Innovative Teaching Formats at the Science-Society Interface: Reflections and Future Directions in Swiss Higher Education

Science-society dialogue has become increasingly relevant in recent years as more and more scientists perceive the need to engage with partners in society and produce action-oriented knowledge to inform societal decisions (Caniglia et al., 2021). For instance, science cannot only provide knowledge for understanding sustainability problems, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, but can also contribute to developing possible solutions (Land and Wiek, 2022; Courtier et al., 2012). Besides research, another important channel for stronger science-society linkages is teaching formats that encourage students to engage in the public sphere. Such courses train students to incorporate perspectives of stakeholders into their research and communicate their findings effectively by tailoring communication to different target audiences. The material produced by students in such science-society courses can take various forms, like multimedia outputs, pedagogic activities for children, or interventions in the public space.

Despite calls for more innovative science-society teaching formats (Gassmann et al. 2023), an overview and common understanding of best practices in Swiss higher education has been lacking. Likewise, lecturers using innovative formats are not well-connected, which limits opportunities for experience exchange and learning.In this context, members of the Swiss Young Academy (SYA) developed the project “Innovative Teaching Formats at the Science-Society Interface” in order to understand and promote such teaching formats in Swiss higher education institutions (HEIs). This report summarizes the insights gained with the aim to provide a basis for further discussion about science-society teaching.