Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING: ISSUES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENTThe Bologna Process and its impact on engineering educationNational Ministers of Higher Education from various countriesdecided to build a new common policy, which startedin 1998 with the Sorbonne Declaration and continued in1999 with the Bologna Declaration. The main goal of thiscommon policy was to prepare for convergence, by 2010,towards a ‘European Higher Education Area’.The political process has defined the goals, the trend lineand placed emphasis on key general issues (compatibility,recognition, legibility), but has not defined everything indetail. Countries are to make appropriate decisions for theadoption of the agreed common schemes and it is up tothe various stakeholders (universities, professional bodies)to establish the detailed programmes, processes and rules.Every two years, ministers meet in order to evaluate theprogress and to take decisions for next steps.The convergence towards a European Higher EducationArea does not mean uniformity across that area. Theimportance of the diversity of systems and solutions is fullyrecognized and must not be destroyed by decisions thatare too normative. The process is to define and accept minimumstandards of common rules that make the diversenational systems more compatible.The main component of the Bologna Process consists ofsetting up a unique scheme of articulated degrees in HigherEducation: the ‘3-5-8’ scheme. A first (Bachelor) degreeafter around three years of study would be followed by atwo-year period for a second (Master) degree, and then aPhD could be obtained after three years of postgraduatestudy. The various countries are now trying to adapt theirnational systems into the common scheme (though, ofcourse, with many differences in approach). For engineeringeducation, there are no serious difficulties except forthe existence of two types of engineer: engineering technicianswith a ‘short’ education, and engineers with a ‘long’education.Besides the 3-5-8 scheme, the Bologna Process focuses ontwo other tools:■The ‘Diploma Supplement’ consists of a document thatprovides necessary details about the studies in a given■country, in a given institution, so as to facilitate themobility of people.The ‘European Credit Transfer System’ (ECTS), whichdefines a set of common rules for the ‘measurement’of educational modules in terms of length and load;each study course or programme should be designedas a set of modules, each of them corresponding to acertain number of ECTS credits. The system is a solutionfor facilitating the mobility of students during theirstudies.Another important aspect of the Bologna Process consistsof trying to harmonize quality assessment procedures inhigher education and also in defining common rules for theaccreditation of study programmes. However, the solutionconsisting of creating a single European body or agency foraccreditation was unanimously rejected. For engineeringeducation, efforts were made over the last five years tosolve the problem with the creation of an observatory system‘OESOPE’ in 2000, and then a European accreditationproject ‘EUR-ACE’ in 2005.7.5.2 Washington Accord,Engineers Mobility Forum,APEC EngineerPeter GreenwoodThe International Engineering Alliance:There is a clear case for standards of competence for practitionersin the engineering profession. The most important asfar as national government is concerned is where regulation ofengineering work is necessary for public safety, or to protectagainst the negative effects of the asymmetry of knowledgebetween service provider and client. Employers and clientsneed standards to ensure that work is done competently, andso providers can be compared. The engineering practitionersthemselves need to be able to demonstrate their competencefor personal assessment reasons as well as for employment andstatutory requirements.Engineers are, more and more, working across national borders.Multi-national companies move staff from location tolocation to provide skills or resources. Practitioners movethemselves to gain experience and career progression. Whateverthe circumstances a practitioner’s professional standing ismore valuable if it is recognized and transferable, particularlywhen the engineering work is regulated. And so it is increasinglyimportant to agree international professional regulation,standards and recognition.The International Engineering Alliance (IEA) has emergedfrom the close working relationship between the WashingtonAccord – and the education and mobility forums that grewfrom it – and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Engineer Coordinating Committee.Accreditation: the Washington, Sydney and DublinAccordsThe Washington Accord began with a group of countries in1989 that agreed to have an accreditation system for undergraduateengineering degrees that was ‘substantially equivalent’.Companion accords were also formed for accreditingengineering technologists, in the Sydney Accord in 2001, andfor accrediting engineering technicians, in the Dublin Accordin 2002. Over the years, Accord members have been movingtowards the accreditation of courses based on ‘outputs’ ratherthan on ‘inputs’ (for example, skills developed rather than curriculumcontent). They have also instituted a system of peerinspection of each other’s accreditation processes.Accreditation of engineering courses is aimed at ensuring consistencyacross educational institutions. The mutual recognitionof Washington Accord signatories is intended to preserveconsistency across national boundaries.Several quality problems have arisen. For example, countriesmay have engineering work that does not need the attributesof a Washington, Sydney or Dublin Accord graduate. Thesecountries might choose an accreditation system appropriateto their needs and accept that their lack of alignment with the360