The Athena Institute is a research and education department at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Our mission is to study and design various interfaces between science and society, with the aim to: 1) increase academic and societal understanding of interaction processes at these interfaces, 2) improving the societal impact and legitimacy of science and technology, 3) align the values and purposes that drive science with the values, interests and needs of society. A substantial part of our work is directed at public engagement and dialogue in the context of responsible research and innovation.