A Strategic Framework for Engineering Education and Practice

Abstract

Emerging initiatives in engineering education can often appear partial in isolation. An integrated strategic framework for engineering education and practice is presented to support defining a roadmap of knowledge and skills for future engineers. The framework comprises the three domain pillars of engineering science, design and commercialization with a contextual element of management, culture and professionalization. Each pillar has a vertical hierarchy of knowledge, methods, skills and transition to practice from freshman to senior professional and above. Relative weaknesses in knowledge, methods, skills and transition to practice are highlighted in the design pillar and contrasted unfavorably with clinical teaching in medicine. The lack of a recognized route in technology commercialization is highlighted. Strategies suggested by the framework include: a broader integrative foundation on entry; teaching a more explicit sense of professionalization; professional degrees in the design and commercialization pillars; and strengthened post-experience teaching of engineering approaches across adjacent professional domains, a skill increasingly important in large scale systems engineering. A set of high-level strategic actions is derived from the framework for defining more detailed initiatives for a roadmap of knowledge and skills for future engineers.