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_______________________________________________ News@sefi – 5/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – [email protected]
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2011 SEFI Student year
News@SEFI - 5/2001
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
- Join Us on LinkedIn and Facebook - Meetings during the Annual Conference 2011 - Student column - Task Force on Cooperation with Africa: call for TF members - New members
From members and partners From ASEE
- Connection Newsletter - ASEE launches survey
From EUA
- EUA launches new project - EUA publishes Aarhus Declaration
From TEK
- No success in consulting sector negotiations
From CDEFI - Election of the New President
From Polytech’Orleans
- Paper presentation at IGIP conference From Europe
- The Global University Summit 2011 - 3EP Summer Academy August 21st - 26th in Aarhus
From the European Commission
- New website delivers more clarity on qualifications - Commission presents plans for new education benchmarks
on employability and mobility - José Manuel Leceta appointed Director of the EIT - EIT Public Consultation
From the UK
- Private higher education needs legal framework. - ICEE-2011 conference on Engineering Sustainability for a
Global Economy
From the Rest of the World From India
- Science and research spending to double From P.R. of China
- Beihang University of Beijing 8th Student Forum
From South America - Project: “Tuning-Latin America Project: Educational and
Social Innovation” Publications For your calendar
Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this issue!
Do not forget to inform your students about the free SEFI membership in 2011!
2011 SEFI Student Year
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FROM SEFI
Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on facebook professional and student pages To increase SEFI’s visibility and the relations between members, we are now on LinkedIn (as an enterprise and a group) and on Facebook (SEFI and SEFI Student). We invite you all to join us on these platforms, and establish our own digital SEFI network for discussions and mutual support! Do also not forget to contribute to and participate in our SEFI Blog!
Sefi LinkedIn: SEFI Sefi Facebook page: SEFI
Sefi Student Facebook page: Sefi Student Sefi Blog: http://www.sefi.be/blog/
SEFI STUDENT Column
In the search of opportunities and events for students The life of a student takes place mostly within the university campus and school is the major preoccupation of all students. Yet, during this period there are several opportunities that students can benefit from during their free time or during their holidays. Taking an internship, going on an international student exchange, experimenting the volunteering in a student organization, participating in a student competition or attending a career event for students, contribute significantly to the mindset, skills and experience of a student in his/her post-graduation life. Moreover, such opportunities and events are usually free of charge and cover most of the study-related domains and student profiles. However, in the rich amount of information available on the internet it is not always easy for students to find out about events within their fields of interest taking place in their campus, city or other countries. Aiming to inform the students about the possibilities that they have for developing themselves through extra-curricular activities, a new generation of web portals has emerged. Information that would have been found before only individually on different web pages of organizations is now collected, indexed and displayed in the same place. Some of the portals cover all the student related events within a single country [1], while others reach an international scope and involve corporate projects [2][3].
Whether you are student looking for personal development opportunities, a university thinking of new methods of reaching and communicating with students or a corporate representative willing to implement and promote new student-oriented programs and projects, this can be a very convenient solution. Which is the most active student events portal in your country? [1] http://www.evenimentestudentesti.ro/ - web page in Romanian [2] http://studentcompetitions.com/ [3] http://www.studentevents.com/
By Andrei Bursuc BEST/ SEFI AC member
Task Force on Cooperation with Africa: call for TF members Europe and Africa are historically related, among others through language and it may be argued that Europe, exactly because of historic bonds, has a special responsibility to care for the faith of the African continent. Within SEFI, there is a lot of knowledge, skills and competence concerning engineering education which could be put to good use in collaboration with our much younger sister organisation, AEEA (http://www.aeea.co.za/). Specific objectives would be to establish South-North and South-South-North collaboration within the field of engineering education and to collaborate in the area of capacity building in teaching and learning in engineering education in Africa. The SEFI Task Force on Cooperation with Africa needs new members to implement these actions and therefore issues a call for volunteers. Interested? Please contact the SEFI HQ or Dr. James Uhomoibhi,University of Ulster: [email protected]
New members
We are particularly happy to welcome the following members amongst our network and to cooperate with them in a near future: As Corporate partner:
BEKAERT
As Institutional members:
Escola Universitaria Salensiana de Sarrua EUSS.
Université Technologique de Troyes (UTT).
Tampere University of Technology (TUT).
National technical University of Athens.
Meetings during the Annual Conference 2011
- EED Council, Kick-off meeting, 27/9, 10:00 (on invitation only) - AC meeting I, 27/9, 15:00-1800. WGs Chairpersons and National Correspondents are invited to attend this meeting - EJEE Editorial Committe meeting, 28/9, 18:30 - 2011 General Assembly, 30/9, 17:00 (it will be followed by the Fellowships Ceremony) - Administrative Counil meeting II, 30/9, 19:30.
Members are invited to attend the IFEES Summit Welcome
Reception organised on the 30/9 at 20:00.
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Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
University of Birmingham.
FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS
FROM ASEE Connection Newsletter Published monthly by ASEE, “Connections” provides exclusive statistics on U.S. engineering colleges only available through ASEE. These stats include enrolment, degrees, tenure, and research expenditure numbers. “Connections” also covers the most recent developments in Congress that will affect the engineering education community. Teaching tips and fellowship opportunities are also included in each issue. (Source: http://www.asee.org/papers-and-publications/blogs-and-newsletters/connections ) ASEE launches survey What skills and experiences will today’s engineering students need to develop while in school and throughout their careers to successfully compete in today’s global workplace? This question is the focus for a group of corporations affiliated with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Corporate Member Council, who recently released an online survey aimed at enhancing the preparation, performance and employability of engineering graduates living and working in an increasingly global context. Educators, employers, students, and professional engineers throughout the global engineering community are encouraged to participate in the survey. To obtain feedback from the largest possible audience, ASEE has collaborated with the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), to make the survey available in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. "The mission of our group is to foster, encourage and support high-quality engineering education around the world to assure a global supply of well-prepared engineering graduates," said Alan Jacobs, Director, US Academic Relations for Quanser and Co-Chair of the ASEE Corporate Members' Special Interest Group (SIG) for International Engineering Education. "Over the past two years our SIG has developed, presented and vetted an assessment of the skills and experiences required by engineering graduates to work effectively in a global environment," noted Lynn Brown, Manager of University Relations for The Boeing Company and Co-Chair of the SIG. "This short survey will help measure how people from around the world involved with the education and employment of engineers perceive the importance of each of these attributes at different stages of an engineer’s career - as an incoming university student, a university graduate, and an experienced practicing professional." No personally-identifiable information will be sought, participants may choose to not answer any question, and only summarized responses will be reported. Findings will be published upon completion of the survey at the end of 2010. (Source: http://ifees.net/activities/Attributes-of-a-Global-Engineer-Survey.cfm)
FROM EUA EUA launches new project: Cooperation on Doctoral Education between Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe (CODOC) EUA and its partners - the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), ASEAN University Network (AUN), Inter-American Organisation for Higher Education (OUI-IOHE), Observatory on EU-Latin American Relations (OBREAL), University of Bonn, and the Karolinska Institute - have launched a new project, supported by the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus Programme. ‘Cooperation on Doctoral Education between Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe’ (CODOC) (2010-2012) will examine trends in doctoral education in different regions of the world and aims to provide opportunities for enhancing collaborative doctoral education between European universities and their global partners. The CODOC project is rooted in the growing cross-regional discussions on doctoral education, which have primarily been driven by Europe, North America and several other developed nations in Asia and the South Pacific. It will address the fact that the growing international dimension in doctoral education dialogue and delivery does not seem to take full account of global developments that have affected the balanced growth of knowledge societies. As education and research are increasingly embedded in national growth strategies, European universities should examine both strategic and socially equitable international partnerships in doctoral education. The first phase of the CODOC project will involve a survey of universities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to gain a better overview of doctoral education trends in these regions and to compare the situations with that in Europe. Subsequently, three cross-regional workshops will be held to exchange experience and good practice on the reform of doctoral education, share models for collaborative delivery, and further discuss the aim of building doctoral education in a global context. The first of these workshops will be held in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand on 25-27 September 2011. There is space for a limited number of European participants at this workshop; for information about the application process, please contact Joanne Byrne at [email protected]. CODOC will build upon the important discussions held at the recent EUA-CDE (EUA Council for Doctoral Education) Global Strategic Forum on Doctoral Education and provide networking opportunities for graduate education leaders across four regions of the world. For further information on the CODOC project please visit this website. (Source: http://www.eua.be/News/11-05-12/EUA_launches_new_project_Cooperation_on_Doctoral_Education_between_Africa_Asia_Latin_America_and_Europe_CODOC.aspx ) EUA publishes Aarhus Declaration: an action plan for universities developing talent in Europe The European University Association (EUA) has this week published a political declaration underlining the outcomes of its recent Annual Conference held at Aarhus University (Denmark) which focused on the role of universities in developing talent in Europe. As political leaders in Europe begin important negotiations to determine the next EU budget (after 2013) the Aarhus Declaration begins by underlining the importance of investing in education, research and innovation to enable universities to play their full role in nurturing talented individuals and in contributing to the EU 2020 strategy for ‘smart sustainable and inclusive growth’. The Declaration is, however, not only addressed at political leaders as it also contains an action agenda for universities to develop talent. The Declaration stresses that Europe cannot afford to run the risk of losing a generation of talented people, or of a serious decrease in research and innovation activity while its competitors are investing heavily in universities and the innovators of tomorrow: “Europe’s universities collectively add value to European society and the European economy. Looking forward to the discussion on the EU
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budget post 2013, the considerable achievements of the last decade should not be wasted. They need to be consolidated in future by prioritising higher education, research and innovation as every Euro spent at European level on universities will add value by bringing people together, pooling knowledge and creating synergies that could not be achieved at national level alone.” Nurturing talented individuals has always been central to the mission of Europe’s universities and becomes increasingly vital as knowledge becomes central to social and economic development and as global competition for talent increases. The Aarhus Declaration calls on universities to strengthen this role and outlines an agenda for action.
It encourages universities to:
Widen access and increase capacity to respond to the needs of more diverse student populations
Develop distinctive research portfolios
Ensure that university staff and students identify with the university and its specific mission as a basis for generating and maintaining a vibrant university environment.
The statement then calls for clear university “strategies that promote talent from an early stage”, in particular:
Strengthening the links between teaching and research from an early stage and building research capacity from the undergraduate level
Building attractive and transparent career structures, tracks and opportunities for all staff
Placing a special focus on doctoral education and training and prioritising the development of career opportunities for early stage researchers
And developing and promoting the circulation of talent in order to enhance research capacity and bring new knowledge.
Finally, the statement underlines the need for:
Strong university leadership to promote talent development in all its dimensions
Ensuring a clear internationalisation strategy within universities
Ensuring an overall commitment to a quality culture and to transparency within universities
Understanding the importance of partnerships. Promoting dialogue with, and engaging a variety of stakeholders at different levels, ensures impact on society, and the development and dissemination of local knowledge in an international context.
(Source: http://www.eua.be/News/11-05-13/EUA_publishes_Aarhus_Declaration_an_action_plan_for_universities_developing_talent_in_Europe.aspx )
FROM TEK
No success in consulting sector negotiations The negotiations between The Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN) and the Federation of Finnish Technology
Industries in the consulting sector were cut off today on Friday 20th of May. YTN presented the target for consulting sector to The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries today. YTN’s target is a general pay increase to 4,5 % in 2011 for all professional and managerial staff members in the consulting sector. There was no progress in the negotiations practically at all, according to senior adviser and chief negotiator for YTN consulting sector Teemu Hankamäki. Thus YTN Working Committee recommends to YTN Board of Management that the collective agreement between YTN and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries in the consulting sector should be terminated by 30.9.2011. YTN Board of Management has a meeting next week on Thursday 26.5. The Sector Committee of YTN consulting sector will meet on Wednesday 25.5. According to the collective agreement between YTN and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries pay increases for 2011 are to be negotiated by 31st of May. If no settlement can be reached the collective agreement can be terminated by 30.9.2011. There are about 10 000 professional and managerial staff members working in consulting sector companies. (Source: http://www.tek.fi/index.php?id=5310 )
FROM CDEFI
New elected President: Christian Lerminiaux director of the UTT (Université de Technologie de Troyes) On May 6, in Paris, the general assembly of the CDEFI (Conference of the directors of the French engineering schools) elected Christian Lerminiaux as president for a two-year mandate. He is succeeding Paul Jacquet, who was not candidate for another term. Christian Lerminiaux has been appointed
director of the UTT in 2004, and confirmed for another five-year mandate in 2009. He is also vice-president for the international relations in ALLISTENE (Alliance of the numerical sciences and technologies) in which is represents CDEFI since 2010, and he is temporarily head of UTBM (University of Technology Belfort-Montbeliard) since September 2010. All our congratulations go to Prof. Lerminiaux for his election. The new CDEFI president intends to focus his mandate on the following angles:
1. Reflection on the evolution of engineers’ education. 2. Strengthening financial balance of schools and their inner
management possibilities. 3. Positioning of engineering schools in the French and
European field of research and higher education. 4. Intensification of the relations between schools and
companies. 5. International development of the French higher education
model in engineering. (Source: http://www.cdefi.fr/1304699322503/0/fiche_article/&RH=CDE_ACCUEIL)
FROM Polytech’Orleans Anne-Marie Jolly Director of Polytech’Orléans has performed a important presentation on engineering education during the IGIP annual conference.
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The paper “CONCEPTION OF A NEW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM IN "SMART BUILDINGS", was presented by Anne-Marie Jolly at the 2011 IGIP conference this March, in Santos, Brazil. Director of Polytech’Orleans, Anne-Marie Jollyalso represented SEFI at the IGIP Conference in her capacity of member of the SEFI Administrative Council. The presentation will be available in the conference proceedings. More information: http://www.igip.org/pages/events/events.html FROM EUROPE The Global University Summit 2011 University Presidents, Rectors and higher education representatives from the G8 and G20 countries came together last week in France for the 2011 Global University Summit on the overarching theme: "Sustainable development and the Knowledge society: What structuring and cooperation for society in the 21st century?". Organised by the French Rectors’ Conference (CPU) and the PRES Bourgogne Franche-Comté, the event looked to build on the previous Summits in Sapporo (2008), Turin (2009) and Vancouver (2010) where the importance of sustainable development, with the urgent need for implementing effective government policies in order to deal with current economic, social and environmental problems, led to stressing the vital role of universities and higher education establishments in this field. The event addressed three central themes: Networks and cooperation: "universities and territories" - International mobility of students and research fellows and Virtual networks and distance cooperation. At the end of the meeting a joint declaration was formulated which outlines a series of actions around each of the three Summit themes and "that are based on ethical, equitable and solidarity principles of sustainable development at local as well as global level, and reaffirming that education is a public good". (Source: http://www.university-summit2011.org/dijon_page.php?page=12 )
3EP Summer Academy August 21st - 26th in Aarhus ICEI at Aarhus University organises a summer academy on entrepreneurship education that might be interesting for you or members of your organization. Most important benefits from participating in the Summer Academy:
An international network with both new and more experienced educators in this field
Knowledge about the most important trends in contemporary entrepreneurship education
New inspiration to own teaching and training
Admission to online community with ready-to-use/downloadable teaching materials
Possibility for working on a development project from the home-university together with a mentor e.g. a new course, a new programme, new teaching materials or improvement of the organisational support structure
The Summer Academy is organized in cooperation with two other European universities as well as NCGE in the UK. It is held as part of the EU-project 3EP, which is aiming at supporting and developing enterprise and entrepreneurship education at the HEI’s through dedicated week long European Annual Summer Academies (EASA). The summer academies are open for teachers, trainers and other educators involved with developing entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviour among students and staff. More information and registration procedure can be find here (http://3ep.eu/) but you are also most welcome to contact summer academy coordinator Helle Meibom Faergemann, phone +4560202621, e-mail: [email protected]
FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION New website delivers more clarity on qualifications The European Commission has launched a website that will give experts a better insight into how qualifications in different countries compare with each other. The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) portal is part of an EU initiative to make national qualifications more transparent across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and encouraging lifelong learning. The European Qualifications Framework is currently being rolled out across Europe as countries relate their national qualifications systems to the eight-level European framework. Currently in English, the portal will gradually be made available in 27 languages by next year. A search function that will provide access to national databases with information on qualifications is also planned.
More information: European Qualifications Framework portal More about the European Qualifications Framework (Source: EC website http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/news2950_en.htm)
Commission presents plans for new education benchmarks on employability and mobility The Commission has today unveiled plans for new European targets on the employability and the mobility of students to stimulate and guide education reforms in Europe. The two new benchmarks, which still need to be formally adopted by the Council, would complete a set of joint targets which EU countries have pledged to achieve by 2020. They include reducing early school leaving, increasing the share of higher education graduates, and getting more adults to participate in lifelong learning. A new benchmark on the mobility of students would measure the share of young people with learning experiences abroad. A new benchmark on education and training for employability would monitor the success rate of young people with different education levels in the labour market in the years after graduation. More information: Commission staff paper on the development of benchmarks on education and training for employability and on learning mobility More on EU benchmarks in education and training Education benchmarks: country statistics (Source: EC website http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/news2952_en.htm)
FROM EIT José Manuel Leceta appointed Director of the EIT The Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) appointed today José Manuel Leceta as the Director of the Institute. Mr Leceta, a Spanish citizen, will lead the EIT's headquarters during the next four years. Mr José Manuel Leceta, formerly International Director at CDTI, the Spanish Innovation Agency worked with fostering the Spanish participation in European and international R&D programmes and representing Spain in R&D related forums. As EIT Director Mr Leceta will lead the EIT Headquarters in Budapest and will work closely with the three Knowledge and Innovation Communities towards an impact on the European innovation landscape and the delivery of results in the field of entrepreneurship education and the creation of new business. "I congratulate Mr Leceta on his appointment as EIT Director" says Dr.
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Martin Schuurmans - Chairman of the EIT Governing Board. “Mr. Leceta comes at a crucial moment when the EIT is increasing its focus towards becoming an entrepreneurially driven impact investment body. The Board and I are confident that Mr. Leceta will deliver on the common aim of the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities to bring more innovations and more innovative people for Europe. I look forward to working together with him. " Mr Leceta is a respected specialist in innovation economics and has held the position of International Director at the Spanish Innovation Agency for the past six years. A technical engineer with vast experience in international collaboration, Mr Leceta is a strong believer in the capacity of pan-European partnerships to unleash the European innovation potential. Following a rigorous selection procedure driven by the European Commission, the EIT Governing Board had the opportunity yesterday to interview the candidates put forward by the College of Commissioners and take the final decision. Mr. Leceta’s appointment makes the EIT management complete and it takes place within the context of the EIT hiring a number of high-profile strategists to lead its activities. (Source: http://eit.europa.eu/press/news-archive/single-view/article/jose-manuel-leceta-appointed-director-of-the-european-institute-of-innovation-and-technology-eit.html )
EIT Public Consultation The EIT public consultation meeting took place at the European Commission on the 5th of May 2011. Xavier Prats Monné, Deputy Director General, DG Education and Culture, started the consultation with an introduction on the SIA and EIT. Since the EIT has to submit a draft on its strategic vision and its role in the European innovation field to the European Commission by June this year, he focused on some main questions to be discussed in the consultation: -the general value of the EIT; -the modernisation of, especially, higher education which should be better adapted to business and involve new methods of learning; -a model for the KICs which means having a few but very well structured KICs. What criteria should they have? What will the societal impact be like in the future? -the impact of outreach. How can it be assured that the EIT gives its best? -the organisation of the EIT. How should the EIT react to other organisations? -the funding. The following question and answer session was moderated by Lucia Recalde Langarica, Head of Unit, European Institute of Innovation and Technology and economic partnerships, DG Education and Culture. “Knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship – that are great words but everybody understands it in a different way. Define what the words mean!” remarked a retired engineer. The audience mainly referred to the questions of the KICs and funding. In the context of upcoming critics regarding the number of KICs and the time to launch Mrs. Recalde Langarica invited the stakeholders to get involved and help developing the KICs. To get an insight into the concept of the KICs please visit http://eit.europa.eu/kics1/what-is-a-kic.html . In the vivid discussions concerning the funding, she made clear that the EIT will not change its funding concept and use the funding in a flexible way to leverage it. Information about the EIT funding you find here: http://eit.europa.eu/about-eit/funding.html . The input from the present consultation process will be integrated in the proposal. To participate in the current discussions it is possible either to send a position paper to [email protected] or to fill in the online questionnaire until the 30th of June on: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/consult/index_en.html .
FROM UNITED KINGDOM Private higher education needs legal framework Growth of private higher education in the UK will not necessarily be at the expense of the public sector, a report published by a leading think tank says. The report, from the Higher Education Policy Institute, calls for new legislation to regulate the growth. Private Providers in UK Higher Education: Some policy options, by Professor Robin Middlehurst and John Fielden, concludes that non-state higher education is a "small but significant" and growing feature of the UK system, with some 670 private providers. But the Higher Education Policy Unit study says that most are very small, and almost all focus on a limited number of professional disciplines. The growth of private higher education in the UK is part of a global trend. Throughout the world, the number of students in private institutions is growing faster than in publicly-owned and funded ones. Behind the growth is the financial reality that governments simply cannot afford to pay for the higher education that is required and the private sector is expanding to meet the demand. Middlehurst and Fielden conclude that government policies, which seek to diversify the range of higher education providers, partly to increase price competition and partly to absorb demand that will not otherwise be met, mean that private higher education is set to grow further. But this growth will not necessarily be at the expense of public higher education. They urge the creation of a rigorous regulatory system, to encourage private providers that offer high quality and keep out those that do not. Better and more equitable regulation will be needed if private institutions are to play their part in meeting the national need. They believe that the regulatory regime lacks coherence, and that a comprehensive Private Higher Education Act should be drafted by the coalition government. The resulting new regulatory framework for the private higher education sector would ensure or enable: * Consumer protection over services offered by UK and foreign providers in the UK. * Protection of the UK's higher education reputation and brand for international students in private colleges. * A contribution by the private sector to ensuring access for UK students to higher education. * An increased choice of quality-assured provision for UK, EU and international students and a broader range of pathways from A level to professional or postgraduate level would also be available from some private providers. * The addition of new funding and new ideas to the system. The report recommends that the approach to regulating public and private institutions should be 'equitable', and wherever possible the playing field should be level - for example the accreditation and quality assurance regimes and evaluation criteria should be the same. The authors say that existing campuses of foreign universities and any foreign institution wishing to establish itself should be required to register and obtain a license to operate under the same accreditation and review processes as domestic providers if they plan to enrol UK or EU citizens. The report says that the private sector in the UK differs significantly from that in the US, since a large proportion of the providers focus on the international rather than the domestic student market and many have forms of partnership with traditional institutions. "However this picture may change as a consequence of new policy directions in England and likely constraints on access for domestic students to traditional higher education institutions." Some private providers have moved on from international recruitment to market themselves to UK and EU students. The report predicts that probable policy changes in England will lead
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private and for-profit providers in the UK to become 'demand absorbing' over the next five years. "This alone is unlikely significantly to widen choice because wide choice already exists in access routes, accessibility of provision and range of programmes. The likely area for widening choice is in flexibility of study times and approaches." (Source: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110507092954501 )
ICEE-2011 conference on Engineering Sustainability for a Global Economy The ICEE-2011 conference will be held in BELFAST, Northern Ireland, UK, AUG. 21-26, 2011. The ICEE conferences, as with all iNEER programs and activities, are dedicated to promoting advancement in engineering education through international cooperation. This is important for many reasons, two of the most important being the following. First, the impact of an engineer’s work transcends national boundaries, and recent events have shown that the fates of all nations are intimately linked through technological development in which engineers play a big role. Second, it is now well known that all major technological developments involved multinational cooperation. Engineers working on multinational teams must be not only technical qualified, but also familiar with the cultures, history, and even languages of countries other than their own. Thus, the education of engineering students, more so than students in any other discipline, must include the inculcation of an international perspective, a process facilitated through international cooperation in education and research.
Deadlines: 30 May 2011 Early Registration Deadline
16 June 2011 Camera-ready Manuscripts (new extended deadline)
For more information about the conference please visit http://icee2011.ulster.ac.uk
(Source: http://icee2011.ulster.ac.uk) FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD
FROM INDIA Science and research spending to double The Indian government has said it will double its spending on science and technology research and development over the next five years, in a bid to keep up with other major developing countries such as China and Brazil. The government will also provide more scholarships to arrest a decline in student interest in pure sciences, applied sciences and research, increasing the budget for scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships to more than five times its current levels. The Department of Science and Technology will spend Rs150 billion (US$340 million), amounting to 0.6% of country's gross domestic product in the next five years. The move is aimed at attracting the best students into science and technology research and making India a hub for innovation. The government also wants its scientists to find solutions to India's problems. "India is the third largest growing economy in the world. In order to compete we need to enhance allocations for science and technology. Scientific research in the country must benefit the common man in
terms of better sanitation, healthcare and sustainable development," Minister of State for Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar told local media in New Delhi. Kumar said there was a need to increase the number of Indians acquiring doctoral degrees so that the country could satisfy its future needs for advanced research in pure sciences. According to OECD data, India has 119 researchers per million of the population, compared to 1,564 in China, 2,706 in the UK, 4,605 in the US and 6,807 in Iceland. Even in terms of the number of researchers per 1,000 people employed, India, with 24 researchers, ranks below China (115), Japan (131), the European Union (231) and the US (324). "The prime minister has repeatedly stressed that in the past [the] decline in pursuit of science studies has been a disappointment. We need to promote advanced research and scientific inquiry in various disciplines such as material sciences, biotechnology, nuclear and space research, healthcare and chemicals," Kumar said. Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal has pointed out in the past that India has only around 150,000 core science researchers compared to almost a million in China. He has said the university system would have to be strengthened, as quality R&D in universities was currently "negligible". "The Chinese are doing a lot to promote science and technology. They have funded their best universities generously. They attract the best faculty from all over the world and have set up collaborations with the leading universities. Even if we want to compete we will have to set up the infrastructure and manpower first," said Professor Yash Pal, Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. India's department of biotechnology is already strengthening institutional research capacity to promote interdisciplinary science and innovation by supporting centres of excellence in biotechnology. The department plans to establish 50 centres across the country. So far, 15 have been supported covering healthcare, agriculture, bioinformatics and basic research in biotechnology. In 2008, the government launched Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research, INSPIRE, which offers 10,000 scholarships a year for youth in the 17 to 22 year age group and some 1,000 post-doctoral fellowships a year in the 22 to 27 age group in both basic and applied sciences. The government is planning to substantially increase the scholarship grants, rising from Rs64 million (US$1.4 million) to Rs300 million (US$6.7 million) in the next five years. Deepak Pental, a professor of genetics and former vice-chancellor of Delhi University, welcomed the government's move. "We have ignored our science students for a long time. With growing numbers there is an immediate need to increase the number of scholarships and grants. The country desperately needs bright minds in sciences, not only in research but also in academics," said Pental, who was instrumental in reviving science departments at the university while he was vice-chancellor. Under Pental's leadership, Delhi University tied up with India's top research laboratories. Since 2008, groups of top undergraduate science students have been undertaking summer workshops with the premier institutions, attending lectures by scientists and also working alongside them in the laboratories. "The chosen students work in nanotechnology, molecule discovery and physical techniques in biology among others. The need of the hour is to make students competent in both research and technology," Pental said. (Source:
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110507093252461 )
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FROM P.R. OF CHINA From Beihang University, Beijing
The Beihang University of Beijing is organizing its 8th Student Forum. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers whose primary research area is engineering education at any institution of higher learning are invited to take part in the Graduate Student Forum as presenters. Any/all topics within the field of engineering education are relevant and eligible.
A complete description is available on the SEFI Blog: http://www.sefi.be/blog/?p=42
FROM SOUTH AMERICA On 18-20 May 2011 took place in Bogotá, Colombia, the First general meeting of the “Tuning-Latin America Project: Educational and Social Innovation”. The new project Tuning-Latin America is coordinated, as was the previous project (2004-2007), by the University of Deusto (Bilbao) and the University of Groningen.
The general objective of the project is to contribute to the creation of a Higher Education Area in Latin America through curriculum convergence. The specific objectives have been developed on the basis of the agreements reached between 182 Latin America universities and the benchmarks set by the 18 national governments which participated in the previous phase (2004-2007). Among the 16 subject areas there is only one in engineering, namely civil engineering. Prof. Iacint Manoliu from the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, which is partner in the project, participated at the works of the Civil Engineering group, along with 16 academics representing prestigious universities from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Activities of the subject area group concentrated at this first meeting to the following objectives:
General agreements on the definition of competence-based academic/professional profile
Proposals for competence-based disciplinary frameworks for the civil engineering sector
Common strategies for competence-based evaluation, teaching and methods.
The second general meeting will take place on 16-19 November 2011 in Guatemala.
Prof.Iacint Manoliu Technical University of Civil Engineering
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PUBLICATIONS
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FOR YOUR CALENDAR
In June
1 - 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
14-15 June 2011, Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical University, St. Petersburg, Russia Engineering faculty training workshops of the project ECDEAST (Engineering Curricula Design aligned with EQF & EUR-ACE Standards). SEFI is a partner of this Project. For more information: http://ecdeast.tpu.ru/activities/faculty_training/
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
23-24 June, 2011, Paris, France. Gender and Interdisciplinary Education for Engineers Does Interdisciplinary Education improve the gender balance and attract more young people to Engineering and Technology Higher Education? Les Cordeliers, Centre of Conferences of the University of Paris VI Inscription is compulsory, no charge. Deadline for inscription Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 www.fp7-helena.org/conference2011
20 - 23 June 2011, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark 7th International CDIO Conference For more information visit: www.cdio2011.dtu.dk/ A SEFI WG Curriculum Develpement workshop will be organised on this occasion.
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
28 June - 01 July 2011, Brasov, Romania REV 2011 - Remote Engineering & Virtual Instrumentation For more information visit http://fizica.unitbv.ro/rev2011/
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In July/August
03 – 05 August 2011, Medellín, Colombia LACCEI 2011 - 9th Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering and Technology Engineering for a Smart Planet, Innovation, Information Technology and Computational Tools for Sustainable Development http://www.laccei2011medellin.org/english/Paginas/presentation.aspx
21 – 26 August 2011, University of Ulster, UK International Conference on Engineering Education Engineering Sustainability for a Global Economy http://icee2011.ulster.ac.uk/
In September
3 September 2011, Brussels, Belgium SEFI Bureau Meeting
4-9 September 2011, Geneva, Switzerland World Engineers’ Convention 2011 “Engineers Power the World - Facing the Global Energy Challenge.” The International Conference Center Geneva (CICG), Geneva, Switzerland More information on the convention: http://www.wec2011.org/
8 September 2011, Brussels, Belgium Final conference of the ECCE project: “Engineering observatory on Competence based Curricula for job Enhancement”. The event is organised by SEFI. More information: [email protected]
9 September 2011 Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. JSEE 59th Annual Conference and Exposition Conference theme: Engineering Education to Pioneer the Near Future Call for papers details here: Call for Papers
12 - 17 September 2011, Sevastopol, Ukraine XVIII International Science and Engineering Conference MACHINE-BUILDING AND TECHNOSPHERE OF THE XXI CENTURY To get more details, please download the following document: Information Sheet Conference
15-16 September 2011, Kocaeli University, Izmit, Turkey 12th International Workshop on Research and Education in Mechatronics REM 2011 For more information visit: http://mekatronik.kocaeli.edu.tr/rem2011/
21-23 September 2011, Agadir, Morocco 5th General Conference of the Cartagena Network
“Innovation stratégique et entrepreneuriat dans l'ingénierie des systèmes complexes" For more information: [email protected]
21-23 September 2011, Mannheim, Germany SEFI - PTEE 2011 7th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PHYSICS TEACHING IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Physics for Engineers – Soft Skill or Core Competency? For more information visit: http://ptee2011.eu/
21-23 September 2011, Piešt’any, Slovakia IGIP Regional Conference in conjunction with ICL2011 (14th International Conference for Interactive Computer aided Learning) For further details: www.igip.org
22-23 September 2011, Estoril, Portugal 2nd IIDEA Workshop session organised for the Tomsk Polytechnic University. For further details: www.iideainstitute.org
1st World Engineering Education Flash Week Organised by ISEFI and anchored by SEFI
Lisbon, Portugal www.wee2011.com
27-30 September: SEFI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011 1-2 October: IFEES Summit 2011 1-2 October: PAEE 2011 Symposium 3-4 October: ASIBEI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011
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We hope that you enjoyed this issue of News@SEFI.
The next issue will be published at the end of June 2011
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