Introducing Alan Irwin lecturing on Science, Citizenship and the Public Value of the University

Maastricht 20 February 2020

What should the role of the university be in society? Combining his scholarly expertise in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and his experience from serving as the dean of three different academic institutions, Alan Irwin discusses challenges universities are facing nowadays. How to reconcile their origins as national institutions with functioning in a global context is just one example. Irwin argues that traditional oppositions in the way universities view their mission in society – such as “freedom fighters” vs “social engineers”, no longer work. Current concerns in and about academic institutions require new directions that encompass traditional values and embrace new views on citizenship and public value. In this respect, citizen science, Irwin argues, deserves our particular attention.