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tHEENGINEER
The fuTure of
ENGINEERING EducatIoN
Author: MikAEl EnElund
photogrAphEr: EMil johAnsson
The mission of an engineer is to create and develop products
and systems that improve safety and quality of life for
a growing population. This mission must be achieved using
a minimum amount of resources in order to ensure that
we do not compromise quality of life and safety for future
generations. The challenges that we will face during the next
decades are huge. For example, we will need new technologies,
systems and solutions for energy supply and transportation.
Furthermore, due to the growing global population,
utilization of materials, land and other resources must
be more efficient. Engineers need to take active and leading
roles in solving these challenges such that we achieve a sustainable
society. This needs to be achieved during the careers
of today's students!
One major concern is that young people today are less interested
in engineering education and an engineering career.
In Sweden, the demographic situation is such that the number
of twenty year olds will decrease during the next ten
years. At the same time, many people will be retiring from
the workforce. In order to meet the need for new engineers
during these adverse conditions, engineering education
must create exciting and attractive opportunities for a diverse
pool of talented
young people
If you get “killed,” you just
try something else until
you get to the next level.
from all areas of
our society.
The rapid development
of computers
and the
internet has given new opportunities for engineering work.
Most problem solutions and developments incorporate high
precision digital models. Engineers are able to solve very
complex problems using modern computer tools. However,
this has not been fully implemented into current engineering
education programs. Students spend too much time solving
oversimplified problems that can be expressed analytically
and with solutions that are already known in advance. Instead,
we should be using computers to solve more general,
real-world problems. The ability to effectively use such tools
during one's engineering career is also a key component of
the globalization of engineering. It is easy to transfer digital
models and global companies are employing engineers in
low cost countries for such tasks as design, development and
research. Our engineering education must prepare students
for working in a global market. Engineers educated at Chalmers
must be able to compete and provide added value that
can't easily be sourced from low-wage markets.
Furthermore, young people learn much differently than
they used to just a few decades ago. Researchers in the area
of pedagogy refer to this as the “Nintendo Syndrome”. The
video-games generation does not read manuals. Instead,
they jump right in and give it a try. If you get “killed,” you
just try something else until you get to the next level. If
that doesn’t work, just go to the internet to get a hint. From
my observations of children, I have noticed that this way of
learning is very efficient. I have also noticed that this attitude
seems to prevail when it comes to studying. Convincing
students to read a book has become increasingly difficult.
But, students do find it educationally rewarding to actually
try something before reading about it. Furthermore, the
vast majority of students own a laptop and a smart-phone
equipped with processors, accelerometers and gyroscopes.
So, they are easily able to conduct both simulations and testing.
We need to develop teaching and the infrastructure to
take advantage of this.
The engineering education must prepare students for the
challenges mentioned above and it must be continuously
developed in order to meet these needs. For the Chalmers
Mechanical Engineering program, we have a long-term
project underway for just this purpose, which is called
Shaping the Future of Mechanical Engineering. Students,
professors, industry and administration are involved in
the project. The aim is to fully develop all the skills of our
students and their full potential such that they become the
new renaissance engineers who are well prepared to take on
these challenges!
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