Science and technology are no longer confined to laboratories or the exclusive realm of experts. Today, they shape nearly every aspect of our world—driving international efforts to tackle climate change, global health threats, secure digital infrastructure, and govern powerful new technologies like artificial intelligence. This shift, described as ‘post-normal science’, recognises that the most pressing challenges we face are complex and uncertain, and they require urgent, collaborative solutions that cross national and disciplinary boundaries. Science and technology diplomacy have emerged as vital tools for building these solutions: they bring together scientists, engineers, diplomats, policy-makers, and industry leaders to share knowledge, negotiate agreements, and create the rules and partnerships needed for a safer, fairer, and more sustainable future.

Science diplomacy harnesses scientific knowledge to inform foreign policy, foster international research collaboration, and build bridges between nations—think of the global efforts to monitor climate change or coordinate vaccine development. Technology diplomacy, equally vital, focuses on how emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology are governed, accessed, and regulated across borders. It brings together not only governments but also tech companies, civil society, and diverse stakeholders to address issues such as digital equity, cybersecurity, data privacy, and the ethical use of innovation. For example, international agreements on AI ethics, cross-border data flows, and the environmental impact of digital devices all require the skills and mindset of both science and technology diplomacy.

To prepare young people for this reality, education must move beyond teaching science and technology as isolated subjects. Students need opportunities to develop the knowledge, values, and skills required to participate in global problem-solving—such as systems thinking, ethical reasoning, cross-cultural communication, and policy awareness. Whether they are collaborating on sustainability projects, debating the ethics of AI, or simulating international negotiations on climate or digital rights, students practise the competencies that underpin both science and technology diplomacy.

This article explores why science and technology diplomacy matter for all citizens, and why these skills should be nurtured from an early age. It offers practical strategies for educators and parents to help young people become informed, engaged global citizens—ready to navigate and shape the interconnected, technology-driven world of tomorrow.

What Are Science and Technology Diplomacy Skills?

Science and technology diplomacy means using scientific and technological knowledge to support international cooperation, inform policy, and solve global problems. Science diplomacy includes guiding foreign policy with scientific evidence, fostering international research, and building partnerships between countries. Technology diplomacy focuses on the international governance and negotiation of emerging technologies—like AI, data, and biotechnology—to address issues such as digital equity, security, and ethics.

While science diplomacy has been discussed since the early 2000s (AAAS, Royal Society), technology diplomacy has gained prominence more recently due to the rapid rise of transformative technologies. Together, science and technology diplomacy foster global peace, cooperation, and sustainable development, but also face challenges: geopolitical tensions, digital inequalities, and mistrust in science, often worsened by misinformation and exclusion from decision-making. This makes education a vital space for nurturing inclusive, values-driven competencies in these fields.

Why Education Matters

Addressing today’s complex challenges—from climate change and public health to AI governance and global justice—requires students to develop skills that go beyond subject-specific knowledge. They need interdisciplinary competencies such as systems thinking to grasp how issues are interconnected, cross-cultural communication for working with peers worldwide on health or environmental projects, ethical reasoning to weigh the societal impacts of technologies like artificial intelligence, collaborative problem-solving for tackling sustainability challenges, and policy awareness to understand how evidence shapes international agreements.

Education, especially at the secondary and higher levels, plays a transformative role in cultivating these transferable skills. It prepares not only future scientists and policy-makers but also informed, active citizens who can engage with real-world problems and contribute effectively in a rapidly changing world. 

The CARE–KNOW–DO Framework

Developed through EU-funded research and widely used in schools and universities, the CARE–KNOW–DO framework (Okada, 2025) offers a practical way to embed science and technology diplomacy into STEM curricula. CARE encourages students to value sustainability, justice, and equity. KNOW focuses on building a critical, evidence-based understanding of issues. DO invites students to take action—communicating, collaborating, and innovating to address real-world problems. This approach aligns with global priorities such as Education for Sustainable Development and Responsible Research and Innovation, helping bridge disciplinary knowledge with ethical purpose and civic action.

Science diplomacy can be nurtured through hands-on experiences that immerse students in international collaboration and policy-making. For example, students might work together across borders on sustainability projects—investigating carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, or nature-based solutions. Participating in Model United Nations simulations on climate policy or health equity, or contributing to global citizen science projects, helps them develop skills in communicating science across cultures, working collaboratively on transnational issues, and understanding science’s role in diplomacy and development. In open schooling projects focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals—such as ‘Microplastics’ (SDG 14) or ‘Carbon Neutral’ (SDG 13)—students collect data, evaluate evidence, and propose solutions with peers from other countries.

Technology diplomacy focuses on the governance, ethics, and societal impacts of emerging technologies. Students can develop these skills through inquiry-based projects that use coding and data analysis to tackle real-world challenges, structured debates on AI ethics or digital rights, and workshops or hackathons on topics like cybersecurity and data justice. For example, in projects like ‘Energy Savers’ (SDG 7) or ‘Eco-Phone’ (SDG 12), students explore the environmental and ethical costs of smartphones, examining production chains, AI, e-waste, and global supply networks. These experiences foster critical evaluation of technology’s impact, ethical reflection, and responsible digital citizenship.

Many learning experiences now combine both science and technology diplomacy. Global digital sustainability projects, for instance, enable students to use digital platforms to co-create solutions that balance scientific evidence with ethical and technological considerations. The EU-funded METEOR (meteorhorizon.eu) project demonstrates this integrated approach, bringing together researchers from Europe and South America to develop skills in collaboration, communication, and innovation, all framed by the CARE–KNOW–DO model.

To make science and technology diplomacy real in the classroom, educators can design learning experiences such as cross-national partnerships for sustainability, AI ethics workshops, global hackathons, digital literacy programs, and policy simulations on emerging innovation issues. These activities not only support curriculum goals but also prepare students to think systemically, reason ethically, and act collaboratively—essential skills for navigating and shaping our interconnected world.

Science and technology shape our future, but their direction depends on inclusive, informed societies. By embedding diplomacy-related competencies into education, we empower young people to CARE, to KNOW, and to DO: to build knowledge, uphold values, and take meaningful action. Science and technology diplomacy should not be confined to government offices or summits—it belongs in classrooms, workshops, and community spaces, where the next generation is preparing to become stewards of our shared global future.