University of Twente is proud to host from April 15-17, 2026 the first STS NL Conference, organized jointly with the Netherlands Research School for Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC):
STS NL Conference 2026
Knowledge & Technology in Times of Global Shifts
The Conference
The Netherlands have for long been one of the places where conversations in Science and Technology Studies (STS) take place. In 1986, STS graduate training started, feeding into the formation of the Netherlands Research School for Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC). This STS infrastructure is carried today by 12 research organizations in the Netherlands. In recent years, the STS field has been expanding globally and rapidly. Glad as we are about this expansion of researchers doing STS, we also perceive the need for more bounded, regionally focused platforms for scholarly exchange.
Therefore, on April 15-17, 2026 we invite you to the STS NL Conference 2026 at the University of Twente, preceded by an early stage researcher event on April 14! The conference is the first of a series aimed to create a vibrant platform for researchers interested in Science and Technology Studies, whether they are based in the Netherlands or abroad. The conference is organized by the Netherlands Research School for Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC) and hosted by the Knowledge, Transformation & Society (KiTeS) Group of the University of Twente. The conference will be held onsite at our green university campus in Enschede.
Knowledge & Technology in Times of Global Shifts
While the STS field is expanding globally and the central role of knowledge and technology in global and local socio-political dynamics is more apparent than ever, the status and legitimacy, the modes of production, their use and instrumentalization are at the same time contested and disparate. Global crises - climate, biodiversity, (geo)political, energy, raw materials, and many more - are proliferating as well, but they are also controversial and unfold against global shifts and uncertainties in centres of power, economy and global relations. It has been a topic of debate whether STS, with its dedication to detailed, local studies, is well equipped to account for global dynamics. At the same time, it is exactly the openness for the unexpected, for considering processes at different scales, for dynamics of coproduction, that may be a crucial asset. The sensitivity for more or less hidden forms of power, for considering technoscience as agential beyond solutionism, for diverse ways of thinking, making and doing, and for studying the non-obvious can provide a productive angle on shifts, opening up relevant action repertoires.
We invite participants to reflect on these shifts, their implications, and how STS scholars can relate to them, be it for science and technology studies as a field, or their specific research topics. In particular, contributions may address the following questions:
- How are knowledge production and innovation, its places, actors, networks, infrastructures, governance and institutions, and what counts as legitimate knowledge changing?
- What kind of knowledge and technologies are adequate to address global crises? And which forms of knowledge and technologies may be unproductive or induce a mere shift of problems?
- What can we learn from former crises and shifts in centres of power, economy and global networks and relations?
- How can anticipatory practices related to science and technology account for heightened and radical uncertainties? How are established imaginaries and discourses changing, who influences them, and what can be the role of STS-inspired work?
- What are adequate moments or ‘timings’ for fostering more positive changes?
- What is the potential of participatory forms of knowledge production such as citizen science and transdisciplinary research for science to integrate local and practical knowledge when addressing global crises?
- How does the rise of big tech companies relate to shifts in power over data and infrastructure for research and innovation?
- Which new forms of colonialism are emerging in the formation, use and governance of knowledge and technology, and how do old forms persist? What are promising countermovements and how can more just relations be enabled?
- When are shifts associated with ‘crises,’ when as transformation, and to what is the framing ‘crisis’ attributed?
This is not meant as an exclusive focus, we welcome contributions covering the wide range of science and technology studies, from different societal domains and technology fields, such as health, energy, agriculture, art, knowledge dynamics, nature-society relations, innovation processes, governance, futures and anticipation, finance, and many more.
Submissions to the conference are organized in two steps. After a call for tracks, we are now inviting abstracts for presentations and posters. Deadline is January 7, 2026.
For any questions, please address sts-nl2026@utwente.nl
For more information, see the conference website: STS NL Conference April 15-17, 2026