Students Study STRANGE WEATHER in Trinity’s Idea Translation Lab

Posted on: 28 January 2014

Trinity College Dublin’s Science Gallery and the Innovation Academy have joined forces to deliver a 12-week Idea Translation Lab on the theme of STRANGE WEATHER. Starting this month, the course, which is part of Trinity’s broad curriculum, aims to provide science, humanities and art undergraduate students with the possibility of collaborating and creating projects together.

Throughout the course, 30 students will delve deeper into the STRANGE WEATHER theme, producing group projects inspired by the intersecting points between science, art and design, linked into the flagship exhibition at Science Gallery this summer.

The course combines science, art, design, innovation and entrepreneurship and is populated with contributors from a wide variety of disciplines including astrophysics, commercial weather forecasting, fine art, design, and social and cultural innovation.

During the course, students will address challenging questions about climate change and how we sustain our society and its energy demands in a future of STRANGE WEATHER. Students will learn how to apply collaborative design and entrepreneurial skills to produce projects with real-world outcomes with impacts along three axes: social, cultural and commercial.

Furthermore, the course encourages students to reflect critically on the broader perspectives around the cultural, ethical and economic role of science in society including science policy and the commercialisation of new ideas. The programme has attracted contributions from a wide range of organisations and individuals including Met Éireann, WeForest, Shabra Recycling, MeteoGroup, Urban Farm, Coillte, Failte Ireland, Focus Ireland, the artist community and many academics from departments across Trinity.

The programme is modelled on, and linked to, the Harvard University Idea Translation Lab and consists of blended lectures and labs. The initiative is supported by the NTR Foundation and part of the EC FP7 funded Studiolab project.