Research | Research Strategy | Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences (BMS)

The research mission ‘Technology for Life’ underscores the impact that technology has for individual lives, social organizations and society. The faculty BMS aims to strengthen its unique position at a university of technology - both nationally and internationally - and develop towards a leading centre where behavioural, management, and social sciences meet technological sciences.
The synergy that is created in interdisciplinary research contributes to the development of theories to better understand the impact of human-technology interaction as well as to research methods to create, assess, implement, and valuate technological innovations that have an impact on contemporary societal challenges.
The faculty BMS strives to create societal value in close collaboration with societal partners which allows to design and experiment with technological innovations.

The faculty BMS chose five research themes to focus on during the next 5-10 years that are of relevance in science and society: emerging technologies, resilience, smart industry, learning, and health.

Our five research themes have a close connection to the scientific themes of the University of Twente for the coming years. This prepares the faculty BMS for close collaboration with other UT Faculties in the three research institutes (DSI, Techmed Centre, and MESA+).
There is also a close connection to the research mission and domains of the three institutes as well as to several of their university-wide strategic research programmes: 4TU Resilience Engineering and Industry 4.0.

Furthermore, our five research themes fit to the societal challenges that have been identified on a national level (Dutch Science Agenda-NWA), a European level (european challenges in Horizon 2020) and a global level (UN sustainability goals).

BMS Vision
The BMS Vision described in five core values:
-          Excellence in research. The Faculty BMS wants to be at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs at the intersection of behavioural, management, and social sciences with technology. It aims for innovations in theories and conceptualizations of individual behaviours, management of organizations, and societal processes that are needed to better understand and contribute to technological advancements. The Faculty advances methods to study innovation processes from constructive technology assessment to system engineering. At the same time the Faculty strives to use new technologies as innovative methods to study societal challenges from a BMS perspective.
-          Societal impact. The Faculty BMS embraces a vision where research and society are closely interconnected, leaving behind traditional divisions between fundamental and applied research. Valorisation is not only a process of translating research outcomes to practice, but also a two-way process in iterative cycles in which research and practice are co-designed in networks of researchers and social partners, from early technology assessment to implementation policies. This implies long-term and structural partnerships with societal partners with the aim of advancing both science and practice. It also means a focus on the process of doing research rather than on outcomes alone. This vision is nurtured by an entrepreneurial attitude of researchers as well as a design approach in close collaboration with primary stakeholders.
-          Internationalization. Given globalization tendencies, both academic developments and societal challenges take place in an international context. The Faculty BMS thus wants to contribute to science and society in this international context. Yet, in our work with societal partners, we are also aware that solutions always need to be tailored to local contexts.
-          Synergy between disciplines. The complex and dynamic societal challenges and technological developments can only be solved by unique combinations of disciplines that allow for scientific breakthroughs. The Faculty BMS fosters cooperation between its behavioural, management, and social sciences as well as with technical, engineering, and science disciplines, like computer sciences, biomedical technology, and nanotechnology.
-          Community of researchers. The strongest asset of the Faculty BMS is its community of researchers, including their expertise, strategic academic and societal networks, and track records in publishing and funding. The Faculty actively supports researchers to make this community and its individual researchers thrive.