Almost all professional meteorologists take part in meteorological training during their undergraduate or graduate study or professional job training in the public or private sector. Increased benefits can be accrued by employers and employees, if this training is based on the same underpinning skills and attributes, aimed to equip people entering meteorology for the wide range of future roles they might undertake.
While there is a great deal of excellent, innovative practice in our community, the time is now right to look again at the nature of the meteorological curriculum. Meteorology faces significant challenges in the 21st century to deal with the twin challenges of increases in the number and severity of extreme weather events and the increased complexity of forecasts demanded by end-users.
Here, a blueprint which describes a number of key principles which should be used to design, evaluate and enhance curricula for students entering our field in the next 10 years is proposed. The blueprint does not discuss in detail the core mathematical and physical principles which underlie any high quality training in meteorology but rather focuses on the key skills and attributes needed to make the next-generation of meteorologists innovative and effective which include:
• Meteorological competencies,
• Personal and inter-personal attributes,
• Core skills as a scientist and
• Ethical and professional interaction with broader society.
The blueprint is intended to encourage debate about how we equip new meteorologists for the digital age. We plan to use these principles to review and enhance our own curricula in the near future
