Educating the Next Generation of Leading Scientists: Turning Ideas into Action

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of systematic training in scientific project management and proposes developing educational standards for project design and leadership in astronomy and astrophysics.

Contribution

It introduces a dual approach to enhance scientific education by establishing standards for project management courses and graduate programs in research leadership.

Findings

Proposes standards for project design and management education.

Suggests standards for graduate programs in research leadership.

Highlights the need for systematic training in scientific project organization.

Abstract

The core of scientific research is turning new ideas into reality. From the school science fair to the search for the secrets of dark energy, high-quality research consists of scientific investigation constrained within the scope of a well-defined project. Large or small, generously funded or just scraping by,scientific projects use time, money, and information to turn ideas into plans, plans into action, and action into results. While we, as a community, do much to educate students in the techniques of research, we do not systematically train students in the nature and organization of scientific projects or in the techniques of project management. We propose a two-pronged attack to address this issue in the next decade. First, to generate a broad base of future scientists who have a basic familiarity with the ideas of projects, we propose that the community develop standards for the content of a project design and management course in astronomy and astrophysics. Second, to train future scientists to assume leadership roles in new investigations in astronomy and astrophysics, we propose that the community develop standards for graduate programs in the area of research project leadership.