Educational challenges Olav Eldholm Professor, head of department
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xxx Educational challenges Olav Eldholm Professor, head of department FORCE Seminar Feb. 13, 2008, Stavanger Department of Earth Science
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Department of Earth Science. Educational challenges Olav Eldholm Professor, head of department FORCE Seminar Feb. 13, 2008, Stavanger. Department of Earth Science. Premise: University education - Norway An earth science perspective Main challenges: Integration - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Educational challenges Olav Eldholm Professor, head of department
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Educational challenges
Olav Eldholm Professor, head of department
FORCE Seminar Feb. 13, 2008, Stavanger
Department of Earth Science
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Premise:• University education - Norway• An earth science perspective
Main challenges:• Integration• Strong basic natural science foundation• Research/project-based education• Quantitative approaches + modeling• Cooperation - national + international
Department of Earth Science
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Educational level – degree
• Bachelor (3 yr.)• Master (2 yr.)• PhD (3 yr.)
Candidate recipients
• Industry - M, P, B• Government - M, P, B • Research - P• School system - M, B
Department of Earth Science
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Challenge # 1
The-Real-World = Industry + Science
Increasingly Between-and-Acrossnot
Up-down (vertical or strictly disciplinary)
Key words:Thematic approaches, Integration
Department of Earth Science
Increasingly Between-and-Across
Outreach/profiling
Education
Technology/applications
PhD-education
Research
Cause
Effect
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Department of Earth Science
Research groups/themes
Educationalprograms
WISHFUL THINKING?
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Department of Earth Science
REAL LIFE (NORWAY)!!
Educationalprograms
Research groups/themes
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Department of Earth Science
WHO-TO-BLAME?
Teaching and education is an institutional responsibility; i.e. new tasks and responsibilities at all organizational levels – and in particular, for departments and head of departments
Quote ”My father superior”
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Challenge # 2
Provide The Right Courses(a two-way-street)
• Basic Science FoundationMathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Informatics
• Understanding earth properties (media) - GEO
• How to find the Right Mix?
”Not only the fun courses”
Department of Earth Science
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Challenge # 3
Research/project-based education
• Field studies + analogs• State-of-the-art data and tools
Industry-standard• Team approach to problem solving
From I to We (mainly teacher challenge)• The geophysical and geological messages
Understand limitations + opportunities
Department of Earth Science
Example: Field work applying industry-standard seismic equipment
Example Statoil – UiB Earth ScienceResearch
• Sponsored projects
• Joint projects
• VISTA
Education
SVALEX
E-LEARNING INITIATIVE
• Statoil + 5 universities led by UiB
• Modernizing learning (in academia and industry)
• Promoting problem-based learning
• New: journal learningGeoscience
CANDIDATE PRODUCTION
- the first online journal for multimedia learning
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Challenge # 4
Quantitative approaches + modeling
• In all geodisciplines
• System science approach
• Understand and quantify earth processes
Department of Earth Science
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Challenge #5
Cooperation - national + international
• Semester(s) elsewhere/abroad• International networks
WUN, Mentor, BasinMaster, +++ • National university profiling
Master, PhD• National pool of spesialized petroleum courses
New PhD initiative
Department of Earth Science
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Department of Earth Science
Where to we stand? Academia vs industry (Actually – not too bad!!)
Avenues of cooperation re educational challenges• Research• Availability of data + state-of-the-art tools • Specialist teaching• Adjunct professors• Modulate upcoming retirement tsunami (”bridge” professors)• Remember:
without teaching staff – no candidates
