Dear Participants

While we were enjoying the benefits and comforts of the ever increasing rate of scientific and technological innovations in our age unexpected disasters and environmental disruptions during the last decades have awakened at least some of us. Now we are aware that technologies involve risk beyond their contribution to welfare.

Considering the social consequences of scientific and technological developments it is recognized that teh answer to most of the problems needs an inter-disciplinary approach bridging between technology and social sciences. This point of view brings forward the necessity of a new kind of education for engineers and social scientists distinguishing it from programmes confined to a single disciplinary perspective.It emphasizes the complex issues associated with our technologically advanced society. Such programs are established in many countries and universities with the common name of Science Technology and Society briefly STS.