Engineering Education: Imperatives & Issues

Dr S G Deshmukh ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management

www.iiitm.ac.in Session at RJIT Tekanpur, 1 Sep 2012

Opening quote….

“Quality in higher education has been a matter of

importance, concern and priority at regional,

national and international levels especially in the

recent past”.

Cathamparampil et al.(2005)

Speaking points

Imperatives

Engineering Challenges

Critical Success Factors

Issues :

Faculty development

Laboratory development

Role of faculty in administration

Industry-Institute linkages

Employability

Concluding remarks

Typical comments on curriculum

Too much theoretical content

Compartmentalized approach

Lacks preparing student for problem solving skills

Gap between what is taught and what is required

Gap between knowledge and skills

Not industrially relevant

Digital Divide

Teacher Student

Relies on old text

books/notes taught by his

teacher

Not comfortable with

technology

“Syllabus” mentality

Refuses to acknowledge

student

Uses mobile on and off the class room

Comfortable in handling technology –WiFi, Mobile, YouTube , iPad, participates in blog discussions , Hooked to Facebook , Hi5 or LinkedIn

Reluctant to acknowledge teacher !!

IImperatives ..

Globalization : Borderless World of accelerating multi-dimensional change

Quality of services(WTO, Washington accord), and Shift to knowledge economy

Role of private universities

Expectations of student community, and industry

Changing face of technology : Revolutions in Information Technology (IT)

Engineering Education System MUST

translate these challenges through a Quality

response

GGrowth of Higher Education

Institutes 1950-51 1990-91 2010-11

Universities 30 117 537

Colleges 750 7356 26,000

Student

Enrolment

236,000 49,50,000 135,00,000

Faculty 24,000 272,000 530,000 Source: Ramachandran S, 2011, Significance & contributions of self-financing institutions in higher

education, Pride, Vol 1(1), pp 6-8

Imperative 1: Globalization of

Education

Globalization refers to the increasing flow of technology, finance,

trade, knowledge, values and ideas across the borders(Knight & Wit,

1997)

It has multidimensional impact on the system of

education.

It has underlined the need for reforms in the educational

system with particular reference to wider utilization of IT

giving productivity and quality dimension and emphasis

on its R&D activities.

Imperative 2 : Expectations of Student

community and Industry

Bombarded with technological gadgets (Mobile, web,

laptop etc.)

Low retention span

Teacher as a facilitator/coach

Dynamic requirements of industry

Gap between what is taught and what is required

Features of Traditional Engineering

Education

More focused on abstract themes

Instructor centered learning

Depth in specialized fields

Very little use of computers, Multimedia, Internet

More focused on individual efforts

The Reality!: Current Weaknesses in

Today’s Eng. Graduates

Weakness in understanding manufacturing processes

Mostly analysts in specific areas

Myopic view of engineering

No understanding of quality process

Weak communication skills

Lack of design capabilities

Weak teamwork & project management skills

The Ideal! : Engineering Skills

Essentials for Competitive Graduates

Strong technical capability

Skills in communication and persuasion

Ability to lead and work effectively as a member of a team

Understanding of the non-technical forces that profoundly

influence engineering decisions

Commitment to lifelong learning

Skills in design and project management

Multidisciplinary

Forces Pushing for Change

Companies employing engineering graduates

Accreditation efforts (such as NBA/ABET)

Globalization of economy

Engineering professional societies

Technological Challenges

Information: Proliferation

Tech. development: Multidisciplinary

Markets: Globalized

Environment: Endangered

Social responsibility: Engineering

Corporate structure: Participatory

Change: Rapid!

Critical Success Factors for Good

Engineering Education

Infrastructure Students Faculty

Attract the best students with leadership potential

Develop and nurture students for a wholesome personality

Educate & motivate engineering students to be ready:

to implement new technology

to focus on innovation

to understand global trends

to make an impact on society

Students

Faculty with good engineering/science background

Faculty with excellent potential in carrying innovative research

Faculty committed to a dynamic teaching environment

Provide faculty with opportunities for self development

Motivate faculty for doing high impact research

Facilitate cooperation with industry & the society at large

Faculty

Provide enabling environment that encourages high levels of academic

productivity

Up to date facilities (Computers, Library, Laboratory, sports etc.)

Adopt flexible and clear rules and regulations

Create sense of ownership

Infrastructure & Support

Strengths of RJIT

First of its kind institute

Young and dynamic faculty

Disciplined student community

Learning culture

Good infrastructure

Adequate space for expansion

Good academic programme: Both UG & PG

Niche Programme : Automobile Engg

Implications for RJIT

Move to next orbit

Enhance quality teaching

Emphasis on laboratory development

Give space to experiment & innovate

Network with other institutes

Use of National Knowledge Network

Stress on Research

Provide ecosystem

Faculty Incentive to motivate

Issue 1: Faculty development

Encourage faculty to do Ph d

Motivate them to conduct seminars/workhops/conferences

etc.

Lab development – a priority item

Empower them to take decisions and be

responsive/responsible

Encourage team work

Incentive scheme for quality research

Issue 2: How to create interest

amongst students in Lab

Open ended assignments

Hardware based projects

Industry assignments

More emphasis on “ Hands-on” experience

Increase Laboratory weightage in evaluation

Participate in competitions such as Robocon, Baja etc.

Issue 3: Industry Institute Linkage

Invite industry people for guest lectures

Make industry visits compulsory

Allow faculty to spend time in industry (during vacation

/break etc.)

Collaborative projects : Research/consultancy/problem

solving assignments

Issue 4: How to groom students for

placement

Understand issues in employabilty

Enhance soft skills

Make students aware of the industry requirements

Conduct regular industry meets

Issue : Employability skills Cognitive skills - higher level intellectual or academic skills (e.g.

interpreting, analysing, researching)

Key skills – personal skills and qualities which are generic to a range of both academic and employment settings (e.g. enterprise, criticality, teamwork, communication, planning and organising)

Career Management skills – skills required to manage career development (e.g. self analysis, networking, self reliance and reflection)

Enterprising Attitudes – personal qualities to spot opportunities and have the skills to act on them.

Issue: Skills Expected

Technical skills : Subject matter

Ability to ask questions

Ability to work independently

Ability to identify with the community

Soft skills: Leadership, Communication, team work, perseverance ,

tenacity

Issue 5: Role of Faculty in Administration

/Academic development

Faculty have to shoulder responsibility in

admn(Procurement/Recruitment/Construction )

Evolve SOPs for various activities

Individual development vis-à-vis institutional development

Emphasis on high quality research and the supporting infrastructure that

is needed

Sense of ownership/involvement

Concluding remarks..

Providing good quality engineering education – a challenge

for an institute like RJIT

Faculty , students and staff work in a synergistic manner to

meet this challenge

Providing good ecosystem and environment: a must

Thank you very much ! I would appreciate your comments at

deshmukh.sg@gmail.com