TA community is meeting in Bonn in November

TA’s contribution to solving the "grand challenges" is the topic of the 7th conference of the Network Technology Assessment (NTA). The new concept of the journal Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice (TATuP) is also presented at the event.

Challenges like the ageing of society and its vulnerability to security and climate risks are only some of the many problems with far-reaching consequences all over the world. Therefore it is not surprising that "grand challenges" became the key aspect of public research planning and funding in Europe. As a consequence of this research policy agenda, high expectations are associated with keywords like big data, nanotechnology, and bioeconomy. So these and similar topics are also subject of technology reflexion and innovation research – which is reason enough for the seventh NTA conference (NTA7) to have a closer look at the topic.

The conference "Mastering ‘grand challenges’ – the contribution of technology assessment", which is organized by the EA European Academy of Technology and Innovation Assessment and supported by ITAS, takes place on 16 to 18 November 2016 in Bonn. Registration is now open.

The conference starts on Wednesday (16.11.) with a ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the EA European Academy. Another highlight is the panel discussion "Grand challenges – also a challenge for scientific policy advice?" which will be attended, among others, by the chairwoman of the Committee for Education, Research, and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag, Patricia Lips.

TATuP: Relaunch and entrenchment within NTA

The editorial team of "Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice" (TATuP) which is located at ITAS presents its concept for the relaunch of the journal on Friday (18.11.) at 1:30 p.m. The scientific journal for the TA community in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is considerably upgraded, starting with the summer 2017 edition. This includes, among other features, an evaluation procedure, a more modern design, and a technically more sophisticated online presence. In connection with the relaunch, TATuP will also become an open access journal. By appointing an editing committee and a scientific advisory board with members of the NTA, the journal is linked even stronger to the NTA.

Right before the NTA7, on Wednesday, 16 November 2016 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the fifth openTA workshop is also be held at the Universitätsclub Bonn. open TA is the specialist portal of the Netzwerk TA which is established by ITAS and FIZ Karlsruhe and funded by the DFG. Registration for the workshop is also possible at the conference website. (26.09.2016)

Further links:

  • Conference website with information on the program and the venue of NTA7
  • Information on the Netzwerk Technikfolgenabschätzung (NTA) at openTA
  • Web page of the journal “Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice” (TATuP)