Preparing Engineers for Tomorrow’s Challenges

Al Muatasem Al Saadi said:

Engineering graduates often face a gap between what they learn in university and the skills required in modern workplaces. Industries are advancing fast, but education can lag behind,

To add to the two posts above - the whole point is that Universities should not be teaching "workplace skills" (at least not in the sense of technical skills), because these will inevitably quickly become out of date even if they are up to date when they are given (which as Andy posted above is unlikely). There is nothing new in this, for the last two hundred years (at least) technology has evolved rapidly. 

To particularly build on Jim's excellent post, students - and Universities - should be clear that a degree will not, and cannot, train anyone to be "an engineer" in their first day of work. Professional engineering is about solving problems that no-one has faced before, this requires two key attributes. One is the soft skills of how to thoroughly approach problem solving in a team environment, including how to research thoroughly, how to use the expertise of several team members in different areas, and how to ultimately make a decision as to which way to go when, typically, the data you have is incomplete. The other is the knowledge of what has gone before in the particular area you are working in, what is already known to work and not to work, what is the direction technology is moving in. Both of these are areas that are best covered (imho) by a mixture of University education (which is good at giving a wider, and relatively unbiased, view of the world) and the first few years of work experience (which is good at giving both up to date and - if you are lucky - senior staff's long term knowledge in a particular industry).

My personal experience from working with students and talking to lecturers is that sadly very often none of this is what students want to learn - they need their expectations set correctly that a degree is only the first step in a longer journey. Every other profession I can think of understands this, and expects that professionals will develop through maybe 8-10 years of undergraduate and post-graduate learning and experience. And given that expectation it probably becomes clearer what the undergraduate experience should be - less about immediate skills and techniques and more about how to find and evaluate skills and techniques and knowledge throughout your career.

Thanks,

Other Andy

Al Muatasem Al Saadi said:

Engineering graduates often face a gap between what they learn in university and the skills required in modern workplaces. Industries are advancing fast, but education can lag behind,

To add to the two posts above - the whole point is that Universities should not be teaching "workplace skills" (at least not in the sense of technical skills), because these will inevitably quickly become out of date even if they are up to date when they are given (which as Andy posted above is unlikely). There is nothing new in this, for the last two hundred years (at least) technology has evolved rapidly. 

To particularly build on Jim's excellent post, students - and Universities - should be clear that a degree will not, and cannot, train anyone to be "an engineer" in their first day of work. Professional engineering is about solving problems that no-one has faced before, this requires two key attributes. One is the soft skills of how to thoroughly approach problem solving in a team environment, including how to research thoroughly, how to use the expertise of several team members in different areas, and how to ultimately make a decision as to which way to go when, typically, the data you have is incomplete. The other is the knowledge of what has gone before in the particular area you are working in, what is already known to work and not to work, what is the direction technology is moving in. Both of these are areas that are best covered (imho) by a mixture of University education (which is good at giving a wider, and relatively unbiased, view of the world) and the first few years of work experience (which is good at giving both up to date and - if you are lucky - senior staff's long term knowledge in a particular industry).

My personal experience from working with students and talking to lecturers is that sadly very often none of this is what students want to learn - they need their expectations set correctly that a degree is only the first step in a longer journey. Every other profession I can think of understands this, and expects that professionals will develop through maybe 8-10 years of undergraduate and post-graduate learning and experience. And given that expectation it probably becomes clearer what the undergraduate experience should be - less about immediate skills and techniques and more about how to find and evaluate skills and techniques and knowledge throughout your career.

Thanks,

Other Andy