The Chair of Scientific Culture is a university outreach chair. Despite being an academic unit within the university, it has some organisational and operational autonomy. From an academic perspective, it currently reports to the EHU’s Vice-Rectorate for Knowledge Transfer and Internationalisation, whilst from an administrative and financial perspective, it forms part of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCCi) of Euskampus Fundazioa. It therefore has a dual reporting structure.
The Chair was established in October 2010 under a collaboration agreement with the Provincial Council of Bizkaia (Department of Culture), which provided the necessary funding for its operation. This collaboration came to an end in late 2021 and, since then, it has been the Basque Government (initially through the Department of Education, Universities and Research and currently through the Department of Science, Universities and Innovation) that has signed the agreement enabling its existence and normal operation.
Like all other university chairs, the Chair is governed by the Regulations On Structures Without Legal Personality And On The Basic Functioning Of Institutions. These regulations were approved by the Governing Council of the University of the Basque Country (EHU) on 16 May 2012, in accordance with Chapter VII of its Statutes.
To foster and disseminate scientific culture within society
The Chair aims to foster scientific and technological knowledge within Basque society and to promote the social dissemination of scientific culture across all available spheres – geographical, administrative and cultural.
In this regard, it maintains a firm commitment to the Basque social and cultural environment whilst, at the same time, upholding the international outlook expected of a university institution. Within this context, it promotes the popularisation of science in Basque and contributes to the international dissemination of the scientific and technological knowledge generated in the Basque Country.
The Chair disseminates content relating to major scientific and technological advances and their applications, as well as fundamental scientific topics and their social and cultural implications. Furthermore, it pays particular attention to the cultural dimension of science and its inherent values. To this end, the Chair has launched its own publications.
Extensive digital and in-person activity
The first publication launched was Cuaderno de Cultura Científica in 2011. With rigour, yet in an accessible style, it publishes daily popular science articles covering a wide range of topics, in Spanish.
The following year, in 2012, it launched Mapping Ignorance, a blog that disseminates the latest advances in science and technology in English. Experts in various fields write high-quality popular science articles, bringing recent research findings to a wider audience.
In 2013, the blog Zientzia Kaiera was launched, publishing popular science articles on a wide range of topics in Basque. It is aimed primarily at secondary school, sixth-form and university students.
The last publication to be launched was Mujeres con Ciencia in 2014. The blog highlights the historical and current role of women in science. It publishes daily, in Spanish, biographies, interviews, events, anniversaries and all manner of features or notable developments.
The spread of these digital resources is largely due to the Chair’s activity on social media. However, the Chair’s work is not limited to the digital sphere. In addition to its digital activities, it organises conferences, activities aimed at young people, exhibitions, audiovisual projects, projects organised by thematic area, and training initiatives, amongst other outreach activities.
The importance of scientific culture
The wider dissemination of scientific culture is essential both for its cultural value and as a source of sound judgement in individual and collective decision-making.
It is difficult to support something one doesn’t know about. Promoting a society that is more familiar with science and technology helps to build a more critical, informed and participatory citizenry.
Since its foundation in 2010, the Chair has played an active role in championing scientific culture as a fundamental pillar of a more democratic, critical and informed society, through its wide-ranging in-person and digital activities.
15 years promoting and raising the profile of scientific culture
In 2025, the Chair of Scientific Culture at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) marked 15 years of promoting and raising the profile of scientific culture in the public sphere. The commemorative event took place at Bizkaia Aretoa-EHU, a venue that has hosted a large part of its outreach activities over the years. The gathering brought together authorities and key figures who have supported the Chair throughout its history and served to take stock of the progress made and reflect on the challenges and opportunities for the future.
Over the years, the Chair has carried out extensive scientific outreach work by organising conferences, workshops and exhibitions, publishing daily content on digital media, producing audiovisual projects, and participating in educational initiatives and other activities aimed at a diverse range of audiences.
The Chair’s journey has been made possible thanks to the support of institutions, partner organisations and a long list of contributors who, over the years, have helped to drive its activities and science communication projects. Their commitment, trust and generosity have been essential to building on these fifteen years of activity.
Towards a more inclusive scientific culture
In this new phase, one of the Chair’s main objectives is to broaden the scope of its activities and bring scientific culture to those individuals, groups, venues and audiences it has not yet managed to reach. To this end, as well as maintaining and strengthening its established initiatives and projects, it is working on new forms of collaboration with social, cultural and technological stakeholders in its local community to jointly build a more accessible, engaging and inclusive approach to the social dissemination of science.
Examples of this include the new partnerships established with the BRTA technology alliance, the Eroski Foundation, the associations Easy To Read Euskadi and Euskal Wikilarien Kultur Elkartea (EWKE), the Basque-language media association TOKIKOM, and the public radio and television broadcasters EITB and RTVE, with whom it develops popular science content tailored to different audiences.