A training programme is proposed to improve the interdisciplinary breadth and depth of a nanoscience research group.
Nanotechnology requires expertise from a range of fields, but students often have difficulties thinking about research in an interdisciplinary manner. In the November issue of In the classroom, Philip S. Lukeman (St. John’s University, New York) and Stefan Howorka (University College, London) outline a three phase training programme to help improve a student’s interdisciplinary skills. The approach is based around the widely used idea of a ‘journal club’, but is set in the context of a group’s interdisciplinary research and can be tailored to any specific topic. Experience with the training programme in Howorka’s own research group suggests that it can help students in a variety of ways, and can also benefit research teams as a whole.
Read Philip S. Lukeman and Stefan Howorka’s article, Broadening students’ minds, for free on the Nature Nanotechnology website.