Nanotechnology training for success in the job market
Current nanotechnology education and training at universities and vocational institutes do not fully meet the requirements of the job market. Improving this situation will benefit both graduates searching for a job in nanotechnology companies and employers in need of specifically trained employees. The EU-funded NANOEIS (Nanotechnology education for industry and society) project was launched to create better harmony regarding training and education between academia and industry. Project partners formulated recommendations for changes in curriculum content and for best practices to implement them. To this end, they first mapped the European industry's and employers' needs for nanotechnology training in different organisations across Europe. The NANOEIS team also explored how secondary school education could contribute to smoothing the transition to university studies. The findings suggest nanotechnology education has to start at least in secondary schools since this new technology is already part of our daily environment. Schools need to educate adolescents to take full advantage of nano-enabled products, keeping safety and sustainability in mind. Importantly, NANOEIS developed a model curriculum for university studies that can be used to improve existing bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies and help structure new ones. This model curriculum combines the essential courses in nanotechnology studies with training in skills that are in demand by industrial and non-industrial employers. Safety, health, regulation and environment were among the areas where industrial employers indicated that they want to recruit experts in the future. The modular organisation of the NANOEIS model curriculum allows incorporating current as well as new nanotechnology and specialisation courses in disciplines like physics, chemistry and biology. It offers a way to overcome the lack of correspondence between training contents and job market demands.
Keywords
Nanotechnology education, job market, NANOEIS, curriculum, university studies
