Abstract:

Going along with the theme of INTED2018 on Rethinking Learning in a Connected Age, we present our experience of developing and delivering a joint-course in nanotechnology for senior undergraduates in the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Science and La Trobe University’s Science and Master of Nanotechnology programme. The course, titled “Nano: from Research Bench to Industrial Applications”, exposes students to nanoscience research and nanotechnology-based industry. In the first half of the course, teaching and learning takes place at the respective university, which includes intensive seminars given by faculty members who are actively working in nanoscience-related research and industrial experts who are developing the associated technology, workshops on Japanese culture and business etiquette, visitation to local laboratories, and a term project on nano-synthesis or nano-characterization in order to provide students with hands-on experience in the cutting-edge techniques associated with nanoscience. The second half of the course commences with a study tour to Japan, in which both NUS and La Trobe students spend an intensive one-week visiting University of Tokyo, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National Institute for Material Science (NIMS) and the NanoTech Exhibition and Conference (www.nanotechexpo.jp). The tour further exposes students to nanotechnology research and industry in Japan, as one of the major global players in the field, and provide an opportunity for cultural exchange and networking. At the end of the tour, NUS and La Trobe students continue to collaborate on a term paper, contemplating on the experience and knowledge they have acquired from the course and tour, culminating in a video conference at the end of the term. In our presentation, we shall elaborate further the continual assessment, logistics, and various considerations involved in delivering the course.

Keywords:

International joint-course, nanotechnology education, curriculum design.