University of Tor Vergata – Department of Biology Dr. Carla Montesano – Coordination and teaching for immunology trainincoordination and teaching for immunology training in infectious diseases and innovative technologies applied to the diagnosis and monitoring of infections. Dr. Daniele Mezzana – Key areas of interest: African societies, Relationships between science and society, evaluation of development projects, corporate social responsibility, civil society organizations, rule of law, communication issues, rural development. 1. How do you understand “Public engagement” in biosciences research? Within the framework of “Responsible Research & Innovation” (RRI), public engagement is a crucial key. Such a key is about promoting the engagement of all societal actors in the research and innovation process. This aspect is very important in biosciences: from the economic point of view, this sector is highly research-based (above all after the “molecular revolution” occurred several decades ago), and is characterized by the cooperation between academia, public and private research centers, industry, etc… But the economic, and also political, social, and ethical issues, Biosciences cope with the involvement of many kind of actors besides researchers and industry, such as policy makers, civil society organizations, schools, medias, and others. 2. What are the current standards and actions to achieve better “Public engagement” in your country and in your University? We may recall that the Italian Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutions defined as “Public Engagement” in a more specific sense, is not for profit activities carried out by universities having an educational and cultural aim for …
