The ‘Managing Science and Technology in Society’ course offers an advanced introduction into the academic field of ‘Science Technology & Society Studies’, as part of the second year of the master ‘Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship for the Health and Life Sciences’.
As a MPA student you are trained to operate at the interface of your natural science discipline and society, thereby making a contribution to answering the complex social problems arising in these areas. At the dawn of the 21st century, technology and science have an enormous potential for transforming life on earth. At the same time, the dimensions of our human culture shape the directions in which science and technology develop. The production of scientific knowledge and technological artefacts can solve some of our problems, but at the same time they give rise to new problems. During this course you will study the interactions of science and technology with society, and the various ways in which they mutually shape one another. These interactions invoke a lot of questions. Should we embrace genetically modified food? How do new human reproductive technologies interfere with the way we deal with sexuality and social responsibilities?
In this course you will get acquainted with a conceptual framework to critically assess these kinds of questions. It aims at understanding the intertwinement of science, technology and society, and the importance of a broad concern with these interactions, in order to shape our future in the way that we want it.