iNova Media Lab: from a "future shock" to an innovation digital ecosystem

Abstract

Following signs of a "future shock" in media and journalism higher education
in Portugal, this article identifies the problem of a “broken middle” between the classroom, research units, local communities and the industry. As a place and as a culture, the experimental laboratory, here represented by iNOVA Media Lab, is portrayed as a “trading zone” operating “boundary objects”. It is proposed that this hybrid organizational type is thus geared to translation practices. A renewed social role is assigned to the University: to embody a trusted intermediary.