Wednesday, October 1, 2008

If you build it, they will come

For approximately six months, two departments have been kicking around an idea of designing a new course about formation and application of nanomaterials, to be given to nanotech students as well as to students at the two departments. I am supposed to teach approximately 30% of the course load, and from the memos and general correspondence I've been getting lately, it's all becoming very real. The process of defining the course is in it's final stages, and by November it will have become an entry in the course catalogue, which is as close to reality as it gets.

One of the things we're going back and forth about now is whether the course is to be given during the Fall or Spring semester, with a clear tendency being towards the latter. In one respect that sucks for me, seeing as how I'm teaching my biggest course during Spring. On the other hand, I'd have to make all my material for the course this Spring if it's to be given from the Fall of 2009. We're also looking for a decent textbook, but considering the range of topics we're looking to cover, I foresee the possibility of having to write a compendium.

I've got big hopes for this course, seeing as how I know one of the other two subject teachers well and know him to be an excellent teacher/lecturer. I'm not really familiar with the remaining subject teacher, but from what little contact I've had with her from our meetings, I'm pretty sure she's more than competent.

The course (4th year) will also be available for inclusion in PhD study plans, so if anyone knows a PhD student in dire need for the skinny on what nano is, how it's made and a selection of applications, just let me know.

5 comments:

Anders said...

heya, sounds good. How many credits is the course? Don't know of any PhDudes, though.

Wilhelm said...

7.5 study points.

That's ok; it wast mostly a cheap stab at the hapless soft science grad student in bergen who wrote the crap piece on nano anyways ;-)

Anders said...

it wast mostly a cheap stab at the hapless soft science grad student in bergen who wrote the crap piece on nano anyways ;-)

...yeah, well, methinks you're gonna get hordes of social science and humanities students swarming into your lectures...

Anders said...

7.5 study points.

What's that in metric again?

Wilhelm said...

yeah, well, methinks you're gonna get hordes of social science and humanities students swarming into your lectures...

Sure I am, until they figure out that they haven't wandered into "English lit 101" by osmosis.

What's that in metric again?

Divide the number of study points by 3 to get "vekttall". 2.5 vekttall sounds less than 7.5 study points, hence the change, I guess. The joke's on the students though, as they now need 30 SP per semester as opposed to 10 vekttall.

I honestly have no idea why; I transferred in to NTNU from a system with credit hours, so who knows...