ARE THERE OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO MERTON’S SCIENCE MODEL? NEW INSIGHTS TO RESEARCH TAKING PLACE OUTSIDE “MAINSTREAM”

In a world that is in perpetual flux, we observe new ways of doing science, new purposes for the development of technology, and new impetus and organization for innovation. Countries that traditionally have been behind in the production of science are now in the forefront, particularly from South Asia and South East Asia. New inter-disciplines and trans-disciplines consolidate by their own right. New opportunities evolve for scientific development of Third World countries. New means for information interchange open unexpected opportunities for collaboration between the countries that “have” and those that “have not”, between their respective scientists, and between scientists and other social actors in a myriad of new fora outside the traditional channels of academic exchange. New “invisible colleges” (Wagner, 2008), connecting scientists both North-South and South-South emerge. The world’s arrival to the era of knowledge is changing the role of science and technology in society. These forms respond to current local or regional problems and opportunities, dissociated with global markets, hence making science really more socially accountable. A new model of learning gearing to research in a Latin American country is described. The Center for Innovation and Educational Development (Centro para la Innovación y Desarrollo Educativo, CIDE, 2003), features learning by problem-solving, individual and group study, individualized study plans, and intensive use of Internet, in an environment with no physical installations nor laboratories. Once the students identify their local or regional research problem they wish to work on, they try to contact leading scientists, with specific requests, using the information and communication technologies. The interaction with these top scientists often leads to collaboration and participation in international conferences, gradually introducing them into mainstream science. By the time students defend their doctoral dissertations their involvement in international scientific networks is a reality. The conclusion is that some segments of society, in congruence with ‘the spirit of Budapest’ (Mayor, 1999; World Conference on Science, 1999a & b), are concerned with local or regional problems and opportunities that can be solved with scientific research. India, having similar characteristics in their needs for research geared to solve local/regional problems as Mexico, is a target to seek similar academic enterprises as the one presented here. We are in the process of obtaining funds to realize a comparative study. These projects are putting in practice alternative models of doing science with emphasis in social accountability, opposite to “Mode 2” tendency. This type of knowledge generation is called ‘Mode 3’ (Jiménez, 2008). Could the same phenomenon be found in other countries like Mexico? Efforts are being made to locate similar phenomena in regions far apart like Russia and St. Petersburg in particular.