Scientists often like to believe that their work isnon-political. Within this seminar we want to demonstrate how deeply both areinterconnected and converged. Not only, scientific guidance is often needed totake a political decision but also scientific outcomes are a sub-ject topolitical interpretation. Also, politics are significantly influencingscientific progress by framing research agendas and by funding decisions.

During this seminar we would like to show thedifferent range of influences - scientific, economic, social, environmental,ethical/normative, security-related - affecting decision-making on science andpolitics. Using case studies on current debates on food security, publichealth, nuclear energy and terrorism to discuss the interrelation betweenscience and politics illuminating the role of various actors in this process,such as:

• Governments,

• International organizations,

• Scientific associations,

• Industry,

• Civil society, and

• Individual scientists.

The guiding questions will be:

• How does and should science influence politics?

• How does and should politics influence science?

In order to take responsibility for the consequencesof scientific work, engineers and scientists increasingly need to acknowledgethe political dimension of their work and their role in the political process.We will address this political dimension of scientific work by discussing:

• Biographies and motivations of famous scientists,

• Individual responsibility of scientists for theimplications of their work, and

• The role of codes of conduct as guidelines forresponsible behaviour.

The goals of the seminar include:

• Raising awareness and increasing knowledge about thepolitical dimensions of scientific work,

• Providing guidelines for evaluating politicalimplications of scientific research,

• Improving the understanding of scientists’ andengineers’ responsibility for the results of their professional activities,

• Taking decisions at the institutional, national andinternational level about rules and regulations concerning scientific conduct,and

• Choosing arguments and defending positions insituations of conflicting interests.

The seminar will use current issues, such as dilemmasin the life sciences or bio fuels to demonstrate the problematic relationshipbetween science and politics. The seminar, however, does not focus on providingin-depth knowledge of these current issues. We strongly discourage studentsthat have participated in an “Ethics for Engineers” seminar to take thiscourse, because the contents of the two seminars overlap.

Issueswill be introduced by short presentations and a Q&A session, followed bygroup work on selected problems. All participants will have to prepare apresentation. Those requiring a graded certificate (“Schein”) additionally haveto write a 3-4 page paper on selected issues. The seminar will use interactivetools of teaching such as role playing and simulations. Group work and activeparticipation is expected at all stages of the seminar.