The E3: A New Educational Experience
The E3 will be an institute by and of its two Schools. Educational innovation for its students will therefore be a prime output and benefit of the new institute. The current degree offerings of the Schools will be enhanced through the E3 engagement. Students in Natural Sciences will experience a new way of thinking about their field, one that underlines its relevance to the demands of human society, including the drive for entrepreneurial innovation. They will also achieve a deeper grounding in quantitative analysis in their courses. Engineering students will discover ever more profoundly the societal and environmental impact of their technologies and interventions, thereby positioning them to address more effectively the demands of the professionally accredited Engineering degree.
A new kind of graduate will emerge from the E3, with knowledge of, and holistic insight into, engineering-enhanced environments. They will be challenged to think in new ways about technology and policy, and to appreciate these as key drivers of evolutionary change. They will study systems composed of technological and natural components, and they will be involved in designs and interventions that are optimized for the welfare of all life on Earth.
The Engineering School is currently expanding its teaching in creative design, particularly through cooperation with Stanford’s prestigious d.school. The School of Natural Sciences is sharpening the emphasis on entrepreneurship within its programmes, particularly around ecosystem goods and services, and mineral exploitation. These trends will all benefit from the opportunities conferred by the E3.
The student experience - at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels - will be enriched through contact with a spectrum of experts across the two Schools of the E3. The institute is coming at a time when new course structures are emerging within the five-year MAI in Engineering. Students will be offered interdisciplinary modules that reflect the themes of the E3. They will have access to an inspiring range of data sources and scientific techniques at the nexus of the natural sciences and engineering. The Engineering degree will undoubtedly achieve broader appeal through this increased exposure to the natural sciences. In turn, the increased integration of technology and analysis elements into the Natural Sciences degree will advance the national agenda for up-skilling in mathematical methods. These trends will undoubtedly help to achieve improved gender balance among the student cohorts of both Schools.
In time, structured PhDs will be offered by the E3. The institute will be an ideal platform for participation in the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's (EIT’s) Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), whose thematic structure strongly reflects the preoccupations of the E3. PhD students will undertake research-oriented modules provided by the Schools, supplemented by modules in innovation and entrepreneurship offered by Trinity’s Innovation Academy. The research projects will be co-supervised by academics from both Schools, along with our international partners. The E3 will enhance the visibility and attractiveness of both Natural Sciences and Engineering in Trinity, as a destination of choice for excellent international students seeking an innovative postgraduate research experience.