The main areas of interest at IWT have been to date:
Research is also done in programs for graduate studies:
Recently the following research projects were completed:
Details of IWT research projects are covered by the university's research database)
Science and technology contribute to social change in many ways, often fundamentally affecting people?s self-understanding. Since the middle of the 20th century at the latest, an increasing sensibility for potential conflicts and dangers in scientific and technological developments has emerged. The problems that accompany the technological use of new knowledge have inspired reflection on the preconditions and the consequences of how science is understood and technology is used in society.
Science and technology studies comprise research approaches, concepts, and methods from a broad variety of fields in the social sciences and humanities. The combination of sociological, philosophical, and historical perspectives is characteristic for the IWT. Since science and technology studies have an analytic interest also in the nature of particular sciences and technologies, scientific and technological knowledge as well as research and teaching co-operations with scientists and engineers are of great importance.
Science and technology studies aim at a better understanding of the relationships between science, technology, society, and the environment. Besides controversies surrounding current developments in science and technology, scientific and technological knowledge, methods and practices are investigated in their social, epistemic, and historical dimensions. Thus it is possible to attain theoretical explanations of the patterns, structures, and uses of science and technology on the one hand, and practical insights into alternative options for developing and applying science and technology on the other.
Science and technology studies provide fundamental knowledge to the research disciplines involved. They can also provide orientation for decision-makers and the public. An area of particular concern for the IWT is related to developments and new phenomena in the knowledge society.
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Research Program