Global Engineering Education is a field of study that focuses on the impact of
globalization on the
engineering industry
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...
.
History
Over the past decade or so educators and researchers have made an effort to transform engineering education in light of global trends in the profession. In 1985, the
National Research Council issued a study that spotlighted the need for universities to graduate engineers with professional skills. This message was reinforced through a 1994 joint report published by the Engineering Deans Council and
ASEE that stated, “Today, engineering colleges … must educate their students to work as part of teams, communicate well, and understand the economic, social, environmental and international context of their professional activities.”
Definitions
Global Competency
Global competency is essential for engineers from any country who now compete in an international market for engineering know-how. No longer is
cultural sensitivity needed only for
product design
Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of n ...
destined for diverse markets. Increasingly, successful entry into the engineering profession requires significant intercultural skills in order to join efficient and productive collaborations with diverse engineering colleagues. Those colleagues may be encountered “virtually” at a distance, in person at an international site, or next door in the office of a
multinational corporation. Outsourcing is increasing, not only for products but also for processes, including highly technical engineering work. Projects are distributed across sites and effective collaboration requires professionals who can work productively with colleagues who are very different from themselves.
[B. I. Allert, D. L. Atkinson, E. A. Groll, E. D. Hirleman]
Making the Case for Global Engineering: Building Foreign Language Collaborations for Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Programs
Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 2007.
Organizations
These are some organizations around the world that focus on global engineering education
*
Purdue University, USA
*International Engineering Program at the
University of Rhode Island
*
RMIT University
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...
, Australia
*Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
*
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
*
Universität Karlsruhe, Germany
*
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA
*
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
*University of Texas at Austin, Cockrell School of Engineering, USA
*University of Wisconsin Madison, College of Engineering, USA
*
University of British Columbia, Canada
*Spanish University of Distance Education - UNED, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department - DIEEC, Spain
*Deccan Herald
*Pforzheim University, Germany
*
Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
*Tokyo Global Engineering Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
*Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
* Texas A&M University, USA
See also
**
Global Education Network Europe
The Global Education Network Europe (GENE) is the European network of ministries, agencies and other national bodies responsible for support, funding and policy-making in the field of global education. Started in 2001 with 6 national structures, ...
References
Engineering education