Join the Institute of Island Studies in welcoming Dr. Eric Mjits from the University of Aruba to open the Island Lecture Series this fall! All are welcome!

ABOUT THE LECTURE:

Sustainable Island Solutions through STEM: the SISSTEM programs at the University of Aruba

How can we find sustainability solutions at the crossroads of global technological development and the specificity of island contexts and island communities, and how can we build academic programs that build upon the opportunities of islandness? Over the past decade, a team at the University of Aruba has taken on the challenge to develop the Sustainable Solutions through Science programs, a cluster of innovative STEM programs. Dr. Eric Mijts will dive deep into the conceptual underpinnings of the SISSTEM program including social sciences and humanities, the contextual setting, the complexities of the implementation of the programs as well as the impacts the programs have at institutional and national level as well as on the development of the field of island studies.

ABOUT DR. MJITS:

Dr. Eric Mijts is a researcher, educator and manager at the University of Aruba with a keen interest in program design for sustainable development in small island states. He is director of the University of Aruba Research center, co-founder and coordinator of the Sustainable Island Solutions through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (SISSTEM) project cluster and he is co-founder of the Academic Foundation Year. He facilitates several international students research exchange programs. As a researcher Eric is also affiliated to the University of Antwerp and is an active partner in the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and in the Metabolism of Islands think tank. His research and publications focus on multilingualism, language policy and planning, education for sustainable development and inclusion/exclusion processes. Driven by his passion for the balance between humanity and the environment, Eric supports several international research and education projects on marine and terrestrial ecosystems health, governance and restoration.