Master's degree Scientific and Technical Information and Mediation Track Science and Society Mediation: Participatory Research and Innovations
field(s) of training :
Science, Technology, Health
diploma level :
Grade de Master (Bac+5)
duration of the program :
2 years
location(s) :
Caen
Course overview
Research teams, public services, institutions and associations hold considerable knowledge useful to society – as long as society can have access to their productions. How can scientific knowledge be conveyed to a larger audience? How can scientific research and its challenges be publicised? How can public interaction provide insight to researchers? If you wish to know the answers to these questions, you should join the Scientific and Technical Information and Mediation master’s programme!
As part of the Science with and for Society strategy, the University of Caen Normandy is the only university in France to offer a programme focusing on Science and Society Mediation, Participatory Research and Innovations. This master’s programme is designed jointly with le Dôme, a scientific, technical and industrial culture centre based in Caen and renowned both on local and national levels. As such, you will acquire participatory research methods developed within fab labs and third places.
Highlights
As part of the Science with and for society programme, this master’s programme is organised jointly with le Dôme, the scientific, technical and industrial culture centre of Caen. Thanks to this partnership, you will access state-of-the-art scientific, technical and industrial culture in dedicated spaces. A great opportunity to train yourself to participatory research!
Besides, the Scientific and Technical Information and Mediation master’s programme is turned towards your future career: courses are given by professor-researchers, scientific mediation professionals, sciences or human sciences laboratories.
You want to put your knowledge and skills into practice? The programme offers several internships, allowing you training opportunities directly within professional organisations linked to science and society
Application requirements
Entry requirements
To enter the master's, you should graduate from a bachelor's degree focusing on Science and Society, Sciences and Technologies, or Human and Social Sciences.
Language proficiency requirements
Minimum French level required: C1
Specific conditions
If you completed Year 1 of the master's, you will automatically enter Year 2.
Course structure
Courses
- Take place in
- The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Caen Normandy, located on the Campus 1 (Caen) and the Campus 2 (Caen)
- The Dôme (Caen)
- Amount to 670 hours (460 in Year 1 and 210 in Year 2), around 20 hours a week
- Are completed by compulsory internships
Course units
Scientific and technical information and mediation master’s programme offers course units to help you know and understand:
- The challenges linked to the interaction between science and society
- General history of science and technology
- Philosophy
- Epistemology
- Sociology
- Anthropology of science and technology
- Science and idea manipulation
- Science and pseudoscience
- Ethics in research and scientific integrity
- The steps and methods of research and innovation
- Organisation of scientific research
- Overview of higher education and research
- Overview of the third sector in sciences
- Organisational sociology
- As well as to acquire useful tools for your professional career:
- Tools and fundamentals of scientific mediation
- Mediation techniques
- Fab Lab
- Audience inclusion
- Citizens’ initiatives
- Communication tools in a professional environment
- Project management (organisation, funding, budget management, accounting, general data protection regulation (GDPR), open science)
- Meetings and projects with mediation professionals (especially with the master’s partners at the Dôme)
Internships and placements
The master’s degree in Scientific and Technical Information and Mediation includes 4 compulsory internships:
- 1st semester: internship in a research laboratory (1 week)
- 2nd semester: internship in a scientific, technical and industrial culture centre (6 weeks minimum)
- 3rd semester: internship at the Dôme to prepare the TURFU Festival (during October), a scientific culture event in Caen
- 4th semester: internship in a scientific, technical and industrial culture centre (16 weeks minimum)
Coursework and assessment
The course lasts 2 years and is divided in 4 semesters, each comprising several courses units. Examinations are graded on a scale from 0 to 20, 20 being the best grade. Examinations take are held through coursework and research papers:
- In Year 1: a Student Research Projet
- In Year 2: a master's thesis
The 2 semesters do not compensate each other in year 2.
To successfully complete a semester, you must have an average mark of at least 10 points out of 20. If you have not completed your semester, you can retake the courses units you failed; you do not have to retake the courses in which you have obtained at least 10 points out of 20.
Language
French
Study abroad
You wish to travel abroad as part of your master’s programme? Thanks to the international partners of the university of Caen Normandy and of the Dôme, you can do your internship abroad in year 2!
Learning outcome
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Implement adapted, creative and inclusive methods of participatory research and innovation
- Design, create, communicate and facilitate scientific meditation interventions for any type of audience
- Use advanced digital tools in autonomy for scientific communication and mediation
- Identify, choose and analyse with a critical approach various specialised resources to research a topic or synthetise data in order to use them
- Manage a project (design, lead, coordinate the team, implement and supervise, evaluate, spread)
- Analyse your actions in the professional environment
Further study
Once you’ve obtained your master’s degree and depending on the subject of your master’s thesis, you can pursue doctoral studies in various fields of human and social sciences:
- Information and communication sciences
- Sociology
- Education sciences
- Epistemology and history of science and technology
Careers
As an expert in scientific, technical and industrial mediation and communication, you can work as:
- Project manager
- Facilitator
- Mediation manager
Scientific, technical and industrial information can be useful in various sectors:
- Research and innovation
- Cultural and scientific facilitation and mediation
- Specialised communication and media
- Economic and technological development
- Socio-cultural mediation
As such, you will have career opportunities within:
- Science museums, technology museums
- Scientific, technical and industrial culture centres
- Associations
- Participatory research and innovation, in Society with and for Society programs in universities and research organisations
- Science shops
- Incubators or co-working spaces
- Fab lab or living lab
- Third places, scientific third places
- Public consultation or participatory democracy groups in local public services
- Specialised agencies, dedicated public or private organisations
Address
Université de Caen Normandie
UFR des Sciences
Boulevard Maréchal Juin · CS 14032 · 14032 Caen Cedex 5
France