Inaugural Meeting of UK AsSIST

On 30 June 2014, IKD Deputy Director Theo Papaioannou represented the research centre in the inaugural meeting of the UK Association for Studies of Innovation, Science and Technology (UK AsSIST). Hosted by the University of York's Science and Technology Studies Unit, the meeting was called to explore how best to build a national science, technology and innovation studies (STIS) community.

The meeting considered establishing a national association to consolidate and thereby add value to the work the community does. Discussions focused on how to take things forward through:

• identifying shared interests
• fostering methodological and conceptual innovation across social sciences and STEM
• determining how these can engage with the principal issues of our time such as global poverty and inequality, sustainability, food security, and health and access to medicines.

UK AsSIST has emerged from an ad hoc working group of colleagues from across the STIS community within academia. In the near future it is hoped non-academic organisations will also become involved.

IKD brings two important dimensions to the community: social equity and international development. Theo commented: 'The new national association is a timely and exciting development. Not only does it have the potential to become the voice of the STIS community, highlighting its usefulness for policy and society, but it will also promote cross-disciplinary science/social science research and open up new opportunities for collaboration between IKD and other STIS organisations in and outside the UK, including those in developing countries.'