Master in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication

Public communication of sciences is of strategic relevance in the transition from the industrial society to the knowledge society. The Master’s Course in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona (Spain) responds to this economic, social and cultural need. The result: professionals who clearly understand the key aspects of the transmission of scientific knowledge to society through the different essential communication channels in multiple organizations as, among others, mass media, institutional and public relations and museums. This initiative collaborates also to build informed and educated citizens, who understand, accompany and are able to participate in the necessary and unavoidable adaptation to this new society. We are at an historic moment, defined by the evolution and transition from the industrial society to the knowledge society, the development of which is principally based on the rapid incorporation of scientific innovations into daily life. For this reason, the transformations that accompany this evolution are not only economic but also, particularly, cultural and social. It is therefore increasingly necessary to initiate strategies aimed at publicizing this new knowledge and its possible applications and uses and the ethical, social, economic and political questions deriving from them. Public communication of the sciences is of strategic relevance in this context. There can be no doubt that, with the changes that are taking place in our society and in the process of transition toward a knowledge-based economy, the traditional formula of RDI has become essential for attaining a competent position on the world stage. It seems, however, clear that the sum of research, development and innovation should not leave out another essential variable to allow this socioeconomic reaction to work and turn us into a cohesive society on the front line of the 21st century: informed and educated citizens who understand, accompany and are able to participate in the necessary and unavoidable adaptation to the new economic, social and even cultural model that makes up the knowledge society. The importance of education and scientific-technological training of citizens in order to ensure the development of the knowledge society has been considered a critical objective by many experts and thinkers, such as Richard V. Knight, who considers it essential that knowledge be defined and perceived by society as a form of wealth and well-being. As a result, we need to add a variable to our traditional formula of R+D+I, so that it can be really effective. An essential variable that, as a catalyst, sets off the chain reaction: C for scientific communication, scientific culture and creative citizenship that will turn us into a properly prepared and competent community. Thus, the resulting formula is R+D+I+C, in which R is the necessary skill in the field of basic and applied scientific research, D is the sufficient social and economic development that derives from it, I is the decided will to individual and collective innovation and creation, and C is the indispensable strengthening of public communication of science that allows us to attain an suitable scientific culture and a prepared and solvent society. This formula is essential for establishing this strategic scenario that we need to promote in order to achieve an appropriate and successful transition to the knowledge society. The Master’s Course in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona responds to this economic, social and cultural need for professionals who clearly understand the key aspects of the transmission of scientific knowledge to society through the different