Maker Movement / Mending Things

I was talking to a university professor who informed me that most engineering hobbyists usually have very little advantage over non-hobbyists in electronic engineering degree courses. It’s something to do with the style of learning and assessment required for success in exams and assessments. He even admitted that many engineering hobbyists would be better off taking a more avocational course rather than an engineering degree.

I often wonder ... well, perhaps worry ... about this, as it does mirror my own experience, including some things being taught on the degree I did being very distant from how it's done in the real world (and on occasion, perhaps wrong).


This leads to the following thoughts (simplified summary, definitely "generalisation" in its grossest form, each point debatable and of course individuals may fall between the cracks of this):

• Engineering is not taught on Engineering degrees; instead they teach scientific and mathematical approaches, with some including communication / management studies. The thing that's missing is the part of the toolset that Engineers use to resolve an Engineering problem in the real world.

• Vocational courses perhaps don't teach enough of the "theory" and "management", and perhaps leave the student to their own devices in developing their own "Engineering problem solving toolset".

• Natural "Maker Movement" people have the "Engineering problem solving toolset" addressed either through innate ability, or developed through experience.

• Graduate Engineers from the Academic Route may not have the "Engineering problem solving toolset".

Perhaps the conclusion of all this being that the education system as it is perhaps isn't set up to form "Engineers", and with the situation where it's very difficult to register as IEng and CEng without a degree, brings the whole academic formation as it is today into question.


How can we improve the situation?

I was talking to a university professor who informed me that most engineering hobbyists usually have very little advantage over non-hobbyists in electronic engineering degree courses. It’s something to do with the style of learning and assessment required for success in exams and assessments. He even admitted that many engineering hobbyists would be better off taking a more avocational course rather than an engineering degree.

I often wonder ... well, perhaps worry ... about this, as it does mirror my own experience, including some things being taught on the degree I did being very distant from how it's done in the real world (and on occasion, perhaps wrong).


This leads to the following thoughts (simplified summary, definitely "generalisation" in its grossest form, each point debatable and of course individuals may fall between the cracks of this):

• Engineering is not taught on Engineering degrees; instead they teach scientific and mathematical approaches, with some including communication / management studies. The thing that's missing is the part of the toolset that Engineers use to resolve an Engineering problem in the real world.

• Vocational courses perhaps don't teach enough of the "theory" and "management", and perhaps leave the student to their own devices in developing their own "Engineering problem solving toolset".

• Natural "Maker Movement" people have the "Engineering problem solving toolset" addressed either through innate ability, or developed through experience.

• Graduate Engineers from the Academic Route may not have the "Engineering problem solving toolset".

Perhaps the conclusion of all this being that the education system as it is perhaps isn't set up to form "Engineers", and with the situation where it's very difficult to register as IEng and CEng without a degree, brings the whole academic formation as it is today into question.


How can we improve the situation?