| The core and outreach institutions
of the NSF-funded Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC)
have very different academic structures, departments, courses, and mechanisms
for initiating new courses and programs of study. This diversity
of SynBERC’s member institutions is helpful in developing a curricular
framework that is responsive to real-world dynamics and technological innovation,
and also one that is applicable across a range of settings and needs.
Based at the University of
California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley), SynBERC’s faculty are transforming
some traditional bioengineering courses and are beginning to develop entirely
new courses where needed, with an emphasis on bringing together people
from diverse disciplines to gain new perspectives on their work.
Many of these courses are made available outside the host university through
online modules at OpenWetWare.org.
SynBERC recognizes five fundamental
areas that we believe are necessary for any synthetic biologist to master:
analysis of existing biological systems; design of new biological systems;
construction of biological systems; characterization of biological systems;
and societal aspects of synthetic biology. Some of these fundamentals
are covered in foundational biology and engineering courses that already
exist in the undergraduate curricula. Others covering current state-of-the
art issues in synthetic biology will evolve as research advances and technology
and innovation occur. SynBERC’s development of a curricular framework
is laying the foundation for the teaching and study for the emerging field
of synthetic biology engineering. |
