidadãos no trabalho conjunto durante o processo de investigação e inovação no que tange aos avanços científicos e tecnológicos da sociedade, de forma inclusiva, transparente e interativa na busca de melhor alinhar os procedimentos e os resultados (ALMEIDA; QUINTANILHA, 2016;PARCHMANN, 2017;BOURNE et al, 2018;BARDONE et al, 2017). A responsabilidade é um processo compartilhado por todos.…”

Integrando questões do diálogo ciência-sociedade na educação científica<br>Integrating Science-Society Dialogue Topics in Science Education

“…O imperativo de explorar questões que ligam a outras áreas e ao mundo exterioro caso das ciências da vida e da saúde A ligação da academia ao mundo exterior que aqui exploramos falando de diálogo ciência-sociedade será uma das vertentes do currículo conectado de Fung, anteriormente referido. Nesse entendimento, a formação dos estudantes deverá ter conta esse tipo de ligação, defendendo-se sem esforço que, no presente, isso é especialmente importante no campo alargado das ciências da vida e da saúde, onde as implicações societais de diferentes tópicos de investigação em curso são bem presentes (como explorado, por exemplo, em: Almeida & Quintanilha, 2017;Gerrits et al, 2021). Este campo proporciona casos que ilustram claramente que o problema em estudo ultrapassa muitas vezes o espaço da bancada de laboratório, importando contribuir para uma maior consciencializar dos estudantes para o facto.…”

Educating Future Business Leaders Through Values of Responsible Research and Innovation. Exploring the Potential of Sensitising Students in the Leading Business School of a Converging Economy

“…A key platform for this is higher education, where future researchers and business leaders develop their understanding of the role they can play in addressing primary societal challenges (Apotheker, 2019;Toarniczky & Szilas, 2015). This integration of societal issues in higher education raises the opportunity for citizens to actively contribute to designing research endeavours, and participating in the "co-production of knowledge" (Almeida & Quintanilha, 2017;Bela et al, 2016). The complex considerations of involving students in the science-society dialogue offer plenty of touchpoints with various stakeholders within and outside universities, but the process can be typically structured in three stages: care, know, do (Okada et al, 2019).…”