On, for, and with practitioners

In his Academy Lecture, Daniel Perrin, Professor of Applied Linguistics at ZHAW, investigates how Academia can boost its reputation among society – and obtain empirically grounded knowledge on real-life matters.

Fake news, conspiracy theories, and criticism of science and academia challenge democratic decision-making on societal levels. At the same time, the humanities and social sciences tend to experience both harsh criticism and dwindling funding. Against this backdrop, preparing next generations of scholars to mediate between the main discourses in sciences, professional fields outside academia, and society at large can both foster the scholars’ individual success and bolster the standing of science in everyday life. This publication explains how – and to what effect – cooperation between Swiss universities has woven this rationale into a series of PhD programs in Applied Linguistics.

The paper is a revised and extended version of the Academy Lecture given by Professor Daniel Perrin at the executive board meeting of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences on 15 December 2023.