Academic Forum: CTBT Education in the 21st Century

Over 40 academics from a wide range of disciplines congregated in Vienna, Austria, for the CTBT Academic Forum, from 18 to 20 March. Thirty universities located in 20 countries were represented at the event, which was organized by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) as part of its Capacity Development Initiative (CDI). The focus was on promoting CTBT education and developing e-learning modules and educational resources related to the Treaty.

“The world today is closer and more connected than it has been ever before in history… (and) common aspirations and challenges will be met not only in the establishment of the institutions but through the development of networks of knowledge,” said Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in an opening address. The Forum was supported by voluntary financial contributions from the European Union and Norway.

Looking to the future, Matt Yedlin, an electrical engineering professor, and Allen Sens, a political science professor, presented plans for an interdisciplinary class on nuclear weapons and the CTBT which will be offered to undergraduate sciences and arts students at the University of British Columbia in Canada later this year.

The Forum enabled educators from around the world to get together to share their experiences in teaching CTBT-related topics to their students, using a combination of CTBTO e-learning resources, classroom lectures and special research projects.

Ekaterina Mikhaylenko described how she runs a course for political science students at Urals Federal University in Russia, using a combination of e-learning and classroom discussions. Celso Vargas informed participants about a course on the CTBT and its verification regime that he has organized at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, including a simulation and student research assignments on the CTBT’s verification technologies. Liz Dallas also shared the experiences of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States in holding an interdisciplinary seminar series on the CTBT, for which students completed directed research projects. Tahir Nazir, a research fellow at the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute, shared the draft curriculum of an extensive course on the CTBT offered in Pakistan.
The Academic Forum is the second such meeting of the Test-Ban Academic Network (T-BAN) to promote CTBT education through curricula development and innovative teaching methods. It follows up on the Intensive Seminar on CTBT Education that was held in June 2012.

During the Academic Forum, an online community was launched to enable dialogue and encourage exchange between academics and researchers engaged in CTBT-relevant fields and disciplines. The T-BAN web portal helps members to connect and exchange thoughts and ideas across time zones and geographical borders. Interested academics can enquire about membership by sending an email to [email protected].