Building Bridges between Science, Technology, Innovation and Global Affairs: A New Graduate Program

The international system has changed rapidly in the last few decades, and Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) has become a new key factor in the world order of the 21st Century. The interaction between STI and global affairs has increased because of the relevance and impact of scientific and technological development over the main parameters of the international system. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of new approaches that examine this global rising phenomenon from the Global and International Studies perspective. This article raises the academic and pedagogical needs to build bridges between STI and Global and International Studies (GIS) and, especially, the lack of academic programs that focus on this intersection. Therefore, the main objectives of this research are to examine the pedagogical need in the intersection between STI and international relations and introduce a new and original pedagogical proposal. The result is a literature review that confirms the need for educational programs in STI and GIS, and the introduction of a new graduate program as an innovative educational contribution.

These are just some of the new issues on the global agenda linked to STI that are affecting the current international dynamics. The interaction between STI with other political, economic, and social factors will be essential variables to determine the winning and losing nations of the future international system (Note 14). In this sense, the relevance of STI in GIS has increased considerably in recent years and has become a necessary point of view to understand in-depth the global challenges that the international system is facing in the 21 st century.

Academic Challenges
All these scientific and technological changes within the international system have promoted an intense and profuse theoretical and methodological debate in Social Sciences, and, particularly, in the discipline of Global and International Studies, on how these new empirical phenomena can and should be approached and studied in their real dimension from the academy. It is evident that the development of new processes of production on STI is not confined only within the national borders and, at the same time, it is recognized that the main problems of international relations cannot be understood without an appreciation of the scientific and technological development. Therefore, in this new stage of international history, the intersection and overlap of STI and international affairs become a new and necessary topic of study.
These changes in the international system in recent decades were not anticipated by any theoretical framework and, especially, in GIS, the lack of predictability of the dominant paradigms has put the discipline itself in crisis (Note 15). The academic failure to analyze the new global empirical phenomena is a deficit well understood by the entire scientific community. In this sense, there is an explicit recognition of the need to face the new academic challenges in their total complexity and avoiding falling into reductionism. Wallerstein (1996) has led this new perspective through the famous "Opening the Social Sciences" report, where he explicitly pointed out that most of the new global agenda issues require an approach that studies the new factors in all their complexity, recognizing the multiple causal relations and their numerous interrelations (Note 16).
Historically, International Studies has focused on issues related to security, defense, foreign policy, diplomacy, and even economics, but it has paid less attention to topics such as STI. For some experts, the lack of attention in issues related to scientific-technological developments is evident and it is considered one of the major anomalies of the discipline (Note 17). On the other hand, other experts are less pessimistic and, they point out that GIS has always had some sense of the importance of scientific-technological developments within international relations (Note 18).
A brief literature review within the discipline of International Studies allows us to understand that several renowned internationalists (Waltz, Rosenau, Nye, Strange, Keohane, etc.), from multiple perspectives, have addressed the phenomenon of STI in international affairs. However, this analysis has been very tangential and atomized. In recent years, there has been an increase in the interest of researchers to understand the impact that the scientific-technological revolution is having on the international system approaching the phenomenon holistically (Skolnikoff, 1993(Skolnikoff, , 2002Weiss, 2005, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe Global Research in Higher Education Vol. 3, No. 4, 2020 27 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 2015; Deudney, 2000Deudney, , 2018Mayer, 2014etc.). For their part, Global Studies experts have made a greater analytical effort addressing the role and impact of science and technology in the global system, analyzing how this affects the balance of global power (Note 19), the effect on climate change or the production of natural resources (Note 20) or its consequences in the process of economic globalization (Note 21). In any case, even now GIS is poorly equipped to theorize about the impact and consequences of scientific-technological changes in the international system (Note 22).
The intersection between STI and GIS has opened a new and growing research agenda that includes topics such as scientific diplomacy, global governance of STI, cybersecurity, new emerging techs, and the knowledge gap. This emergent area of study in higher education should be understood as a new subdiscipline within GIS that has become a subject of study of great interest to understand the changes in the world order of the 21 st century (Note 23).

Pedagogical Problem
The profound changes in the international system and the slow evolution of the scientific paradigms programs that try to address the problem, even the academic offer is very limited and the field of GIS is responding very slowly to the critical need of undergraduate and graduate programs to meet the demand for this type of training.

A New Graduate Program
The previous analysis has demonstrated the main empirical changes operated in the international system in recent decades and the special incidence of STI in the new international order of the 21 st century, the inadequacy of academic approaches within the discipline of Global and International Studies to analyze those changes and, finally, the lack of academic programs in the area of International Scientific Relations that study the new agenda of topics between GIS and STI. In this context, a new graduate program in STI and GIS was proposed with the express goal to address the needs that have been observed in the previous analysis. Following a basic and traditional model of project management in higher education (Wijnen & Kor, 2000) a new pedagogical program in the intersection between STI and GIS was created, and it will be described above. The model divides the project into phases that make possible to understand the different stages of development the new graduate program went through.

Initiation Phase
During the first phase of the creation of the new graduate program in GIS and STI, the initiation phase, many ideas about the project were explored and elaborated. The main goal of this phase was to examine the problem, offer potential solutions, and analyze the relevance and feasibility of the project.
Examining and analyzing in-depth the finding of the previous research, it was clear that the main problem raised in this investigation was the lack of academic programs in the area of International Scientific Relations that address the new agenda of topics between GIS and STI. After the brainstorm, exchange of ideas, and discussions for solving the problem, it was considered the idea to design, develop, and implement a new graduate program focus on the intersection between STI and GIS as a potential solution to address the problem.

Design Phase
This phase involved the creative process where the architecture of the graduate program was built. The program was designed based on extensive literature research, educational policy documents, consultation with experts, and the experience of more than fifteen years that the author has in the study in the interaction between STI and international relations. The design process is constantly referred to as disciplinary, methodological, educational, and pedagogical aspects. During this phase, different stages were taking place in order to design the new pedagogical program. These stages include:  Empirical, theoretical, and methodological review regarding the new field of the study is constituted by the interaction between STI and GIS: International Scientific Relations.
 Review of available information on undergraduate and graduate educational programs in higher education at the international level that addresses the critical issue in STI and international relations.  A holistic program that combines three essential elements: i) a rigorous pedagogical training, ii) a strong impulse to research, and iii) the development of practices in international institutions and organizations.
 A program with a truly interdisciplinary sense according to the needs of the study objective addressed, combining professors, researchers, practitioners, staff, and students from a wide range of disciplines ranging from specialists in Global and International Studies, through other Social Sciences, and also experts in technical disciplines in STI.
 An international and intercultural program, which includes an academic offer aimed at international students and a genuinely global teaching staff. For that reason, the postgraduate and subjects are taught entirely in English.
 A program located in an appropriate institutional framework, which implies being part of a prestigious university institution, which has a sense of the relevance of international studies and, at the same time, it has awareness and interest in STI issues. other. In addition to the specialization in "Science, Technology, and Global Affairs", there are two other tracks in "Nationalism and Conflict Management" and in "Global Business and Negotiation".
Additionally, the Graduate Program has a prestigious Think Tank that serves as intellectual support and advice for students accessing the graduate program.

Goals
The Master in Global and International Studies: Science, Technology, and Global Affairs aims to provide students with tools, skills, and competences to study, understand and solve complex problems that arise at the intersection of science, technology, and international relations. In order to achieve this main goal, the graduate program offers theoretical, methodological, and practical knowledge that will allow to address the new phenomena of scientific-technological processes within the current international agenda and, at the same time, it will encourage students to reflect on the best scientific responses, public policies, and private strategies to face the challenges derived from scientific and technological innovation within the international system.
Besides this main goal, the program curriculum addresses four main specific objectives:  Develop in students a critical understanding of the global challenges facing the current international system through a detailed analysis of the main scientific-technological development of the global agenda.
 Ensure that students interpret and analyze holistically and systemically how topics in science, technology, and innovation are linked to historical, political, economic, social, and cultural variables within international relations.
 Provide students with innovative methods and analysis tools, specially designed to understand the close relationship between scientific-technological development and international affairs.  Train new researchers specialized in the analysis and study of science, technology, and innovation in the international arena.

Competences and Skills
The initial stage of the graduate program development phase needs to identify a list of competences and skills the student is supposed to develop, which includes generic, transversal, and specific competences.
In this case, the graduate program aims to develop the following competences: •Generic Competence: -Students will possess the skills to understand, evaluate, and apply the key concepts of science, technology, and innovation in the field of international relations.
-Students will possess and understand the theoretical knowledge necessary to identify, interpret, and explain the actors, processes, phenomena, and complex events within international science and technology.
-Students may apply advanced techniques and methods in the field of social sciences to analyze the intersection of science, technology, and global and international studies.
•Transversal Competences: -Students will develop skills to work in an openly international, multicultural, and diverse context.
-Students will be able to understand the need for interdisciplinary and systemic work to address international analysis.
-Students will develop their critical thinking, and their ability to identify and solve complex problems.
•Specific Competences: -Students will be able to transmit knowledge about the reality of the current international agenda of topics and their link to science and technology.
-Students will be able to assimilate and apply the theoretical, methodological, and practical foundations to the current agenda of topics that link science and technology with international relations.
-Students will be able to understand, elaborate, and manage public policies and private strategies linked to the best scientific-technological development at national, regional, and international levels.

Program Description
The competences and skills that a student acquires on completing the program help to identify the list of the disciplines which are to be included in the curriculum. The MA Program in Global and International Studies: Science, Technology, and Global Affairs extends two years. The program consists of required courses, two seminars, an internship program, and a final research project. The graduate program was structured in four semesters and required courses are offered in English. The program includes core courses such as "Methods and Theory in Global and International Studies" and "Critical Thinking and Conflict Resolution", and specialized courses, such as "Global Health, Energy and Environment" and "Science, Technology and Innovation Policy". Additionally, there is an online seminar about "Internships, Professional Experience, and Job Searches" and a "Research Colloquium in Global and International Studies".
In the first semester, a total of five courses are taught (

Implementation Phase
The implementation comes in where the pedagogical program become a formal program offered by the University of Salamanca. The main goal of this phase was to move the idea from concept to reality. To do that, a formal proposal was written and submitted to the creation of a new graduate program in

Follow-up and Assessment Phase
A final phase was set in order to follow up and assess the academic program which is still a phase in progress. During the follow-up phase, everything is arranged that is necessary to bring the project to successful completion. Examples of activities in the follow-up phase included writing syllabus, looking for professors, coordinating schedules, promoting the specialization, among many others. Additionally, an assessment phase is coming with the beginning of the first cohort. After the first semester, several types of surveys were conducted with students and faculty to get some feedback about the specialization and evaluate potential changes and improvements.

Discussion and Conclusion
Within an international context of profound transformations, the STI has acquired a new and strategic place within international relations. The mutual influence and impact between scientific-technological development and international relations in the international system of the 21st century is an unquestionable fact that requires greater academic attention. The relevance of STI in GIS has increased considerably in recent years and has become a necessary point of view to understand in-depth the global challenges facing the international system in the 21st century.
This research has focused on the links established between STI and the GIS, which has allowed the identification of multiple gaps and needs that require academic attention. First, the scientific-technological revolution has been installed as a critical dimension of many of the central issues of international relations. Second, GIS demonstrates that it is still very poorly prepared to address scientific-technological phenomena and analyze their impact on the entire international system.
While it is true that in recent years attention has grown on this new area of study, even GIS requires new and more complete efforts in addressing this new sub-disciplinary field of International Scientific Relations. Thirdly, there is a shortage of undergraduate and graduate university educational programs that specialize in the intersection between STI and GIS worldwide, which has exposed the deficiencies and limitations of the existing educational offering.
Essentially, this research raises the problem of the lack of academic programs in the area of International Scientific Relations that focus on the new agenda of topics between GIS and STI. In light of this reality, schools and departments in GIS have opted for two strategies: on the one hand, very few universities have begun to design new pedagogical undergraduate or graduate programs that specifically focus on the interaction between STI and international affairs, and, on the other hand, a large majority have decided to move more slowly through incorporating only some content through courses, seminars, and workshops in STI to their traditional programs.
Based on the needs founds in the literature review, a new graduate program was designed, developed, and implemented that directly addresses the gaps identified throughout the investigation. The Master in Global and International Studies: Science, Technology, and Global Affairs aims to provide students with tools, skills, and competences to study, understand and solve complex problems that arise at the intersection of STI and international relations. This graduate program also presents unique characteristics: an innovative, holistic, intercultural, and interdisciplinary program located within the privileged institutional framework offered by the University of Salamanca.
This graduate program presented here seeks to cover all the challenges posed by the growing intersection between STI and GIS and, at the same time, make a pedagogical contribution to the scarcity of degrees in the new subfield of study of International Scientific Relations.
Following a traditional model of project management in higher education, a new pedagogical program in the intersection between STI and GIS was created, designed, developed, and implemented. After the implementation, significant challenges were identified that will require further adjustments:  Curricular issues: proportion between core courses in GIS and specific courses that address issues on international scientific relations.
 Understanding a cutting-edge program: let students and the academic community know about the existence of a new graduate program focus on the intersection between STI and international affairs.
 Creating partnerships: Promote collaboration with key actors for the success of the program. For instance, other departments and schools within the University of Salamanca; other college departments and schools worldwide; STI industrial companies; local, national, regional, and international governments working in public policies in STI, and think tanks and NGOs related to the topic.
 Follow-up and assessment phase: Considering the program has opened its first cohort in 2019, it will crucial to focus on the right implementation and get feedback for future improvement.
Finally, this experience is expected to serve as academic, pedagogical, didactic material and, also, as a source of inspiration for the construction of new and more comprehensive undergraduate and graduate programs that address STI and international relations in the field of higher education and to collaborate in the creation of new bridges in the necessary link between STI and GIS.