There is no doubt that the transition to a biobased economy offers tremendous benefits for people, planet and profit. This transition obviously has a strong technological component, but when basic science is transferred into innovation and technology transfer, often topics such as public perception, communication and policy play a decisive role in the success of a technology.

This advanced course creates an understanding of the role and nature of public perceptions and policies in innovation and technology transfer for a bioeconomy. 

Students acquire skills to be actively engaged in (public and stakeholder) communication, regulatory committees and policy making. The course addresses the following topics: ethics, science communication, innovation policies and regulatory issues, risk assessment and perception, public perceptions, media and communication strategies. The course is offered by IE-UNICAMP in close collaboration with Delft University of Technology and BE-Basic.

In addition to lecturers from UNICAMP and TU Delft /BE-Basic, invited (international) experts from industry, academia and other organisations will provide insight in their work in dealing with regulation, policy making and communication. Besides lectures, the course contains practical simulations and exercises, for example a press conference, radio interview and presentation.

Student groups, supported by staff from UNICAMP and TU Delft, will develop a

strategic communication plan for a (small) company in novel biobased technology. This plan will be presented to an expert jury for evaluation.

The course will be held from 11-15 July 2016 at the Institute of Economics (IE) at Unicamp, Campinas, Brazil. 

Here you can find more information on the upcoming course.