Title:Current Trends in Nanoeducation for Industry and Society
VOLUME: 2 ISSUE: 2
Author(s):Ineke Malsch, Dorota Rutkowska-Zbik, Martin Himly, Costas Kiparissides, Olga Kammona, Bartlomiej Szafran, Iseult Lynch, Frederick Ntow, Paula Queipo Rodriguez, Moshe Talesnik, David Rosenberg and Albert Duschl
Affiliation:Malsch TechnoValuation, Vondellaan 90, 3521 GH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Keywords:Nanotechnology, higher education, industry, society, stakeholders, nanosafety.
Abstract:The article reflects on current international trends in higher education in nanotechnology based
on stakeholder discussions held within the EU funded project NanoEIS: Nanotechnology Education for
Industry and Society. The discussions with stakeholders reflects on the main issues emerging from this
project, that also includes surveys investigating the connection between university education in nanotechnology
and the demands of the labour market for personnel with nanotechnology training. The project’s
recommendations include a model curriculum for nanoeducation at BSc, MSc and PhD level. The modular
organisation of this curriculum increases the opportunities for incorporating elements into current or
new nanotechnology courses or as specialisation in disciplinary courses in physics, chemistry, biology,
materials science, engineering, etc. Stakeholder comments suggest that there may be interest in developing
nanotechnology courses at universities of applied science and in lifelong learning institutions. In addition,
university professors in other countries show interest in setting up their own curricula, learning from
the best practices in Europe.
