REPORT FROM THE WORKING GROUP ON EDUCATION

Presented at the meeting of the IAG Executive Committee, April 2000.

Authors: B.Heck (Karlsruhe), M.Sideris (Calgary), C.C.Tscherning (Copenhagen).

At the meeting of the Executive Commmittee in November 1999 a proposal by C.C.Tscherning for creating an Education Commission was presented

http://www.gfy.ku.dk/~iag/educcom.htm

The proposal was discussed briefly at the meeting and it was decided to form a Working Group with the authors of this report as members to consider the proposal, and report at the EC meeting in April 2000.

The committee agrees that it is important that IAG plays an even stronger role in geodetic education. This could primarily be done by facilitating the exchange of information about teaching material and courses and by helping in organizing international courses at different levels.

In order to study the problem of exchanging educational information, an experimental home-page was established associated with the IAG home-page:

http://www.gfy.ku.dk/~iag/eduwg.htm

This home-page shows which kinds of material could be made available in different categories.

The committee has discussed whether a "Commission" should be established, but consider it sufficient to establish a smaller Special Commission (SC) of active teachers from the different continents directly reporting to the EC. In a new structure it might be merged with another commission.

The SC should have the following tasks:

(1) Collect and distribute information about existing courses, educational material (lecture noters, powerpoint presentations, www-material) and curricula. This should be done using a home-page much like the experimental one mentioned above. The maintenance of this home-page should be done by an institution after an announcement of opportunity. (The IAG Education Service (?)). This institution should also be responsible for checking the quality of the material posted on the home-page.

(2) Review proposals for courses and contingently propose courses in areas (both geographical and topical) where there are no identified activities (and a need, obviously).

(3) Foster cooperation between institutions offering PhD-training, cf. the DOGE proposal. The EU framework programs gives possibilities at least within Europe.

(4) Investigate the use of new educational tools. Especially tools for distance learning.

Also this should be done after an announcement of opportunity.

(5) The SC should not try to establish a standard curriculum, but inform of the various ways geodesy is taught at different places. The SC may however on request evaluate curricula.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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