Every four years the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) join forces to organize the largest conference in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) in the world. From 16 to 19 July, 2024 the conference is hosted by the Athena Institute in Amsterdam.

To develop our CWTS knowledge agenda we formed three focal areas at the start of this year to organise our activities. Here, we introduce the vision and roadmap of the Focal Area Engagement & Inclusion. Our vision In today's rapidly changing world, fostering a collaborative, diverse and inclusive science ecosystem that engages with society is of paramount importance.

Open access: a change in publishing with a limited reach Open Access is a movement and policy directive dedicated to reforming the closed or subscription-based gatekeeping of scientific research.

CWTS is an interdisciplinary institute at Leiden University with a diverse multinational academic culture. PhD candidates, early career researchers, and visiting scholars from around the world gather at CWTS to pursue their research journeys. The journey can be an inspiring yet challenging experience.

On the occasion of the 2023 Nobel Prize announcements, the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave symposium “ Does science need heroes?” attempted to explore the evolution of prize cultures over time and examine the current and potential roles of prizes in contemporary scientific practices.

The CWTS Leiden Ranking has always been a bit different from other university rankings. It has never sought to identify an overall ‘winner’ from amongst all the universities it features, preferring instead to offer a range of indicators and rank institutions on each one separately. It also looks beyond traditional citation measures and reputation surveys to assess concepts such as open access and gender balance.

Research assessment practices that largely rely on publication-driven assessments of research(ers) are slowly running out of steam. A remnant of a science system that is largely inward-focused and output-oriented, these assessments paint a rather monochrome picture of science that is not fit for today’s developments that reconfigure the relationship between science and society.

Since their inception in 2003, global university rankings have gained increasing prominence within the higher education landscape. Originally designed as marketing and benchmarking tools, the rankings have transformed into influential instruments for research evaluation and policymaking.

How agriculture benefits from research through extension and engagement Different sectors benefit from science in different ways. In the case of agriculture, innovations based on science often originate from providers of farmers, for example in the form of seeds or machinery. However, the diffusion or uptake of innovations is difficult, in particular for small farmers.

European and global science policy have been restructured around ‘global challenges’ and ‘research excellence’ to commit to societal impact. Our current global challenges, including climate change, destruction of nature, and increasing global inequality, require critical interrogation of the contributions and consequences of science.