Welcome to Engineering Education - History, Reforms and Future Challenges
Introduction
In many ways engineering education is an engine of economic growth and employability. Society therefore makes new demands for engineering education institutions to make it possible to adapt to the requirements of change. One issue that has gained currency in accreditation procedures nationally and globally is the demand for outcome based education involving not only knowledge, but also skills and competencies. As a result engineering education institutions, their managers and academic staff are involved in a reform process. These reforms of engineering education have been seen in Europe, USA and now in many emerging economies.
Reform efforts should be seen in the light of a number of recurrent tensions in engineering education. These tensions are related to questions concerning: what, how much, how, when, where, engineering student should learn, and by whom, and for whom engineering should be taught.
Due to the inherent normativities of any configuration of responses curricular reforms are difficult to implement as they are very com¬plex on at least five counts:
1. They are inextricably linked to perceptions of current thinking and actions on educational concerns and reforms around the world, 2. The vision behind curriculum reform is concurrently the expression of a political and a tech¬nological agenda which is open to critique, 3. Curriculum reform is both a process and a product, which involves a wide range of institutions, stake¬holders and actors, 4. The process of constructing a curriculum is unique to each national and institutional setting. It is the complex outcome of negotia¬tions between stakeholders to meet the perceived needs and requirements of companies, students and society, 5. Quite often the strategic goals of stake¬holders collide.
When change is on demand, history becomes even more important for understanding the structure, practice and culture of engineering. What is the history of engineering education? What are the different roots for engineering education, and how did these develop in different parts of the world? Is engineering applied science or does engineering have its’ own knowledge domain? How does engineering education correspond to the engineering practice it serves? What could be the future directions of engineering education? These are just some of the questions that will be discussed in this PhD/webinar series.
The series of webinars are conducted by two complementary groups of researchers:
1) Engineering Education Researchers who have become an international community of researchers organized in both the international Research on Engineering Education Network (REEN) and in many regional networks such as the SEFI-working group, ASSE EER division, Nordic Network for Engineering Education Research (NNEER), etc.
These societies are characterized by their focus on educational research. Their focus is on:
1. Engineering Epistemologies: Research on what constitutes engineering thinking and knowledge within social contexts now and in the future.
2. Engineering Learning Mechanisms: Research on engineering learners’ developing knowledge and competencies.
3. Engineering Learning Systems: Research on the instructional culture, institutional infrastructure, and epistemology of engineering educators
4. Engineering Diversity and Inclusiveness: Research on how diverse human talents contribute solutions to the social and global challenges and relevance of our profession.
5. Engineering Assessment: Research on, and the development of, assessment methods, instruments, and metrics to inform engineering education practice and learning.
The societies have primarily used the journals within Engineering Education Research, namely Journal of Engineering Education and European Journal of Engineering Education respectively.
2) Working in parallel with the EER society the International Network for Engineering Studies (INES) is characterized by an STS approach to engineering education represented in the journal Engineering Studies. In this society, there has been a stronger focus on the development of engineering education and how engineering education integrates societal aspects.
This series of webinars will focus on the history, reforms and future challenges to engineering education and with most of the presenters belonging to the INES society.
The webinars will be based on published articles/book chapters and excerpts from unpublished chapters from volume 1 of two new books to be published in 2015:
Christensen, Steen Hyldgaard; Didier, Christelle ;Jamison, Andrew ; Meganck, Martin; Mitcham, Carl ; Newberry, Byron (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Christensen, Steen Hyldgaard; Didier, Christelle; Jamison, Andrew; Meganck, Martin; Mitcham, Carl; Newberry, Byron (eds.) (2015). Engineering Identities, Epistemologies and Values: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume 2. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Objectives
This PhD course will meet the following objectives:
- understanding of the diverse roots for engineering education
- understanding of the tensions and societal issues that push for a reform of engineering education
- understanding of various reform strategies in Europe, US and emerging economies
- developing an understanding of how your own PhD thesis might relate to the discussion of future engineering education.
Organizers
Professor Anette Kolmos and Adjunct Associate Professor Steen Hyldgaard Christensen.
Lectures
Each of the lectures will take place in 1 hour webinar sessions. Each webinar session will be divided into a 30-40 minutes slide presentation and 20-30 minutes discussion.
Credits: 4 ECTS
Time: Each second week starting out December 2014.
Form
The course is organized as a series of webinars running each second week for 1 hour. The webinars will be combined with material and exercises on Moodle.
To get the credits for this PhD course, it is compulsory to write a final essay on how your PhD research contributes to the discussion of the future engineering education.
Number of seats: 14
Deadline for application: November 10, 2014
Presentations at the Webinars
Tuesday 2 December 2014 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 1: General Introduction to the History of Engineering Education
Presenter: Prof. Ulrik Jørgensen, Aalborg University, Copenhagen
Suggested literature
Ulrik Jørgensen: Historical Accounts of Engineering Education. In: Crawley, E. F., Malmqvist, J., Östlund, S., & Brodeur, D. R. (2007). Rethinking Engineering Education. Springer.
Ulrik Jørgensen. Constructions of the Core of Engineering: Technology and Design as Modes of Social Intervention. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Tuesday 16 December 2014 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 2: The Role of Research in Academic Drift Processes in European and American Professional Engineering Education outside the Universities.
Presenter: Prof. Byron Newberry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Suggested literature
Steen Hyldgaard Christensen and Byron Newberry: The Role of Research in Academic Drift Processes in European and American Professional Engineering Education outside the Universities. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Atsushi Akera and Bruce Seely: A Historical Survey of the Structural Changes in the American System of Engineering Education. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Tuesday 13 January 2015 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 3: Structural Changes in Engineering Education in Europe
Presenter: Ex-Lecturer Bernard Delahousse, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (USTL), France
Suggested literature
Bernard Delahousse and Wilhelm Bomke: Structural Transformations in Higher Engineering Education in Europe. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Friday 23 January 2015 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 4: Academic drift in Professional Engineering Education in Denmark
Presenter: Ass. Prof. Steen Hyldgaard Christensen, Aalborg University
Suggested literature
Christensen, Steen Hyldgaard and Ernø-Kjølhede, Erik (2011). Academic drift in Danish Professional Engineering Education. Myth or reality? Opportunity or threat? European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 36, No. 3, June 2011, pp. 285–299
Tuesday 3 February 2015 from 10.00-11.00 Danish time (Rio de Janeiro time 13.00-14.00)
Webinar 5: Engineering Education in the New Economies
Presenter: Prof. Domício Proença Jr. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, The University of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Suggested literature
Édison Renato Silva, Roberto Bartholo, and Domício Proença Jr: Engineering Brazil: National Engineering Capability at Stake. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Balasundaram Subramanian: Engineering Education in India: A Comprehensive Overview. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Tuesday 17 February 2015 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 6: The Engineering Education-Practice Nexus and the of Study Engineering Practice
Presenter: Prof. Lars Bo Henriksen, Aalborg University
Suggested literature
Lars Bo Henriksen. Knowledge work and the Problem of Implementation:
The Case of Engineering. In: Dariusz Jemielniak (Ed.) (2014). The Laws of Knowledge Work. Collected volume published by Ashgate (Gower)
Lars Bo Henriksen. Conceptualising Engineering as ‘Spiel’ and Disclosure – On Engineers, Technologies and Processes. In: Kenneth Mølbjerg Jørgensen, Carlos Largacha-Martinez (Eds.) (2014). Critical Narrative Inquiry: Ethics, Sustainability and Action to Critical Narrative Inquiry: Storytelling, Sustainability and Power. Nova Science Publishers.
Tuesday 3 March 2015 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 7: Future Challenges
Presenter: Ass, prof. Jette Egelund Holgaard, Aalborg University
Suggested literature
Andrew Jamison, Niels Mejlgaard, and Jette Egelund Holgaard: Fostering Hybridity: Integrating Contextual Knowledge into Engineering Education. In: Christensen, S. H. ; Didier, C. ;Jamison, A. ; Meganck, M. ; Mitcham, C. ; Newberry, B. (eds.) (2015). International Perspectives on Engineering Education: Engineering Education and Practice in Context. Volume I. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Forthcoming
Jamison, Andrew ; Kolmos, Anette ; Holgaard, Jette Egelund (2014) Hybrid Learning: An Integrative Approach to Engineering Education. Journal of Engineering Education. Vol. 103, No. 2, April 2014, pp. 253-273.
Tuesday 17 March 2015 from 13.00-14.00
Webinar 8: Peer assessment and presentation
Facilitators: Steen Hyldgaard and Anette Kolmos
- Teacher: Anette Kolmos