The Education and Training Task Force report proposes strategic actions to establish, promote and resource the Grid and e-Science curricula in Europe. The ETTF report has been a major European effort and has already been noted on the international level, e.g. in the Open Grid Forum (OGF).
The ETTF report states that EU investments in e-Infrastructure require adequate investments in education in order to allow countries to fully develop and exploit these technologies for academic and industrial innovation. Coordinated development of e-Infrastructures across the EU is vital to maintain Europe’s competitive edge in the knowledge-based economy, supporting advances in science, industry and education. A shortage of skills and knowledge in using the e-Infrastructure is a key motivation for increased resourcing in the field.
The report stresses the need to invest in education in appropriate computational thinking or digital-systems judgments in every scientific, medical, engineering and humanities first degree. This allows graduating students to fully contribute to the knowledge economy with an appreciation of the potential of e-Infrastructures and rich information sources, and prepares them to make competent ethical and socio-economic judgments about their use.
According to the ETTF, there is also a need to invest in education of specialists via undergraduate and Masters courses and to develop a critical mass of experts who will innovate both in the provision and exploitation of e-Infrastructure and e-Science methods. Furthermore, Doctoral and Postdoctoral training programmes for intellectual, business and educational leaders, who will drive innovation across the European Research Area, have to be developed.
Read the ETTF report:
http://www.e-irg.eu/images/stories/publ/task_force_reports/ettf_long_report_final_july08.pdf
More information about e-IRG:
www.e-irg.eu
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The e-Infrastructures Reflection Group Support Programme 2
(e-IRGSP2) aims to provide means and resources for the progression of
the work performed by the e-Infrastructure Reflection Group (e-IRG).The
e-IRGSP2 is financed by the European Commission’s 7th Framework
Programme (grand agreement RI-223598) and started on 1st January 2008
and will continue until the end of December 2010.
