Science Leadership Institute

The leadership program creates and supports indigenous science education leadership and trains monastic teachers of science. The program creates and supports local science leadership groups within the monasteries. These groups continue their own science learning, and share science with the local monastic and lay community through classes, dialogues, science exhibitions, and published articles.

Since 2008, bi-annual two-week workshops for 30 monastics support these leaders professional development. Hands-on interactive learning and teaching experiences focus on topics of common interest to both Buddhism and Science, including cosmology, neuroscience, and scientific inquiry.

Science Leadership Institute – 1

June 16 to July 4, 2008
Hosted by the Institute for Buddhist Dialectics at Sarah

Teachers:
Gail Burd – Developmental Biology
Chris Impey – Cosmology more…
Richard Sterling – Science Leadership more…
Mark St John – Science Leadership more…
Karen Falkenberg – Science Leadership more…

Science Leadership Institute – II

Jan 20-30, 2009
Hosted by the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath

Teachers:
Mike Petrich – Inquiry more…
Karen Wilkinson – Inquiry more…
Luigi Anzivino more…
Mark St John more…

Science Leadership Institute – III

May 3-15, 2009
Hosted by the Menri Monastery, Solan

Teachers:
Chris Impey – Cosmology more…
Richard Sterling – Science Leadership more…
Stephanie Norby – Science Leadership more…

Science Leadership Institute – IV

December 1-12, 2009
Hosted by Drepung Monastery, Mundgod India

Teachers:
Richard Sterling – Science Leadership more…
Stephanie Norby – Science Leadership more…
David Barker – Inquiry, Snacks more…
David Presti – Neuroscience more…
Linda Shore – Cosmology more…

In 2011, a new cohort is planned join the inaugural leadership group. Monastic leaders identified from earlier cohorts will be trained to help-implement the Science Leadership Institute and provide support to local monastic groups, thus reducing the need for outside resources and faculty. A strong mutually supportive network of science learners and science teachers is an effective and viable way to build local capacity. In this way, a network of groups will emerge that drives, re-invents, and implements self-generated programming. In the coming years these leaders will assume the following responsibilities: (1) Support monastery groups to develop a network to implement programming within their monastery; (2) Establish science education as part of the monastic curriculum, and to help steadily strengthen it; and (3) Lead science education reform within their communities.