News@sefi – 4/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

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News@SEFI - 4/2001

The SEFI newsletter contains information about SEFI’s recent activities as well as a summary of the latest stories in higher engineering education in

Europe and worldwide. News@sefi is sent for free to SEFI members. All previous issues are available on www.sefi.be “members only”.

All staff and students of an institution, an association or a company member of SEFI are entitled to receive free copies of the newsletter.

So, if you know anybody interested in a free copy, please contact us.

IN THIS ISSUE

FROM SEFI Annual Conference 2011 and General Assembly Student column

- 29th BEST General Assembly On-going projects

- ECCEobs New members

From members and partners From ENAEE

- Report on ENAEE Administrative Council and General Assembly

From EUA

- Getting to grips with rankings: A high-level seminar for European university leaders

- Call for contributions: 6th European Quality Assurance Forum - EUA Annual Conference

From ASEE

- ASEE Executive Director Announcement - ASEE Election Results

From Europe From the European Commission

- European University-Business Forum: focus on Europe 2020 reforms and employability

European Research Council

- Escaping the 'valley of death'

From the UK - Union calls on MPs to investigate possible collusion over

tuition fees - Wikipedia wants more contributions from academics - Postgraduate funding : Helping hand in the hunt for cash

From Germany

- Industry complains of skills shortage

From France - Engineering schools and innovation, such a difficult

equation.

From the Rest of the World From the USA

- U.S. sets a new step in engineering formation

Publications

For your calendar

Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this issue!

Do not forget to inform the students about the free SEFI membership in 2011!

2011 SEFI Student Year

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FROM SEFI

“Global Engineering Recognition, Sustainability, Mobility “

This year, the SEFI Annual Conference will be organised during the 1st

Engineering Education Flash Week, that will take place in Lisbon

from 27-30 September 2011.

The Flash Week is organised by ISEL, directed by Prof. Quadrado, SEFI

Vice-President. The SEFI Conference will be preceded by the kick-off

meeting of the European Engineering Deans Council, established by

SEFI and ISEL in the context of the EUGENE EU Academic Network, and

will be followed by the 2011 IFEES Summit, the 2011 ASIBEI

Conference, the 2011 ENAEE meeting and the 2011 PAEE Symposium.

For the SEFI Conference:

Deadline for submission of papers: May 31, 2011

Notification of authors: June 20, 2011

Deadline for submission of final manuscripts: July 11, 2011

News !

The SEFI 2011 General Assembly will also be organised in Lisbon on 30

th September 2011, 18:00 and not on 1

st

October as announced in our former issue. It will also includes the 2011 SEFI Fellowships

ceremony.

SEFI STUDENT Column The 29th BEST General Assembly was held in Belgrade between the 14th April and the 22nd April and gathered more than 250 engineering students from all over Europe. Among these participants were the 6 International Board Members, the 6 Committee Coordinators and the leaders of all the ongoing projects in BEST such as the European BEST Engineering Competition, BEST University Center and BEST Educational Platform. Prior to the event, to raise awareness to the engineering education topic, a SEFI workshop was organised to 25 interested students. Sanna Allt led wonderfully students through the topic "Identification of regional strengths and weaknesses in student-university cooperation". The enthusiasm of the participants was surprising. Many of them took ideas back home and others were triggered by the possibilities of the student-university cooperation, as well as the importance to involve others. The 29th BEST General Assembly also had the honour to have as guests the Minister of Youth and Sports, the BEST corporate partner P&G and many other faith full supporters of BEST.

During one week, technology students from BEST discussed topics and matters on the engineering education field such as: • Teaching and Research in Engineering in Europe; • Student participation at Flash Week; • Development of BEST Educational Platform: a new project aiming to significantly increase involvement of students in the development of engineering education; • BEST University Centre, promoting and supporting student mobility; • Improvement and sustainability of the European BEST Engineering Competition, providing students a way to practice what they learn in theory during their studies; • How to better communicate engineering projects for the common public. First steps for the development of a sharing center for technology; • How to improve BEST external courses on technology for students all over Europe; • Open Space Technology as a new method to lead debates and increase the impact of student involvement in Europe; • Improvement of the BEST membership system in order to ensure the development of stronger Local BEST Groups. BEST is also delighted to announce that newest universities part of the organisation: • Technical University of Delft, Netherlands became a full member; • Vinnytsia National Technical University, Ukraine became a baby member; • Students from the University of Southampton and the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria, started their journey to become sustainable members of the organisation. During the final days of the 29th BEST General Assembly the new Board and Committee Coordinators of BEST were elected and approved by all the representatives of the Local BEST Groups. The new team will be intensively trained in order to take over the organisation in good hands on 1st July 2011. The current and newly elected management look forward to continue the engaged track of increased involvement in the development of European Engineering Education.

Lucien Romagnoli (on behalf of BEST) NEWS FROM OUR ON-GOING PROJECTS

ECCE - Engineering observatory on Competence based Curricula for job Enhancement The Higher Education (HE) and the productive world are just facing new and complex challenges. The goals of the Bologna Process, Lisbon Declaration and “ET 2020” appear even more important after the 2008' financial crisis, and together with the Communication on "New skills for new jobs" are key points for the EUHEA -European Higher Education Area- and for industry as well. In this scenario, the need of the continuous collaboration between HE institutions and enterprises in order to enhance the HE curricula, their transparency and the competences developed is becoming more and more urgent. The main objectives of ECCE can be summarized as follows: - to improve the cooperation among HE institutions and enterprises during the process of definition of the competences to be developed by engineering HE institutions;

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- to establish a permanent Observatory, able to regularly provide players and stakeholders with directions and recommendations on skills offer and demand in the engineering context and the ways of aligning and enriching them; - to develop an easily understandable European model (for Universities and business stakeholders) for the "translation" of engineering higher education courses and curricula into transparent learning outcomes and linking them to the EQF levels. Several surveys addressed to alumni have been already completed; the aim is to identify the Learning Outcomes which have been felt by the alumni as sufficiently or insufficiently developed during the academic learning process, with regards to the needs of the professional life, and which outcomes have been developed but have not been exploited in professional life. In the context of this project from which SEFI is one of the main partners - notably by organizing the final ECCE conference in Brussels on 8th September, an event opened to all those interested (no fees) - , we would like invite you to take a little bit of your time to answer the questionnaires you received by email on the 27th of April: one concerns the universities and the other on the companies. For more information about the project, please visit the website www.ecceobs.eu . New members The membership candidatures of the following colleagues was accepted by the SEFI Bureau: Prof. Christian K. Karl, Universtiät Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Marina Pantazidou, National Technical University of Athens, Prof. Ana Madueira, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Dr. Martin JAEGER, Australian College of Kuwait, Prof. Katrina Nordström, University of Aalto, Prof. Michael Auer, IGIP President and Prof. Pierre Padilla, ENIM. The following institutions have been accepted as well: Escola Universitaria Salensiana de Sarrua EUSS, Université Technologique de Troyes (UTT), Tampere University of Technology (TUT), National technical University of Athens and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Welcome to all of them, we are looking forward to cooperate with you in a near future!

FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS

FROM ENAEE Report on ENAEE Administrative Council and General Assembly (Paris, March 24-25, 2011) Professor G.Augusti chaired both meetings, in the venue of CTI in Neuilly-sur-Seine. At the AC meeting (attended by 14 members, among which the undersigned as auditor) many matters were of internal concern to ENAEE (such as the financial report by the treasurer Ph.Wouters). A small working group to finalise the collection of offers for web-site improvement was formed (J.Möhren, T.Sanchez + the ICT manager of ASIIN). It was decided to propose an extraordinary GA of ENAEE in the Fall to prepare the election day of early 2012. I.Wasser reported that new applications from National Accreditation Agencies to become members of the EUR-ACE Label Committee are under examination. It was remembered that ENAEE sponsors some projects supported by the EC (EUGENE and ECDEAST), and has declared interest into TechnoTN2012 and EUR-ACE14+, if their applications will be accepted by the EC. In the last one G.Augusti has the role of scientific advisor and will chair the Steering Committee. The AC indicated persons interested in an active participation. These sponsorships were approved. The ENAEE GA of the following day was attended by 20 persons, among which the undersigned representing SEFI. The Agenda listed as main points: the report from the treasurer and financial decisions, a general

discussion on the perspectives of ENAEE and EUR-ACE, the need to revise statutes and by-laws, the call for an extraordinary GA for the Fall 2011. For this GA the date of October 12th was proposed and approved together with its venue (Düsseldorf). For the financial reports an internal auditor was nominated. Introducing the discussion on ENAEE/EUR-ACE perspectives G.Augusti reported that seven new Agencies manifested interest, among which five already asked authorisation to give the EUR-ACE Labels. Since the Label Committee already includes seven members, this is the reason for the name of the new application for financial support by the EC (EUR-ACE14+) introduced, as in the past, by Unifi. A lively discussion followed pointing out the need for reinforcing the management structure of ENAEE, and for promoting the EUR-ACE Labels not only in selective academic circles, but also among students and enterprises. I.Wasser pointed out also the need to reinforce the global image and the political efficacy of ENAEE’s actions. At the end of the discussion D.McGrath pointed out that ENAEE and EUR-ACE are still quite young, and that it is natural that basic work is still needed. He said that delays are often the responsibility of applicants and that a more effective mentoring may be advisable. Among near future challenges he mentioned the promotion of programme accreditation vs. institutional accreditation, and of the relevance of the EUR-ACE Labels for favouring mobility. For this it is important to stress that each Agency must accept accredited programmes by other Agencies. The importance of using the media to promote EUR-ACE accreditation was also mentioned. Closing the meeting G.Augusti advocated the need for a strategic development plan for ENAEE and the importance of circulating information efficiently. E.Payzin illustrated the situation as far as modifications to statutes and by-laws and promised to circulate soon a draft of proposal in preparation of the GA of next October 12th. All this has to be discussed by the recently constituted Task Force of SEFI on Quality Assurance and Accreditation, co-chaired by A.Varadi and the undersigned. It is natural to foresee that this discussion will take place at the first meeting of the SEFI QAA TF early May in Lisbon.

by Prof. Francesco Maffioli Co- Chair SEFI TF on Accreditation and QA

FROM EUA Getting to grips with rankings: A high-level seminar for European university leaders Over the last 18 months, the European University Association (EUA) has been carrying out a comprehensive review of all major international university rankings. Universities are increasingly confronted by a plethora of ranking and classification initiatives – both at the national and international level. While many university leaders have reservations about rankings, their methodologies and criteria, there is a growing recognition that such initiatives are here to stay. Research has also shown that despite their acknowledged shortcomings, rankings are having an increasing impact on decision-making and activities in universities across Europe.This is why EUA has decided that there is a need to respond on behalf of the 850 universities it represents by publishing a ‘Review of international higher education rankings’. This new publication will be launched and presented to university leaders for the first time at this special one day seminar taking place in Brussels in June. (Source EUA website: http://www.eua.be/rankings-seminar.aspx ) EUA Annual Conference: Developing talent depends on investment in universities and university autonomy Around 450 university leaders and other higher education stakeholders gathered from the 13th to the 15th of April at Aarhus University, Denmark, for the EUA Annual Conference on the theme “Investing today in talent for tomorrow”. The meeting in Aarhus highlighted that developing and nurturing more talented individuals is already central to the mission of European universities. One of the most striking

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developments in recent years in this respect has been the rapid development of doctoral (PhD) education within universities. The establishment of structured doctoral programmes and schools has rapidly become the norm in Europe. Other recent changes have also included improved university-industry partnerships and rapid internationalisation of universities. At the same time, universities face a number of challenges in developing talent - not least because of increasing global competition to attract and retain the best researchers and students. At a time when the EU is preparing priorities and budgets for the next financial period (2014-2020), the conference examined the elements that underpin successful strategies for developing talent and will determine universities’ contribution to the EU2020 agenda for ‘Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth’ . As employers, universities themselves also play a crucial role in developing talent. In his concluding speech, EUA President Professor Jean-Marc Rapp addressed some of the framework conditions required to help universities develop and nurture talent: “Europe’s universities are working hard to provide innovative research and training environments to help tackle global challenges. EUA has underlined that universities need a balanced and appropriate combination of instruments and funding at the European, national and regional level to assist their efforts.” In his keynote speech, President Barroso, underlined that Europe had to value talent and use high-level education and skills to master the challenges ahead. Based on the outcomes of this meeting, the EUA will develop in the coming weeks an Aarhus Declaration that will focus on the key role of universities in developing talent. The presentations from the conference will soon be available on the event website. (Source EUA website: http://www.eua.be/News/11-04-21/EUA_Annual_Conference_Developing_talent_depends_on_investment_in_universities_and_university_autonomy.aspx ) Call for contributions: 6th European Quality Assurance Forum The 6th European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) will take place at the University of Antwerp and Artesis University College, Belgium, from 17-19 November 2011. The 2011 Forum, entitled “Quality and trust: at the heart of what we do”, will increase opportunities for exchanging experiences among colleagues, sharing institutional practices, and discovering new QA developments. Through a mix of plenary and parallel sessions, EQAF 2011 will aim to explore the impact and essence of both internal and external QA, and how QA can be further developed to serve these better. The Forum organisers, ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE, have now opened a call for contributions from QA practitioners in higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies, students, institutional leaders and researchers in the field. Two types of contributions are sought: papers and workshops. The deadline to submit contributions is 1 August 2011. (Source EUA website: http://www.eua.be/news/11-04-07/Call_for_contributions_6th_European_Quality_Assurance_Forum_Antwerp_Belgium_17-19_November_2011.aspx )

FROM ASEE ASEE Election Results ASEE members elected Walter W. Buchanan to serve as ASEE President-Elect for 2011-2012. Buchanan is J. R. Thompson Endowed Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University. He will assume the position of ASEE President-Elect at the 2011 Annual Conference and become President the following year

ASEE New Executive Director We are pleased to inform our readers that Dr. Norman Fortenberry is the new ASEE’s Executive Director as from May 1, 2011. Dr. Fortenberry’s experience as an educator at Florida A&M – Florida State University, as director at the National Science Foundation, and most recently as a Center director at the National Academy of Engineering with focused activity on engineering education will enrich ASEE efforts and enable them to move forward boldly and collaboratively with others sharing the same commitment.

Welcome to Dr. Fortenberry into our Engineering education circle. We look forward to meet you soon in Vancouver next June! (Source ASEE website: http://www.asee.org/ )

FROM EUROPE

FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION University-business dialogue and co-operation Both higher education institutions and businesses benefit from working together; it stimulates the transfer and sharing of knowledge, and helps create long-term partnerships, profitable opportunities as well as boosting students' future employment prospects. There are many examples of successful co-operation between academia and industry throughout Europe. However, the level of co-operation varies considerably between different countries, universities and academic disciplines. The European Commission presented a set of measures in 2009 to develop and strengthen co-operation between universities and businesses, as part of wider efforts to support the modernisation of higher education. The Commission proposed to expand the role of its university-business forum, which has met regularly since 2008, to cover a wider range of issues. The platform involves higher education institutions, companies, business associations, intermediaries and public authorities, enabling them to exchange good practice, discuss common problems and build closer working relationships. All the presentations are now available here: http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc1261_en.htm (Source European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc1261_en.htm )

European Institute of Innovation and Technology The European Commission has launched on the 14th April an open public consultation on the future strategy for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The questionnaire can be consulted via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/consult/index_en.html . To accompany the consultation, the European Commission is organising an information session for interested stakeholders on 5 May 2011 in Brussels, at DG Education and Culture premises. For registration send an email to EAC-SIA-MEETINGS@ec.europa.eu with your contact details before 3 May 2011, close of business.

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FROM THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL Escaping the 'valley of death' The European Research Council has launched a new funding stream to help researchers in receipt of ERC grants to commercialise their findings. The "Proof of Concept" scheme will offer researchers up to EUR150,000 (£132,000) per grant to carry out activities such as technical validation, market research and clarifying intellectual property rights ahead of making an approach to venture capitalists or companies that may be interested in bringing their innovations to market. Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European commissioner for research, innovation and science, said: "ERC-funded frontier research sometimes yields spin-offs with immediate commercial potential, and Proof of Concept funding will help get them safely across the 'valley of death' into which good ideas often plunge due to lack of capital to bring them to market." (Source ERC website: http://erc.europa.eu/index.cfm )

FROM THE UK Union calls on MPs to investigate possible collusion over tuition fees. A union official has called on a cross-party group of MPs to investigate whether universities are colluding on tuition fees. Mike Robinson, national officer for higher education at the Unite union, claimed today that there was “anecdotal evidence” of institutions “worried” they had “acted in concert” by having discussions about the issue. Giving evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee’s inquiry into the government’s funding reforms, Mr Robinson said the decision by most institutions to charge £9,000 was not accidental. “The level of fee setting worries my union,” he said. “The number of institutions that are going at the £9,000 level we don’t think is an accident, we think it is deliberate. Whether it’s planned between them is our concern and we think that is something that you need to look at.” He added: “We are looking at institutions that haven’t taken a very transparent view about how they set their fees.” After the hearing, Mr Robinson said the Office of Fair Trading would have to investigate if specific evidence of collusion emerged. “The fee increases are a runaway train with an enormous financial crash at the end that the public purse will have to pick up,” he said. “We are hoping there is no collusion between universities to all charge the highest rate, but it has become a status symbol for vice-chancellors, greedy to maintain income and, of course, their own salary levels.” Of the 31 universities that have so far announced their fees plans for 2012, 22 of them are to charge a flat rate of £9,000. (Source Times Higher Education website: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=415732&c=1 )

Wikipedia wants more contributions from academics. Scholars have mostly now joined students in accepting that Wikipedia – the fifth most visited website in the world – can be a valuable starting point for inquiry, but it appears that when it comes to actually contributing to the articles within their area of expertise, there is a hole. Reducing the academic mistrust towards the online participative encyclopaedia is one of the goals of the Wikimedia Foundation, which tries to bring the scholars to participate, and not only their students. The complete article by Zoe Corbyn offers an accurate summary of the relations between the academic world and Wikipedia, introducing us to the future interactions aspired by the online encyclopaedia.

(Source The Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/29/wikipedia-survey-academic-contributions ) Postgraduate funding: Helping hand in the hunt for cash A UK database of postgraduate funding sources has been launched. The online resource is collaboration between Graduate Prospects, the commercial arm of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, and The Grants Register, an annual guide prepared by academic publisher Palgrave Macmillan. It contains details of 1,200 scholarships from 270 funders in the UK, including universities, charities and foundations. Mike Hill, chief executive of Graduate Prospects, explained: "Postgraduate funding is very different from that of further and undergraduate education because it's so fragmented and very little of it is automatic. The database is sure to be welcomed by students who will no longer have to hunt around to find the money they need." (Source prospect webpage: www.prospects.ac.uk/funding )

FROM GERMANY Industry complains of skills shortage German industry has warned of the need to find solutions for the shortage of staff in mathematics, informatics, natural science and engineering abbreviated in German as MINT. "In February alone, the shortage in MINT specialists rose by 21,000 people, which is the highest increase within a single month since 2000," Hans-Peter Klös, Managing Director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, explained. Sattelberger, who is a Deutsche Telekom board member for human resources, chairs 'MINT Zukunft schaffen', an initiative launched by the BDA and the BDI to promote MINT subjects in schools. He believes that MINT education must be boosted throughout the entire education system. He also wants to encourage girls and young woman to study the MINT subjects. In higher education the Nixdorf Foundation, together with the Stifterverband, Germany's donor organisation for the promotion of science and the humanities, has been supporting institutions coming up with new ideas on boosting MINT graduate statistics. Nixdorf and the Stifterverband have noted that growth in student numbers is slower in these subjects than it is in many others. One crucial factor they see is that much more could be done to improve study conditions in the subjects. According to a survey by Hochschul-Informations-System (HIS - a German higher education statistics agency), 28% of MINT students drop out. If students switching from the MINT area to other subjects are taken into account, the statistics become even more unfavourable, with 40% of beginners not staying on. One reason stated for MINT students switching to other subjects or giving up altogether is that many feel that too much is being demanded of them. HIS stated that dropping out is usually due to failing to achieve in MINT courses. Apparently, many students claim that the workload is simply too great. (Source universityworldnews website: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110325204522328 )

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FROM FRANCE

From ParisTech Engineering schools and innovation, such a difficult equation. Innovation is fashionable. Indeed, this word has become a true leitmotiv at every level of the French economy, being found throughout reports and official statements. Reality is less impressive, as shown in the report “Adapting our engineering education to globalisation” from the Institut Montaigne. Proportionally to their population, France counts three times less start-ups being created each year than the USA. What are the reasons of such a difference? French Grandes Ecoles are not the only ones to blame; they share a certain responsibility though. These top engineering schools are nowadays a common way to select the country’s elite, yet not only the scientific one. Many graduated engineers leave the scientific and industrial paths for management and finances, regarding an education that is more centred on technical culture than technical skills. If their scientific knowledge is most of the time higher than their foreign colleagues when entering an engineering school, French students lack skills of lab techniques, project management, and even advance research. PhDs are praised by international companies, but French industrials have no interest in highly qualified applicants, regarding them as to academic. Moreover, if entrepreneurship experience is an asset in the USA, it is not the case on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. One of the reasons is that if a start-up failure is regarded as learning experience in America, the French view is the opposite... there is fear of risk taking. Comparing France to others countries, the report “Adapting our engineering education to globalisation” gives hints of what could and

should change in France engineering education system, pointing out the fact that increasing innovation is not possible without teaching entrepreneurship skills and project management to the students. The change is slow but already in motion with the increasing number of junior enterprises incubators in schools. Has innovation become a fashionable word, its purpose cannot be fulfilled without some evolution. Complete article available in French only. (Source ParisTech Review: http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=454901129&gid=2783502&type=member&item=48900091&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eparistechreview%2Ecom%2F2011%2F03%2F31%2Fecoles-ingenieur-innovation%2F%3Fsms_ss%3Dlinkedin%26at_xt%3D4d9456fa73979e54%252C0&urlhash=o9pr&goback=%2Egde_2783502_member_48900091

FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD

FROM THE USA U.S. sets a new step in engineering formation: as from 2020 licensure in the engineering profession will require 5 years Master degree in engineering. Recently, the member licensing boards that compose NCEES voted to amend the NCEES Model Law to include an additional education requirement for P.E. licensure beginning in 2020. The new language calls for candidates to complete a master's degree or its equivalent before attempting the PE exam. The specifics on the educational paths that meet the "or its equivalent" clause are the subject of ongoing work by the Council. In order for the requirement to go into effect in a particular state, that state must incorporate it into its law. A timeline showing the evolution of the new requirements can be found here. (Source NCEES website: http://www.ncees.org/Audience_Landing_Pages/Students.php )

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PUBLICATIONS “The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities Are Reshaping The World” By Ben Wildavsky Winner of the 2010 Philip E. Frandson Award for Literature in the Field of Continuing Higher Education, University Professional and Continuing Education Association. Honorable Mention for the 2010 PROSE Award for Excellence in Education, American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. More information: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9113.html

Engineering Research in Irish Economic Development By the Irish Academy of Engineering Complete report available in PDF: http://www.iae.ie/site_media/pressroom/documents/2010/Dec/03/IAE_EconomicRepor_web.pdf

“The Essential Engineer” ~why science alone will not solve global problems~ By Henry Petroski Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher, New York Review by John Kelly, Former Professor of Chemical Engineering and Dean of Engineering in UCD. This excellent book is the latest contribution in the long line of books written by Henry Petroski on the evolving role of the engineer in the contempory world. Dr. Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and History in Duke University in North Carolina, USA. The main trust of this book is to distinguish between the engineer and the scientist, whilst unashamedly singing the praises of the engineer. His argument is a simple one: whereas scientists are concerned with the study of the universe and the discovery of how it works, engineers are involved in putting things together to make new things. Engineers are primarily innovators and scientists are discoverers, or alternately, science is about knowing, engineering is about doing. “As engineers” he says, “we are in a position to change the world, not just to study it”’. Scientists of course, he admits, sometimes make new things and engineers may discover how things work, but these are not the prime roles of their disciplines. Despite the overlap and confusion in terminology, engineering and science are quite distinct human endeavours. The book discusses the work of the great American engineer of the post WW2 years, Vannevar Bush, who reported directly to President Franklin Roosevelt, and later to President Harry Truman, on the development of the national science policy and its structures in the United States in the 1940s. He was the key person in the establishment of the National Science Foundation, (NSF), where he promoted the linear model of R&D, in which engineering innovation follows directly from basic scientific research. This model is rejected by Petroski, saying that it was a grossly simplistic view of the science and technology hierarchy. He notes that in some dictionaries, engineering is defined simply as “applied science”, a definition he also rejects, noting that many of the great innovations of engineering, such as the Wright Brothers with their aeroplane, were designed without any reference to science, but where the science of aerodynamics followed the innovation. He quotes the philosopher Barry Allen who said that: “It’s a joke to say that engineering is applied science when engineers are past masters at taking knowledge where science cannot penetrate”. Research and development, he argues, is just another name for Science and Engineering. The linear model of R&D, sometimes referred to as the Bushian model, has been universally challenged, even eventually by Bush himself. Strong calls were made over the years to change the name of the NSF to the National Science & Engineering Foundation, but although the linear model lost the strength it had in Bush’s time, the title still remains. In the late 1960s, the US Congress redefined the NSF’s mission to include explicit support for Research Applied to National Needs, (RANN) including such areas as energy, the environment and industrial productivity. (Aside: the Irish Academy of Engineering, (www.iae.ie), has recently made identical arguments in relation to Science Foundation Ireland in its paper on “Engineering Research & Irish Economic Development”) In the USA there have been many studies on the competing research traditions of science and engineering, where he argues that research in engineering disciplines has proved to be more important to the development of new commercial technologies than even the most advanced basic scientific research. Petroski distinguishes with due respect between the “engineer” who drives the train from the university educated engineer, saying that the former is a person who works with engines and hence his title, whereas the latter’s title derives from the Latin term ingenium, relating to the talent for ingenuity in the innovation of devices and systems. Maybe we graduate types should call ourselves ingeneers? He notes that as a result, engineers do not have the same public status as scientists, particularly, but not only, in the academic worlds and Petroski gives many examples. Scientists who deal in ideas tend to be viewed as superior to engineers who deal in things. The great space innovations of recent years are generally hailed in the media as scientific achievements, even though the rockets were designed and built by engineers, but when something goes wrong, as they sometimes have, it is described as an engineering disaster or failure. The US Academy of Engineering reported that “the public believes that engineers are not as engaged with societal and community concerns as scientists, or as likely to play a role in saving lives”. Theodore von Kármán of fluid dynamics fame referred to himself as an engineer, but was generally honoured as a scientist, receiving the National Medal of Science from President John F. Kennedy, and identified in a 1992 commemorative U.S. postage stamp as an “Aerospace Scientist”. The most famous quote attributed to him is “A scientist studies what is, an engineer creates what never was”. The latter sections of this book describe the many great innovations by engineers in medicine, in environment management, in pollution control and in the many other vital areas of human existence and survival. This is indeed a heart warming book for engineers to read. Scientists may say that “methinks he doth protest too much”, and that may well be so, but I for one thought it a great read and I recommend it strongly, not only to all us ingeneers, but to those who are in our Government and their offices, who have responsibility for the support and development of R&D in our higher education institutes.

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FOR YOUR CALENDAR

In May

05 May 2011, Lisbon, ISEL, Portugal EUGENE Management Committee

06 May 2011, Lisbon, ISEL, Portugal SEFI Administrative Council

06 May 2011, Lisbon, ISEL, Portugal First Meeting of SEFI Task Force on Quality Assurance and Accreditation (TF-QAA)

12 - 15 May 2011, Antalya, Turkey APMAS Congress Turkey 2011 www.apmas2011.org

13 May 2011, Milano, Italy 4th MODERN Conference http://www.highereducationmanagement.eu/activities/conferences/knowledge-exchange

17 - 21 May 2011, Uppsala University, Sweden 7th HUMANE study trip http://www.humane.eu/Uppsala-2011.238.0.html

19 - 20 May 2011, Brussels, Belgium PURE Conference: “Regional Development and Higher Education - The Next Decade” http://pure.pascalobservatory.org

19 - 21 May 2011, Sibiu, Romania CEPES & Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu conference: Life after graduation http://conferences.ulbsibiu.ro/unescocepes/en/

22-24 May 2011, Vienna, Austria ACA Annual Conference http://www.aca-secretariat.be/index.php?id=461

25-27 May 2011, Istanbul Turkey International Educational Technology Conference (IETC) Registration, Proposal & Abstract Submission Deadline: Until May 16, 2011 -Full Paper submission: May 20, 2011 www.iet-c.net

26-28 May 2011, Stockholm, Sweden The Role of Trust in Higher Education: Ethical and Quality Standards in Research and Teaching Academia Europaea and Wenner Gren Foundations International Symposium http://www.acadeuro.org/index.php?id=hercules2011

In June

01 - 03 June 2011, Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic International Conference “THE STRATEGY OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN THE REFLECTION OF THE CONTEMPORARY ERA” For more information visit: http://stvrden.fvtm.ujep.cz/view.php?cisloaktuality=2008111401&mn=11

09 - 10 June 2011, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Fourth Annual Meeting of the EUA Council for Doctoral Education Further information is available here: EUA-Doctoral Education

15 - 17 June 2011, Dubrovnik Riviera, Cavtat, Croatia Joint International Symposium METROLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY MEASUREMENTS and International Symposium of Energy Agencies of Mediterranean Countries - MEDITERRANEAN INDUSTRY OF THE SUN www.imeko-mi2011.org

16 - 17 June 2011, Florence, Italy International Conference “The Future of Education” http://www.pixel-online.net/edu_future

19 - 22 June 2011, Dublin, Ireland Annual Conference EDEN 2011 For more information visit: http://www.eden-online.org/eden.php?menuId=530

20 - 23 June 2011, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark 7th International CDIO Conference For more information visit: www.cdio2011.dtu.dk/

26 - 29 June 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada ASEE Annual Conference 2011 in Vancouver For more information visit: http://www.asee.org/conferences-and-events/conferences/annual-conference/2011

27 - 29 June 2011, Oslo, Norway Council of Europe and partners: “Reimagining democratic societies” http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/Oslo%20Conference/Default_EN.asp#TopOfPage

28 June - 01 July 2011, Brasov, Romania REV 2011 - Remote Engineering & Virtual Instrumentation For more information visit http://fizica.unitbv.ro/rev2011/

News@sefi – 4/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

9

2011 SEFI Student year

We hope that you enjoyed this issue of News@SEFI

The next issue will be published at the end of May 2011

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