The Aalborg Experiment University Industry Interaction: A Means For Stimulating Engineering Excellence In Technology And Learning Systems

This article present what an engineering school at a university may do for stimulating the engineering excellence. Aalborg University experiment will be used as a case example with its unique use of problem-based education methods in connection with project and group-organised studies – to stimulate the professional learning process by a balancing of teaching/experience, theory/practice, disciplinarily/interdisciplinary and strengthen the link between research, education and practice. This presentation draws on the author’s experience [1] with the never ended development and implementation of the Aalborg experiment since 1974. Introduction: The Aalborg Experiment. The University was established in 1974 as an experiment in higher education with 900 students from four different schools, now there are more than 13,000 students. The curriculum in Engineering as well in the natural science is project-organised from the day the freshman arrives until graduation. There were special conditions for establish of AUC. It was situated in a Region of development with few traditions of higher Education. A new thing was also that more local Institutions of Education should be closed down and the programmes integrated on a new foundation in the University. It should also be mentioned that the battle for placing a University in Aalborg was seen as a local national movement. P ge 8.098.1 “Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education” Especially the local national element had and still has a very important meaning for the Universities relations to the surrounding Society with the common goals and task: To strength the link between the academic and professional worlds together. The four main goals of the project-based systems was and still are: • Efficiency: To make the program requirement such that most students graduate on schedule without loosing professional competence: • Quality: To increase student’s self-confidence, flexibility, creativity, and communication skills as well as increasing their ability to work in teams. • Flexibility: to solve interdisciplinary problems by improve faculty leadership abilities to direct students project teams so that project advisors become more coaches rather than lectures • Innovation: to emphasise integrated problem solving, considering social, economical and political aspects as well as the technological aspects. According to Danish culture and way of thinking: • In the frame of problem based learning, project-based education. • Driven by a democratic University administration. • By government funding education. From 1990 to 1994 The University of Twente [1,2] changed from classical to project-led education for the Mechanical engineering studies. No other institution had successfully made this changeover when they started in 1994 and this probably remains true in 2003, although some other universities have started developing similar initiatives on a scale which matches their needs and perceptions. Major Differences in Education Systems – Is it Time for the US to Change [3]? In the following I will very short point some important element of the concept, give some cases, point out some few experience from the university industry interaction and then go to summarising and conclusion. For more detailed information about this, I can strongly recommend [1], [2], [3], [5]. The Danish Industry. Denmark is a society with dense underbrush of small and medium size enterprises. In figure 1 only those branches are counted which normally purchase the graduates from the higher education. Whtrad. is all types of wholesale-trade. Mo+Bs. is money and business included banking but excluded retail-sale. Serv. includes all types of private service, consultative, juridical or auditing. The columns show that even in the branch of manufacturing ( Manuf) the small and medium size enterprises hold a clear majority. The Danish home market is by nature small, but it is open. It means the possibility to live and compete in the market is closely connected to the ability to meet the actual demands of the customers and to do those before the bigger enterprises have established themselves with large-scale production. We often use the expression ‘Niche-production’ for that type of production is typically carried out in the small and medium sized manufacturing companies. P ge 8.098.2 “Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education” Figure 1. Density of small and medium sized enterprises. Manufacturing, wholesale-trade [5]. The small and medium size companies have a common need for a generally higher education level of their personnel, and in general they have a bigger ratio of high-educated persons than the big companies [5]. An immediate solution could be to increase the number of study-lines according to the development. Questionnaire, however, among some of the most trend setting Danish enterprises show that they preferred basically well prepared graduates more then some with less basic knowledge and more specialisation. Further they ask for more ability to change. Therefore the assessment’s (demands) from the industry to teach young people, students to become useful members for industry is, that the students are able to: • Identify, analyse, formulate, process and solve complex problems. • Assess technology in a social context in order to solve social problems, fulfil social needs and not create unwanted side effects. • Acquire and apply new theoretical and practical knowledge as well as up-date old knowledge • Be flexible, co-operative and communicative. The Aalborg concept The Aalborg University model of project based learning is comprised of the concepts of problem based learning and project work including: • Problem orientation • Experience-based learning • Interdisciplinary • Gradual specialisation • Project work in groups To emphasise learning instead of teaching is the main idea behind both project work and problem based learning. Learning is the active process of investigation and creation based on the learner’s interest, curiosity and experience and should result in expanded insight, knowledge skills. Size, Danish Enterprises,Some Branches, Divided to Number of Workplaces, Independents Included.