Strategies and Policies to Support and Advance Education in e-Science

In previous installments of this series, we've presented tools and resources that university undergraduate and graduate environments must provide to allow for the continued development and success of e-Science education. We've introduced related summer (http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/ 10.1109/MDSO.2008.20) and winter (http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MDSO.2008.26) schools and important issues such as t-Infrastructure provision (http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/ 10.1109/MDSO.2008.28), intellectual property rights in the context of digital repositories (http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MDSO.2008.34), and curriculum content (http://www2. computer.org/portal/web/computingnow/0309/education). We conclude now with an overview of areas in which we must focus effort and strategies and policies that could provide much-needed support in these areas. We direct these strategy and policy recommendations toward key stakeholders in e-Science education, such as ministries of education, councils in professional societies, and professional teachers and educational strategists. Ministries of education can influence funding councils, thus financially supporting our proposals. Professional societies can assist in curricula revision, and teachers and strategists shape curricula in institutions, which makes them valuable in improving and developing education in e-Science and (perhaps) e-Science in education. We envision incremental change in curricula, so our proposals aim to evolve existing courses, rather than suggesting drastic upheavals and isolated additions. The long-term goal is to ensure that every graduate obtains the appropriate level of e-Science competency for their field, but we don't presume to define that level for any given discipline or institution. We set out issues and ideas but don't offer rigid prescriptions, which would take control away from important stakeholders.