I.08. Public Engagement and the Public Value of Knowledge: Democratic and Transformative Practices in Universities

In an era marked by a pervasive neoliberal logic – focused on performance, competition, and accountability – universities grapple with profound tensions between market-driven demands and their fundamental public mission to foster critical knowledge and social inclusion (Calhoun, 2006). Academic autonomy is constrained by regulatory restrictions and evaluation metrics that steer research towards economically relevant objectives, to the detriment of epistemic plurality and equitable access to knowledge (Lorenz, 2012).

Within this context, Public Engagement (PE) is posited as a cultural and operational paradigm intrinsic to the university’s public and democratic mission. PE is neither confined to administrative definitions (i.e., the classification proposed by the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research) nor restricted only to science communication. Instead, it encourages open dialogue between academia and society, enhancing situated knowledge and promoting co-production processes in research and innovation (Watson et al., 2011), as aligned with the EU Responsible Research and Innovation framework and the APEnet Manifesto (the Italian Network of Universities and Research Institutions for Public Engagement).

This panel aims to explore PE as a commitment and responsibility of universities towards democratic and transformative practices that promote the public value of knowledge, integrating – rather than merely extending – teaching and research activities.

We welcome contributions from different disciplinary perspectives that analyse – theoretically or empirically – processes or experiences of the systematic integration of PE into the research, teaching, and knowledge exchange activities of higher education institutions, transforming them into laboratories for learning and democratic practice.