Our Mission and Why iCons?

The Problem: Education in Silos

Today’s society faces urgent challenges: Developing clean energy, curing disease, producing drinkable water, and responding to climate change. To make meaningful contributions to the issues of their time, students must possess a deep understanding of relevant scientific concepts, and the ability to apply these concepts in real-world contexts. Unfortunately, most fields of science are taught the same way they were a century ago – in separate silos isolated from economic and political realities. Without offering a wider cultural perspective, science instruction cannot inspire today’s students to create solutions our world needs.

While deep technical expertise is critical to solving the world’s biggest problems, standard science instruction alone does not provide students the breadth of training they need to succeed as future leaders in industry, government, or academia. New skill-sets in collaboration, communication, leadership, and interdisciplinary thinking define the needs of today's technical workforce. Organizations must identify and recruit employees armed with these skills to compete in today’s world. Where will organizations find such people?

The Solution: The iCons Program

Preparing today's leaders and innovators requires a new approach. The University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed the Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) Program, a unique approach to education that answers this pressing need: To produce the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and business with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to solve the inherently multi-faceted problems facing our world.

The iCons Program is at the cutting-edge of integrative education, bringing together undergraduate students from all walks of science, engineering, public health, and business to:

• Collaborate on complex societal issues in diverse teams;
• Understand multi-faceted problems from multi-disciplinary perspectives; and
• Develop and study creative solutions to real-world challenges.

Building on the disciplinary strength of each student’s major, the 20-credit iCons curriculum consists of one course per year over four years, culminating in world-class research experiences. iCons projects involve student teamwork on case studies, laboratory experiments, and research – all fostering cross-disciplinary communication and integrative problem-solving skills. After the first year, each student chooses a track in either Biomedicine/Biosystems or Renewable Energy. A new concentration in the area of Food, Water, and Climate is being developed. Students apply to the program as freshmen or sophomore and are taught by an interdisciplinary team of professors and experts in their fields.

The Outcome: Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Leaders

The iCons Program at UMass Amherst attracts the best-and-brightest students, laying the foundation for creative and entrepreneurial careers by radically altering both what we teach and how we teach. iCons students will make immediate and substantial impacts in whatever organizations they join, and bring these organizations to new levels of competitiveness. Most importantly, with the advent of the iCons Program, UMass Amherst is preparing leaders who will help address some of the most urgent issues facing our society today.