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What makes an Industrial Engineer an Industrial Engineer? Studies in the
field of Engineering and Economics, yes. Combining two fields of studies,
being the mediator between two disciplines, that as well. But what makes
an Industrial Engineer a good Industrial Engineer?
IEM studies in Europe
Students of Industrial Engineering and
Management (IEM) need to learn more
than Mechanics, Operations Research,
solving equations, coming up with models,
learning languages and writing research
papers. They need to learn how
to deal with people and to form a team,
to handle time-pressure and a big workload,
to work in intercultural teams in
a global environment. They need to get
experience in leading a project and presenting
their ideas and results to others.
Some, especially Northern, European
countries have recognised the need for
this and are partly integrating those
contents into their studies and are supportive
to their students if they have
any ideas to get more experience, e.g.
through involvement in a student organisation.
In many countries, however,
the focus remains on the contents being
taught in the classroom. Attempts are
made to get better learning outcomes
by using group work and presentations
of results, so to speak ‘hands-on’ work.
Projects with companies are established
to connect studies, actual problems and
work in the business world. Still, those
attempts cannot provide enough opportunities
to the extent needed by students
to gain necessary skills.
A few professors throughout Europe
have recognised this need as well and
have started to form an organisation
called ‘European Professors of Industrial
Engineering and Management’
(EPIEM). Their aim is to ‘improve the capability
of IEM faculties to facilitate the
students in the progress of their growth
and in their professional life’. They are
connected to the student organisation
ESTIEM (European Students of Industrial
Engineering and Management) and
are exchanging knowledge and areas of
improvement with students as well as
listening to the needs of IEM students
throughout Europe. In ESTIEM, they
have found engaged students who are
taking over responsibility for their own
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development as well as the development
of other IEM students in Europe.
Studies and specifications, even the definition
of ‘IEM’ differ a lot throughout
Europe. From Mechanical Engineering
to Information Technology over Biomedical
Engineering, Logistics, Finances
and Marketing, IEM students have a
broad background. What stays the same
for all IEM students are the required
skills in (intercultural) communication,
team dynamics and project management,
to name only a few. What are your
ideas worth if you can’t communicate
them to others and motivate a team to
work on them? How can you preach efficiency
and reaching deadlines to your
co-workers if you do not have the necessary
project management skills to live
up to those yourself?
Student organisations like ESTIEM
provide students the possibility to test
themselves and gain those skills. From
ESTIEM’s point of view, we see our
studies at the university and involvement
in ESTIEM highly connected.
Our events and everything around it are
not only focusing on networking and
improving our skills, these also aim at
providing and enlarging our academic
background.
The European Union is supporting such
voluntary youth work through the Youth
in Action program. Among its aims are
promoting European cooperation in the
youth field and contributing to developing
the quality of support systems for
youth activities. Many European student
organisations have received a grant for
their projects and activities from the EU
already and were able to improve their
work through that support.
How can students evolve better than
through creating their own experiences
and seeing what else is out there in Europe?
Ilka Petersen
ESTIEM Vice President of Education