Feb 22 2010
Class Size Increased 200% to Accommodate Growing Interest to Address "Humanity's Grand Challenges" Through Scientific, Technological Collaboration and Innovation; Interested Candidates Must Submit Applications On or Before March 15, 2010
Singularity University (SU) -- the academic institution with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address "humanity's grand challenges" -- today announced the dates for the second year of its Graduate Studies Program (GSP), and a 200% class size increase to accommodate 80 of the top students from around the globe. In addition, SU is pleased to announce the availability of numerous full and partial scholarships for the GSP.
"The past year has demonstrated tremendous global challenges, and demonstrated a significant shift in the zeitgeist for exponential and accelerating technologies," said Dr. Ray Kurzweil, co-founder and chancellor, Singularity University. "Exponential technologies, such as nanotechnology and robotics, have the scale to meet the demands of the current and coming global challenges. Singularity University fosters students' understanding of these accelerating technologies to create a better and more productive world."
Ten Weeks of Study, A Lifetime of Innovation
The Graduate Summer Program is a ten-week interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating. In addition to lectures and workshops with world-class leaders, students can also participate in hands-on excursions to leading Silicon Valley labs and companies, Zero G sub-orbital flights, and exposure to NASA's many technologies. Concluding with a challenging group project to positively affect humanity's grand challenges, the Graduate Studies Program will begin June 19 and end with Closing Ceremonies on August 28.
Newly designed for 80 graduate and post-graduate students, participants in the summer program are chosen based on their level of expertise in individual "tracks," demonstrated entrepreneurial and leadership skills, and their commitment to addressing and solving important issues facing our world. Taught by the leading minds in their respective fields, the Graduate Studies Program tracks include: future studies and forecasting; policy, law and ethics; finance and entrepreneurship; networks and computing systems; biotechnology and bioinformatics; nanotechnology; medicine, neuroscience and human enhancement; AI and robotics; energy and ecological systems; and space and physical sciences.
"The biggest issues facing the world today, such as the financial crisis, swine flu and aspects of climate change, are all rooted in accelerating and exponential factors," said Sonia Arrison, Board Member at Singularity University and Senior Fellow at Pacific Research Institute. "The Graduate Studies Program is an excellent opportunity for graduate and post-graduate students to enhance their traditional academic work with an interdisciplinary deep dive into groundbreaking innovations and disruptive technologies that can address these exponential factors, and provide an 'over-the-horizon view' so as to better manage and navigate them. Based on the early work of the inaugural GSP class, we expect the effects of GSP graduates to be far-reaching and positively affect humanity's challenges."
Becoming a Student of Singularity University's GSP-10
The Graduate Studies Program is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study and exchange knowledge and information with the leading minds of today, and the leaders of tomorrow. Students and graduates also become part of Singularity University Network (SUN), enabling on-going connections with the community of other students, faculty, and staff -- a valuable business resource.
Applications are now being accepted for the second Graduate Studies Program, and demand is high for the limited number of spots still available. A number of full and partial tuition scholarships are available to qualified students. For more information and to apply, please visit singularityu.org/programs/graduate-studies-program/.
Singularity University (SU) is an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity's grand challenges. With the support of a broad range of leaders in academia, business and government, SU is stimulating groundbreaking, disruptive thinking and solutions aimed at solving some of the planet's most pressing challenges. SU is based at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley.