IAI member universities and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) are offering a series of Earth system science and global change education workshops supported by the IAI Initial Science Program – III. Aims of the workshops are: 1) to develop among IAI member faculty an integrated view of the Earth system as it underlies the IAI science themes, 2) to build a collaborative infrastructure for IAI participants sharing common needs in education and training and 3) to provide for early implementation of interdisciplinary courses in Earth system science and global change. The workshop concept and content areas were recommended by IAI and USRA educators at an IAI Education and Training Workshop in January, 1997.
Two 12-day workshops, each for 20 participants, are being held - one by the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC) in Ensenada, BC, Mexico in September, 1998 and the other by the Fundacao Universidade do Rio Grande (FURG) in Rio Grande, RS, Brazil in April, 1999. Interdisciplinary university teams come together to learn about Earth system science and global change topics in the context of the IAI science themes as focused by the coastal studies expertise of both institutions. Participants identify and share resources for developing courses and classroom materials. A third workshop in 1999 or 2000 in Costa Rica will invite participants from the first two workshops and others to share the results of their collaborative efforts and to plan for a broader system-wide education effort involving all member countries and IAI science themes.
Workshop participants become members of a networked e-mail list server to facilitate collaboration and interaction beyond the workshop as they develop resources at their home institutions, forming a virtual IAI education and training community. An Internet-based collection of links and relevant learning resources (e.g. lesson plans, images, software packages, multimedia exercises etc.) will be routinely updated with IAI-relevant scientific and educational developments. See http://www.usra.edu/iai/iai.html for more information.
The workshops and IAI Education and Training web site will serve the entire IAI membership and build upon existing programs at institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay. USRA’s ongoing Earth System Science Education Program (ESSE) in the United States is a partner in this effort for the establishment of an expanded cooperative university based education program within the IAI member countries. The early development of interdisciplinary courses and a supporting infrastructure for IAI educators will ensure offering of Earth system science and global change courses for university students pursuing careers outside of science - in law, politics, medicine, economics, etc. Wise policy and environmental stewardship decisions in the future demand an informed society to address the challenges posed by sustainability.