August 2020 - ETSI’s Onsite Sustainability Work Initiated with the Hiring of Qualified Science Teachers

Despite the postponement of ETSI’s summer pedagogy training due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the onsite work of the sustainability phase began with the hiring of well-qualified science instructors at the participating institutions. These highly dedicated young Tibetans with graduate degrees in different areas of science will anchor the monasteries’ science education program and mentor indigenous science teachers. With these academic institutions fully implementing ETSI’s six-year science curriculum, the focus has shifted to strengthening the monastics science programs and making them self-sufficient and sustainable. 

The Sustainability Phase has two parts––a summer pedagogy program and a winter research and translation program. During the three-year program, over 60 monastic students who have completed at least four years of the ETSI implementation phase coursework will receive training in science pedagogy and research methodology. The trainees will continue to deepen their content knowledge in physics, biology, neuroscience, and philosophy of science, and engage in interdisciplinary discourses on Buddhism and science.