Transforming Engineering Education For Meeting The Requirements Of The Global Industry Pioneering The Use Of The Systems Approach In Europe

The paper describes the ongoing work carried out in Finland since the early 1990s aimed at restructuring engineering education (EE) for meeting the requirements of the European hightech industry in the 2010s. The increasing global competition has forced the companies to make a transition from the repetitive (routine) mode of operation to the development (creative) mode of operation. This qualitative change creates new requirements for EE, which can only be met by reengineering EE institutions accordingly. The complexity of this task necessitates a systematic theoretical approach. The systems approach used in Finland does not divide the world into disciplines. In handles the extreme complexity of the world by regarding it as collection of functional entities (systems) and describing them with appropriate models. Modern engineering is very successful in the field of physical systems. The reason is that the nonliving systems can be described by accurate and general science-based models, e.g. by the Newton and Maxwell models. In the EE development work in Finland, engineering education is considered as a complex multilevel system consisting of human beings. People (e.g. the students) are also described as complex living systems, which have been designed by evolution over millions of years. The basic structure and function of the human being, including learning as an important component, has been modeled by using the latest results of the relevant sciences (e.g. evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, biology, genetics, and educational science). The work has shown that the human being can be modeled as a dynamic, parallel, and hierarchical system, which is internally driven by a genetically programmed control system. The use of the systems approach has led to a new EE structure. A sequence of learning projects connected to the real world is used as the vehicle for supporting and guiding the individual learning processes of the students and realizing an efficient learning environment for the whole study period. Group work, teamwork, and project work are used as an integral part of the new structure. The reengineered EE corresponds closely to the mode of operation and organization of international companies. Therefore, it removes the structural and functional discrepancy between the EE institutions and their main customers: the global hightech industry. The new approach, which utilizes a unified engineering-type model for the human being, has created a possibility for carrying out the EE development work as a systematic engineering work in cooperation between engineers and human scientists. The use of the systems approach for the development of new EE is an example of extending the efficient working methods of engineering from the physical world to the realm of complex social system as cooperation of engineers and specialists. The experience suggests that systems and model thinking opens interesting possibilities for bridging the gulf between engineering and the humanistic sciences. P ge 11348.2 Ongoing R&D work at Helsinki Polytechnic University in Finland The paper describes the ongoing R&D work in Finland, which is aimed at developing and implementing a new mode and structure for engineering education (EE) for meeting the requirements of the companies operating within the international economy. The work is driven by the fundamental changes produced by the economic and cultural effects of globalization. At the beginning of the 21 century, most of the world is moving rapidly towards a global, market-oriented, real-time economy. This transition has led to a dramatically rising level of know-how and use of technology. Driven by continuing market liberalization, the transition continues at an accelerating rate. The increasing global competition between companies forces the routine operations (e.g. manufacturing) to be transferred to countries with low manpower costs. It also forces companies to adopt modern ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools for automating routine work. At the same time, the global development is progressing towards the fulfillment of the basic human needs and, consequently, to the increasing emphasis of higher individual needs. The routine work that repeats the earlier work is very effective, e.g. mass production of electronic products. It can be made more effective, minimized and automated by transferring it to modern ICT systems. Routine work, however, is not sufficient in the rapidly changing global business environment. The company cannot be successful in the global competition by repeating what is has done before or what others are doing elsewhere: systematic development work is needed. The new requirements created by the increasing global competition and changes of societies can no longer be met by sporadic development. The situation forces organizations and people in the industrialized countries to make a fundamental transition: they must move from the repetitive (routine) operating mode to the systematic development (creative) mode. This shift demands a qualitative change in work methods, attitudes, organization, and management. In the global companies, the transition is being completed during this decade. In most public organizations and educational establishments this transition is just beginning. The renewal of higher education requires demanding long-term work. The students starting their studies in the fall of 2006 will enter working life during the 2010s and still be professionally active in the 2050s. The goal of the work of Stadia is the EE during the 2010s. New approach at Stadia The goal of the work in Finland is to develop and implement a new EE solution that meets the requirements of the companies operating in the complex global environment. The complexity of the development of the new structure requires a systematic theoretical approach. The work at Helsinki Polytechnic University (Stadia) is based on systems and model thinking, in which the world is described as a collection of dynamic, parallel and multilevel systems. The selected systems are modeled by using effective models of different forms. The description of the human being as a complex hierarchical system is central to this approach. P ge 11348.3 The new model is based on learning projects connected to the real world. The whole formed by these projects is used as the vehicle for creating an effective learning environment for the whole learning period. By using selected projects from the industry as part of the project sequence teaching and research can be combined and the new EE can be closely linked to the national innovation system. Description of the work The work in Finland has been carried out as an engineering endeavor as a concurrent combination of theoretical and experimental work, utilizing the new approach based on systems and model thinking. The work is based on the ideas and initial work done in EE at the University of Oulu in Finland during 1975-76. The basic structure of the student-driven real-world education has been developed in the continuing EE and entrepreneurial education of the University of Oulu during 1978-83. The ideas published in the early 1970s have decisively contributed to this work. The initial R&D work towards developing the new EE solution has been done as an engineering endeavor in 1993-97 at Kymenlaakso Polytechnic in southeastern Finland . During 1998-99, the structure of the new model has been developed in an R&D project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and the European Union . Parts of the new model have been pilot-tested during 1997-99 at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kymenlaakso Polytechnic. Beginning in 2000, the development and implementation of new EE model has been continued at Helsinki Polytechnic University (Stadia). Since August 2001, the Faculty of Engineering at Stadia has developed and implemented the new model in the four-year BS Program of Industrial Management . A one-year MS Program will be started in August of 2006. A team of some 25 faculty members and specialists have participated in this R&D work. For supporting the work, the Centenary Foundation of the Technology Industries of Finland, which is owned by the Technology Industries of Finland, has granted US $ 0.5 million for the project ”Transforming Engineering Education for Meeting the Requirements of the Development Mode of the International Industry”. The financing is used for completing the work and starting the dissemination of the results to other EE institutions in Finland by the summer of 2007. Responsibilities of universities in the change The rapid change of the world places great requirements for the universities of Finland. They must assume a leading position when the nation is transferring itself to the uncertain and rapidly changing global era and, particularly in the training of the professionals needed in the future by the society and the industry. Importance of engineering The global competition also emphasizes the role of engineering and increases the requirements for engineers. The engineers play a central role in the social transformation, e.g. by being instrumental in transferring human routine work to man-made machines and systems. High-quality EE is very important to all nations, particularly small countries such as P ge 11348.4 Finland, which focus strongly on high-tech industries. These industries depend on the excellence of the engineers in the global competition. For the same reasons, high-quality EE is essential to the future of developing countries. Discussion of the current EE in Finland In Finland, a public debate about the EE ha been taking place during the past few years. The debate is very timely and important. The experts of EE have been waiting for it since the 1990s. The pioneers of higher education have already experienced the situation and started the first changes in the 1970s. The parties participating in the deb