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How Technological and Vocational Education Can Prosper in the 21st Century T echnological and vocational educa- tion plays a pivotal role in the eco- nomic development in modern society. Let’s take the case in Taiwan as an example. In the 1950s, the industrial structure in Taiwan was at the labor-in- tensive stage. At that time, vocational edu- cation was focused on the enrollment of elementary-school graduates who met the needs of basic labor work. In the late 1960s, with the transition from labor-in- tensive to skill-intensive industrial struc- ture, vocational education at the high-school level was fully developed and some two-year junior colleges were estab- lished with the purpose of cultivating mid-level technical and management skills for the manufacturing industry. In the early 1970s, the transition to a skill-intensive production system was suc- cessfully completed, and the industrial settings started to move into the capi- tal-intensive phase. In order to cultivate high-ranking technical experts and man- agers, National Taiwan Institute of Tech- nology (NTIT), which was the first university-level institution for the voca- tional education system, was established in Taipei. Notice that NTIT offered educa- tion opportunities for students graduating from vocational high schools and/or two-year junior colleges to continue ad- vanced studies. Later on, the M.S. and Ph.D. programs were subsequently set up. Thus, the technological and vocational education system in Taiwan became very complete. With the rapid development of modern electronics and the information-technol- ogy industry, Taiwan has entered the ranks of developed countries. It is impor- tant that the technological and vocational education system constantly evolves to meet the needs of worldwide economic de- velopment, the new demand of highly skilled manpower, the changing indus- trial structure, the social/cultural changes, and the continued progress of modern technology. MAINSTREAM WORKFORCE In the 21st century, due to globalization and direct impacts of information technol- ogy and the Internet, technological and vo- cational education needs to conduct structural adjustment with particular em- phasis on government-guided policies, which include establishing Taiwan as an operation hub for the Asia-Pacific region and also joining the World Trade Organiza- tion in 2002. Therefore, the key change is to switch from the central-planning approach to a market-oriented approach. In the fu- ture, technological and vocational educa- tion in Taiwan has to nurture a skillful workforce that is highly competitive in the worldwide market. Currently, technological and vocational education in Taiwan spans over three dis- tinct levels: 1) vocational high schools, which include vocational programs of- fered in regular high schools; 2) two-year junior colleges; and 3) institutes/univer- sities of technology. The vocational high schools offer daytime and evening ses- sions, co-op programs, technical and special experimental classes, and supple- mentary programs. Figure 1 shows the various components of the education sys- tem in Taiwan. The two-year junior col- leges also offer evening sessions, for which the period of study is extended to three years. Institutes/universities of technol- ogy provide bachelor’s-, master’s-, and doctoral-degree programs. The under- graduate programs also accept transfer students from two-year junior colleges as well as part-time students. In 2003, the technological and voca- tional education system in Taiwan boasts 14 universities, 57 institutes, 15 junior colleges, and 192 vocational high schools with a total of 1.1 million students. This accounts for 57% of students at respective study ages as shown in Figure 2. NEW CHALLENGES Modern industry evolves constantly and has entered the age of knowledge-based economy. Facing rapid change of the economy, the traditional industrial sec- tor fades out gradually and is largely moved overseas to countries/regions of lower wages. The job market of the tradi- IEEE CIRCUITS & DEVICES MAGAZINE MARCH 2003 8755-3996/03/$17.00 ©2003 IEEE 15 Globalization LEADERSHIP ACADEMY By Cheng-Fang Tai, Rong-Jian Chen, and Jui-Lin Lai Bing Sheu and Chung-Yu Wu, Editors

How technological and vocational education can prosper in the 21st century

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Page 1: How technological and vocational education can prosper in the 21st century

How Technological and Vocational EducationCan Prosper in the 21st Century

Technological and vocational educa-tion plays a pivotal role in the eco-nomic development in modern

society. Let’s take the case in Taiwan as anexample. In the 1950s, the industrialstructure in Taiwan was at the labor-in-tensive stage. At that time, vocational edu-cation was focused on the enrollment ofelementary-school graduates who met theneeds of basic labor work. In the late1960s, with the transition from labor-in-tensive to skill-intensive industrial struc-ture, vocational education at thehigh-school level was fully developed andsome two-year junior colleges were estab-lished with the purpose of cultivatingmid-level technical and managementskills for the manufacturing industry.

In the early 1970s, the transition to askill-intensive production system was suc-cessfully completed, and the industrialsettings started to move into the capi-tal-intensive phase. In order to cultivatehigh-ranking technical experts and man-agers, National Taiwan Institute of Tech-nology (NTIT), which was the firstuniversity-level institution for the voca-tional education system, was establishedin Taipei. Notice that NTIT offered educa-tion opportunities for students graduatingfrom vocational high schools and/ortwo-year junior colleges to continue ad-vanced studies. Later on, the M.S. andPh.D. programs were subsequently set up.Thus, the technological and vocationaleducation system in Taiwan became verycomplete.

With the rapid development of modernelectronics and the information-technol-ogy industry, Taiwan has entered theranks of developed countries. It is impor-tant that the technological and vocationaleducation system constantly evolves tomeet the needs of worldwide economic de-velopment, the new demand of highlyskilled manpower, the changing indus-trial structure, the social/culturalchanges, and the continued progress ofmodern technology.

MAINSTREAMWORKFORCE

In the 21st century, due to globalizationand direct impacts of information technol-ogy and the Internet, technological and vo-cational education needs to conductstructural adjustment with particular em-phasis on government-guided policies,which include establishing Taiwan as anoperation hub for the Asia-Pacific regionand also joining the World Trade Organiza-tion in 2002. Therefore, the key change is toswitch from the central-planning approachto a market-oriented approach. In the fu-ture, technological and vocational educa-tion in Taiwan has to nurture a skillfulworkforce that is highly competitive in theworldwide market.

Currently, technological and vocationaleducation in Taiwan spans over three dis-tinct levels: 1) vocational high schools,which include vocational programs of-fered in regular high schools; 2) two-year

junior colleges; and 3) institutes/univer-sities of technology. The vocational highschools offer daytime and evening ses-sions, co-op programs, technical andspecial experimental classes, and supple-mentary programs. Figure 1 shows thevarious components of the education sys-tem in Taiwan. The two-year junior col-leges also offer evening sessions, for whichthe period of study is extended to threeyears. Institutes/universities of technol-ogy provide bachelor’s-, master’s-, anddoctoral-degree programs. The under-graduate programs also accept transferstudents from two-year junior colleges aswell as part-time students.

In 2003, the technological and voca-tional education system in Taiwan boasts14 universities, 57 institutes, 15 juniorcolleges, and 192 vocational high schoolswith a total of 1.1 million students. Thisaccounts for 57% of students at respectivestudy ages as shown in Figure 2.

NEWCHALLENGES

Modern industry evolves constantly andhas entered the age of knowledge-basedeconomy. Facing rapid change of theeconomy, the traditional industrial sec-tor fades out gradually and is largelymoved overseas to countries/regions oflower wages. The job market of the tradi-

IEEE CIRCUITS & DEVICES MAGAZINE � MARCH 2003 8755-3996/03/$17.00 ©2003 IEEE 15 �

Globalization

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

By Cheng-Fang Tai, Rong-Jian Chen, and Jui-Lin Lai

Bing Sheu andChung-Yu Wu, Editors

Page 2: How technological and vocational education can prosper in the 21st century

� 16 IEEE CIRCUITS & DEVICES MAGAZINE � MARCH 2003

tional handwork and low-level techniquehas tapered in Taiwan. On the other hand,demand of highly skilled/talented work-ers has increased tremendously. There-fore, technological and vocationaleducation in Taiwan needs to change ac-cordingly. Under the stimulus of theknowledge-based economy, such educa-tion and training need to reinforce thefundamental scientific education thatemphasizes mathematics, physics, andcomputer programming languages. Un-fortunately, such a shift makes the goalsof research universities and the institu-tions of the technological/vocational sys-tem strongly overlap. Thus, i t isimportant to devise a guiding plan for thetechnological and vocational institutionsto properly emphasize modern industryin the 21st century. The knowledge-basedeconomy will serve as the master guid-ance to all education in the modern era,whether for research universities or forinstitutions in technological/vocationaleducation. The foundation of mathemat-ics and sciences needs to be highly em-phasized. The main difference shall existfrom the application aspects. In a re-search university, the study of basic the-ory is to be pursued in order to helpaccumulate further knowledge for the fu-ture. On the other hand, in an institutionfor technological/vocational education,practical applications of the technologyare the key guiding principles. Thus,close cooperation between the institu-tion and actual industry can aim at thepulsation and trend that the industry de-velops and adjust the teaching programelasticity to support the required skills tomeet the industrial demand. Importantworks of cooperation include but are notlimited to: 1) teachers of the institutionspending some time at the enterprise toabsorb practical/new experience, 2) en-terprise engineers coming to campus toinstruct special professional courses orconduct seminars on technologies, 3)publish the technical studies and discus-sions, and 4) establish incubators to helpthe enterprise develop new material, newprocesses, or new products, etc.

Sch

ool A

ge

Nor

mal

Age

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

Hig

her

Edu

catio

n

Wor

king

Exp

erie

nce

Wor

king

Exp

erie

nce

Doctoral Program

Vocational HighSchool

ComprehensiveHigh School

Senior High School

University and College

Upp

erS

ec.

Edu

catio

n

Dep

t.of

Med

icin

e

Dep

t.of

Med

icin

e

Dep

t.of

Den

tistr

y

Master’s Program

University of Technologyand

College of Technology

Wor

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Exp

erie

nce

Juni

orC

olle

geof

Tech

nolo

gy(5

Yrs

.)

Junior Collegeof Technology

(2 Yrs.)

1. The education system in Taiwan (data from Ministry of Education, Taiwan).

69%

5%21%5%

Universities of Technology

Institutes (Colleges) ofTechnology

Junior Colleges

Senior Vocational Schools

Senior High Schools andUniversities

Universities of Technology

Institutes (Colleges) ofTechnology

Junior Colleges

Senior Vocational Schools

(a)

(b)

43%

2%

31%

4%20%

2. (a) Percentage of schools in Taiwan technological/vocational education.(b) Percentage of students at different levels.(Continued on page 51)

Page 3: How technological and vocational education can prosper in the 21st century

the university textbooks on RF analog de-sign where a basic knowledge of analog RFdesign has been covered.

Compared with most of the textbooks atthe introductory level of RF analog design,this book presents some hands-on experi-ence on the design issues that really workand has been proved by manufacturedsilicons. It can be used as a practical refer-ence book for RF analog designers becauseevery piece of design issue discussion issubstantiated with practical consider-ations on parasitics and nonidealities. Foreach of the building blocks of the RF trans-ceiver, which has been broken into sepa-

rate chapters, a list of essential referencepublications also guarantee depth and ac-ademic value of the research achieve-ments being presented. Readers can easilycatch up with the latest advance in RFtransceiver design.

The text includes RF design conceptsand technology (Chapter 1); bond pad,ESD protection, and substrate selection(Chapter 2); LNA design for bipolar andCMOS technologies (Chapter 3); bipolarand CMOS mixer design (Chapter 4); RFpower amplifier design (Chapter 5); oscil-lator design (Chapter 6); and phase-lockloop design (Chapter 7). Appendices are

the MATLAB model files for high-level be-havior simulations for the LNA, mixers,and power amplifiers that can be immedi-ately run in a MATLAB package. This is awonderful advanced reference book for RFanalog designers. The topics discussed inthis book are wide enough to cover a com-plete RF transceiver system and are alsodeep enough to provide workable solu-tions on silicons as well as to inspirefurther innovations.

— Patrick B. WuPhilips Semiconductors

IEEE CIRCUITS & DEVICES MAGAZINE � MARCH 2003 51 �

GLOBALIZATION LEADERSHIP ACADEMY(Continued from page 16)

A NEED FORDEDICATED TEXTBOOKS

Due to the fact that microelectronics andinformation technology evolve veryquickly, the life cycle of products is rapidlyshortened. Innovation and development ofnew products have become more urgent.With such rapid change in the high-techindustry, how to adapt the technologi-cal/vocational institutions to educate/trainthe new generation of students with suit-able knowledge and skills has been the keyquestion to many educators. New text-books specially dedicated for technologi-cal/vocational education are stronglyneeded. Currently, most textbooks arewritten for use in research universities.

In order to remain in tune with econom-ical development, social and cultural

changes, and in accordance with techno-logical advancement and the increasingdemand of technological education, thekey issues facing the future developmentof the technological/vocational institu-tions in the 21st century are as follows [1]:

✦ establish focused education policiesto facilitate the development of tech-nological/vocational education

✦ create a flexible teaching system inline with the changing needs of edu-cation

✦ keep up with economic developmentby training skilled manpower

✦ promote the approach of life-longeducation, assisting students intheir career development

✦ strengthen the practical side of tech-nological/vocational education and

implement the occupational certifi-cation system

✦ encourage the participation of disad-vantaged groups, achieving equalityin education.

Professors Cheng-Fang Tai, Rong-JianChen, and Jui-Lin Lai are in Departmentof Electronics Engineering at NationalLion-Ho Institute of Technology, Miaoli,Taiwan.

REFERENCES[1] http:/ /tve.npust.edu.tw/national/pub-

lic_html/etve/. CD�