Module - Responsibility in Science

In the module “Responsibility in Science” students are thoroughly exposed to the social responsibility that all researchers carry. The course is taught from an interdisciplinary perspective, independent of the major, which the student will select later.

A series of lectures will introduce the complex topic.  Tutors will engage students in follow-up discussions.  Speakers will present the concept of society in light of competing social theories.  Furthermore they will show how the interconnectedness of global environmental- and developmental problems have influenced the discussion on social responsibility.  The lectures will concentrate especially on the concept of sustainable development, a notion that individual departments at the university use as a parameter for their own research.  The concept of sustainable development can serve as a standard for actualizing social responsibility:  according to the important definition given in the Brundtland report, it aims to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Final Report of the Brundtland Committee “Our Common Future” from 1987).

In accompanying project seminars you will develop independent research theses together with your fellow students and under the guidance of the seminar instructors. You are taught how to work in an interdisciplinary fashion, in that you will link different scientific disciplines, and you will learn transdisciplinary procedures, in which you integrate problem definitions and solutions deployed by professionals in the field.

You will present your results in the concluding university wide conference. A variety of presentation formats are at your disposal, which you may develop further and test as part of your project seminar.