In search of the sciences of future making: Delta sciences?!

F.E.H.M. Smulders*, Ufuk Gür

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

Abstract

This article reports on a two-decade Deweyan Inquiry into suitable scientific elements to enrich existing engineering education with theory about innovation and entrepreneurship. Setting up a university-wide educational program to train the engineer of the future: educating the entrepreneurial engineer, is a specific part of this. Current social challenges require future-proof and integrated solutions and not just new technical solutions. The future engineer must therefore, in addition to his obvious technical competence, also be competent in the socio-interactive and organizational dimensions of technological innovation.
The overcrowded curricula forced us to see to what extent we could transfer parts of innovation and entrepreneurship theory within existing education and through their teachers. Great idea, but what should we tell them? Only learning some knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation was considered too simplistic. Transferring anything about stage gates, lean startups or business models makes little sense because much of this relatively superficial knowledge can also be found on the internet.
From a scientific-philosophical perspective, we realized that technological innovation and entrepreneurship are not actually integrated theoretical concepts. In other words, the conclusion is that no integrated theoretical perspective is available for our program of the entrepreneurial engineer. Actually, very surprising, because we have been doing this since the beginning of humanity.
Our answer is therefore a proposal for a new transdisciplinary scientific field that focuses on the inherent human activity of future making, here tentatively called the Delta Sciences. What we see as the integration of the division of scientific areas used in the Netherlands into Alpha (humanities), Beta (Natural) and Gamma (Social) sciences. We see pragmatism supplemented with theoretical frameworks from the intersubjective domain as well as the domain of logic as important elements for the basis of the Delta Sciences. A scientific field that is about how we as people build our own future together, hence future making.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEU-SPRI conference, 2024
Subtitle of host publicationGoverning technology, research, and innovation for better worlds
Number of pages17
Publication statusPublished - 2024
Event2024 EU-SPRI annual conference - Enchede, Netherlands
Duration: 5 Jun 20247 Jun 2024

Conference

Conference2024 EU-SPRI annual conference
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityEnchede
Period5/06/247/06/24

Keywords

  • Future making
  • Delta Sciences
  • Deweyan inquiry
  • transdisciplinary research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In search of the sciences of future making: Delta sciences?!'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this