Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, in her weekly columns for 12 Punto, focused on the topic of science communication this week. Here is Güngör's article titled "Science Communication for the Transformation of Scientific Knowledge into Life":
There has always been a distance between people of science and thought and society. Since ancient times, scientists and thinkers have positioned themselves above the populace, even preferring to look down on them. The idiom "producing theory in an ivory tower" also describes the distance of people of science and thought from the public, from ordinary people. It is because of this distance that the productions of people of science and thought cannot sufficiently transform into social benefit. In particular, it is known that human-centered scientific knowledge often does not reach the public, ordinary people, and does not affect their lives. It is not easy for knowledge produced without empathy and interaction with the public, for intellectual production realized in this way, to touch real life. It is also in vain to expect scientific knowledge that does not come into contact with the lives of society, the public, and ordinary people to turn into social benefit.
Many of us witness how complex the language of scientific texts is. Sometimes it truly makes me wonder if scientists and intellectuals write in such complex, incomprehensible ways to hide information. Furthermore, how do they manage to do it? Indeed, being able to write so complexly and incomprehensibly in one's own native language requires a special skill. Of course not. The real problem here is that the scientist, the intellectual, does not sufficiently care about the public, the ordinary person, looks down on them, and adopts an attitude of arrogance. However, a person of science and thought does not derive self-worth from depriving the public of knowledge. On the contrary, a person of science and thought gains value as they reach out to the public, transferring scientific and intellectual value to them. What truly matters is not the self-evident value of a person of science and thought, but the transfer of value to society, to humanity. What is essential is the transformation of science into human and social value.
To transform the outputs of scientific and intellectual production into social benefit, the Council of Higher Education launched a comprehensive project, naming it the Science Homeland Project. The main objective of the project, initiated under the name Science Homeland, is to strengthen the university's interaction with society, open campuses to the public, and ensure that people of science and thought meet with the public. Within the scope of the Science Homeland Project, all universities mobilized for the active implementation of science communication-focused studies. The project's aim is to ensure that the outputs of scientific production carried out in universities are transferred to society and transformed into social benefit.
Within the scope of the project, all universities are expected to establish communication offices within their own structures and effectively use devices and tools that will facilitate the transfer of scientific knowledge produced within the university to the public. For this, it is important to transform the outputs of scientific production into a language, expression, and transfer method that the public, ordinary people, can understand, and to ensure its sharing on various platforms. In other words, with the science communication project, it is planned to open campuses to the public.
Most of the work done in universities is kept in archives and does not leave the campuses. However, scientific production gains value as it transforms into social benefit and adds value to human life. Information stored in archives has no benefit beyond bringing performance points to academics. For this reason, sharing the outputs of scientific production with society is important and valuable.
A person of science and thought serves society, humanity. To provide quality service, they must be in interaction with people and society. It is not possible for someone who is far from society, from the public, and unaware of the reality in which ordinary people live, to produce useful scientific knowledge. What problem the produced scientific knowledge will solve in society, in human life, and what value it will add to human and social life, is shaped by the producer's awareness. The science communication project also aims to establish the necessary communication and increase interaction between those engaged in science and thought and society.
The operation of the science communication project is based on the understanding of discussing science in every environment, everywhere, in every place, and at every opportunity. It is planned to transfer scientific outputs into life by embedding them within the ordinary narratives that develop in people's daily lives, making them a part of everyday discourse. For this, it is envisaged that science will be discussed everywhere and in every environment, such as in cafes, restaurants, parks, city squares, shopping centers, etc. For this, scientists, academics, and university students should be encouraged to integrate into the public, into ordinary lives. Creating suitable environments for blending those on campus with those outside campus is important. Thus, in the first stage, millennia-old barriers between the two segments will be eliminated. The next stage is to create a common language, a common narrative style between the two segments. Instead of forcing the public to understand a prescription written by a doctor, an effort should be made to write the prescription in a language that the public can understand.
It is important for a scientist to be in interaction with people from all segments of society. People of science and thought often adopt an arrogant attitude towards the ordinary, the public, the street. There is no arrogance in science. Science is for the service of humanity. Therefore, it is necessary to abandon arrogance and turn to empathy. For this reason, removing the barriers between the two segments and the blending of the parties will facilitate the transformation of scientific knowledge into life.
In the era we live in, information transmission and transfer tools are quite numerous and diverse. If the actors, devices, and tools of science are not sufficiently effective, other actors, devices, and tools are eager to fill the void. Unfounded knowledge producers and charlatans easily fill the vacuum of scientific knowledge. This greatly harms the process of society's and humanity's development and improvement. Therefore, universities, and all institutions and individuals engaged in scientific production, need to take action and make efforts to transform the outputs of scientific production into social contribution. Science communication is important in this sense. Creating awareness in a scientist, and making them conscious of the responsibility they have towards the society, the world, and humanity they live in, is of great importance.
As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we also aim to carry out the transfer of scientific knowledge to society on a more systematic and institutional basis by establishing a Science Communication Coordination Office. We make great efforts to make the university's science-focused interaction with society as effective as possible through transforming knowledge produced within the university into social responsibility projects, collaborations with non-governmental organizations, and seminars, conferences, and symposiums organized for different social segments. In this sense, Üsküdar Üniversitesi, with its campuses located within the city, its media channels (ÜÜTV, ÜÜ Radio, ÜÜ News Agency, popular science periodicals, scientific journals, social media accounts, media shares, etc.) continues to transform knowledge into life with an understanding that values interaction and communication with society.