Technology assessment in the STEM curriculum: Teaching responsible research and innovation skills to future innovators

Abstract

• This article describes and evaluates a novel approach to incorporating technology assessment (TA), responsible research and innovation as well as science and technology ethics into STEM curricula (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) by the ex-ample of the online course ‘Good Chemistry – Methodological, Ethical, and Social Dimensions.’ Based on the evaluation of extensive student feedback, this article answers positively to three major reservations (Is it possible? Is it necessary? Does it make a difference?) that often preclude such contents from STEM curricula: first, understanding the normative dimensions of chemists’ professional agency is a skill, like many others, that requires adequate teaching and training; second, en-gaging with TA issues not only teaches discourse and critical thinking skills, but increases students’ professional competences to collaborate in highly interdisciplinary settings; third, though this is less evidential and needs to proof in the future, it may enhance chemists’ responsi-bility as drivers of innovation.