Samenspel in samenhang (en)

Dutch communication, media and information researchers are at the forefront of research in their specific areas. They are recognised specialists in the fields of, for instance, political communication, film history or information processing in organisations. There is close affinity between cmi disciplines and adjoining research areas, and their organisation in a faculty context fosters this focus on specialisation. In recent years, new research topics have emerged that demand more and closer cooperation between cmi specialists. These topics include media and cultural heritage, media and technology, multimodal information transfer, intermediality, digitalisation of media, the global circulation of archive and other images, the role of media and multimedia in conflicts, the changes in journalistic ethics and organisation, the relationship between public and commercial media, the development of creative industries, the role of search engines and digital games in social environments. These are topics that can be examined only if researchers study the relevant perspectives methodically and in a cohesive context. In the report, the Foresight Study committee has indicated a number of dominant social trends that will direct cmi education and research in the near future.
These trends are increasing use of media, and digital and information technology. Consequences or directly related aspects of these trends are commercialisation, globalisation and intercultural considerations. The new research topics and social issues generate important research questions for cmi researchers. These trends have a considerable influence on the social environment and on day-to-day communication practices. However, socially relevant issues are rarely cohesive. Social and industrial parties often have applied sub-questions that they present to researchers. It is the task of science and its institutions to combine these aspects and to link applied questions to fundamental theoretical research. According to the Foresight Study committee, joining forces to create a cmi platform has clear added value. A structure such a this would strengthen the exchange of expertise, would allow students optimal access to existing educational modules, would encourage the interdisciplinary integration of education and research, and as a result of its accessibility, would make cmi research more attractive for policy makers and industry.

The Foresight Study committee’s recommendations and specific proposals can be summarised in three main points.
1. It is important that the specialisations of each of the three cmi disciplines continue to develop. Without wishing to anticipate the results of the debate on national research schools and local graduate schools, the committee concludes that for media studies – which is institutionally fragmented – closer cooperation at national level is desirable (actors: the field, media studies).
2. The Foresight Study committee is calling on researchers, teachers and directors to encourage a willing and interested attitude with respect to one another’s research language and culture, to show tolerance with respect to interdisciplinary cooperation, and to accept and recognise the new practices (actors: the field, deans, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO)).
3. The committee is arguing for the creation – for a three-year period – of a cmi platform for interdisciplinary education and research in communication, media and information, under the auspices of the KNAW (actors: the field, KNAW).

The full text of the CMI Foresight Report can be obtained here.