engineering education - what the future holds
DESCRIPTION
Premier speech during IET Malaysia Dinner June 2012TRANSCRIPT
Engineering Education - What the future holds?
Dato' Seri Prof. Mashkuri YaacobVice ChancellorUniversiti Tenaga Nasional
Visions of the future…
Visions of the future
Artificial Food production
Sustainable future 3D Photocopy
Time travel
Environmental CO2
reduction
Reduction of food supply
Reduction in natural
resources
Artificial intelligent
Global warming
Social unrests
Financial crisis
Economic ScenariosOECD- Tertiary educated workforce (%)
Indo
nesia
Braz
il
Malay
sia
Philipine
s
Kore
a0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
OECD- Quality of basic education (PISA + avg. scores)
Indo
nesia
Brazil
M'si
a (a
ll)
Thai
land
M'si
a (u
rban
)
Turk
ey
OECD
Kore
a350
400
450
500
550 Math ScienceReading
Economic ScenariosMalaysian Average wage per sector in 2009 (RM’000)
Petro
chem
ical
Min
ing
Utiliti
es
Mfg
of t
rans
p eq
Mfg
of E
&E eq
Const
ruct
ion
Mfg
of F
&B
Agric,
fish
ing
etc.
0
1
2
3
4
5
Malaysian vision 2020
Expected average 2020
Futuristic
Complex and non-routine skills
Diverse skills
Higher wages
Better soft skills
Higher productivity
Knowledge worker
Attributes needed
-Peter Thiel, technology entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, founder of PayPal
Changing of Role of UniversitiesTraditional Role
• Ivory Tower• Economic driven,
introspective• Paper certificates• Produce graduates
that do not match current labour market
• Graduates do not match future sectors
New Role
• An active role in economy and society
• Quality education • Meaningful research
for societal well-being
• R&D that can be translated to wealth
• Bridging knowledge and technology in society
No university can achieve this alone. It will have to be planed for with collaboration with other institutions of higher learning, industry, government and NGOs.
New Role
Government & NGOs
Other Universities
Communities
Industries
Engaging the universities
Universities are now faced with national and global challenges.•K-Economy•To optimize their resources
To ensure economic, social
and environmental sustainability of nation and the
world
Play a vital role in extensive research and education, to promote, educate
and preserve mother nature for
a sustainable future
New role of Universities in the
K-Economy
Engaging the universities in K-Economy
Producing skills required by market
and to balance between current market and long
term requirement;
Source of R&D and commercialization
Ensure budget is commensurate with
high expected outcome
Raising income level for human capital by
ensuring that low income group has access to Higher
Education
Generating graduates that can
demand higher income
Stay relevant to the present and future
by being referred to and respected
The importance of Engineers and other Professionals
Provide infrastructure design
Ensure safe, reliable, non-destructive, environmentally
friendly, sustainable, maintainable
infrastructure built
Affordable for most people
Others will contribute according to their roles
Improve the quality of life
Engineering curricula Engineering technical knowledge Tailored for the development of required skills Using Problem Based Learning approach Not to be
Didactic, boring or Pedantic, follow rules/trivial matters May blocks creativity and innovation
To emphasise critical thinking over memory Emphasise non- routine skills Inculcate creativity Must be cascaded down to Primary and Secondary
levels so that they are prepared for tertiary education Providing or conveying engineering is to open up
and be creative
Engineering curricula in UNITEN
Outcome based
Education
Problem Based
Learning
Accredited by
International
Professional Bodies
Graduates are global
leaders and team players
Challenges for Engineering Education in Malaysia It is a challenge for
higher education to nurture these required skills
Create global leaders and team players of graduates in engineering programmes
May require an overhaul of the Malaysian education system towards greater autonomy accountability
Need whole set of people in HE management to understand, internalise and operationalise
Cascade up to politician, leaders of the country
Thank you
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.“ – Albert Einstein