Comparing Responsible Research and Innovation teaching in engineering and social sciences

For the past 15 years the European Union has promoted Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) through funding of research and innovation projects performing well in that regard. Often RRI are understood as a symbiosis of several key elements: ethics, public engagement, open science, governance, gender equity, and science communication as means to encourage researchers’ and innovators’ reflections on how to orientate their research and innovation towards addressing grand societal challenges. Many RRI projects suggest spreading the RRI message through university education so that graduates can enact and incorporate responsibility in their professional research and innovation activities. However, different countries, different institutions, and different disciplines address the RRI components in multiple ways. This paper explores similarities and differences in how RRI is embedded in study programs of engineering and social sciences in two countries: Denmark and Lithuania. The methodology is based on content analysis of selected graduate courses and on qualitative interviews with different stakeholder groups (teachers, students, university management) in study programs offered by universities in Denmark and Lithuania. The analysis will involve a mapping of how the different six key dimensions are addressed and perceived. Preliminary analysis indicates that engineering study programs are more focused on RRI than study programs in social sciences (political science, sociology and public administration). However, contextual factors such as socio-cultural environment, science policy, pedagogical approaches, geographical location also have a high influence on institutional adoption of RRI teaching practices. The paper will on that basis discuss how RRI can be strengthened in university teaching while considering local contingencies. The discussion will lead to a few concrete recommendations for university teachers and management on how they can strengthen RRI in their daily activities.