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© 2007 UICEEGlobal J. of Engng. Educ., Vol.11, No.2Published in Australia

INTRODUCTION

There is a general consensus among engineeringeducators, entrepreneurs, industry and businessleaders that engineering education in Australia is incrisis or at least is heading towards this direction.Australia, which has a small population of approxi-mately 20 million inhabitants, is now facing a shortage

Issues and Challenges in Engineering Education andthe Future Outlook of the Engineering Profession

in Australia*

Dianne Q. NguyenZenon J. Pudlowski**

UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE)Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia

Australia is presently experiencing a skills shortage in the engineering profession, so much so thatthis has led to the listing of the specialities of civil, chemical, mining and petroleum engineering onthe Migrant Occupations on Demand List. This raises concerns and has serious implications foremployers of engineers and engineering academics. In this article, the authors attempt to discussthe cause behind this problem and why this is happening in Australia. Raising awareness of theimportance of engineering studies in the national education system at the primary, secondary andtertiary levels and promoting engineering as career prospects are crucial steps to remedy thecurrent situation. Australia operates on a fee-based education system to remain competitive in theglobal education market. However, there are problems with the fee-based system, which isalso briefly discussed. The inevitable process of internationalisation and its impact on engineeringeducation in Australia is also presented. A consideration concerning the introduction of a newengineering model, leading to a Masters of Engineering in Australia, to boost the mobility of studentsand offer internationally recognised qualifications is also carried out in this article. Finally, theauthors propose an alternative model, which maybe suitable for the educational market in Australia,to be realised through the establishment of one common or the so-called global engineering curriculum,which can also be used successfully internationally. Such a curriculum would address the issueof offering an internationally recognised programme that is likely to eliminate the need for anyrecognition and accreditation problems experienced between countries.

*A revised and expanded version of a paper presented atthe 11th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education,held in Tallinn, Estonia, from 18 to 20 June 2007. This paperwas awarded the UICEE Best Paper Diamond (First Grade)Award by popular vote of Seminar participants for the mostsignificant contribution to the field of engineering education.**As Director of the UICEE, Prof. Z.J. Pudlowski declinedto accept the award, which was accepted by Ms D.Q. Nguyen.

of professional engineers, which is a cause forserious concern, and the prediction is that thisproblem will only become worse given the dramaticdecline in student enrolment numbers in engineeringcourses at the university level [1].

An urgent call for more funding to be directed toengineering education is needed in order to addressthe national skills shortage of professional engineersin Australia. The general perception is that thecurrent government is not investing enough interestand resources in improving the engineering educationsystem in Australia, thus neglecting the future role ofthis important profession. It is predicted that if theproblem with the skills shortage of engineers and thedeclining student numbers is not resolved, then thiscould have a directly negative affect on the future

D.Q. Nguyen & Z.J. Pudlowski108

economy of Australia because engineers are seenas the creators, innovators, entrepreneurs and keydrivers of the economy.

In the following passage, Farrell highlights theimportant role that engineers play in boosting theeconomy:

Engineers turn knowledge into application.They devise plans, they design products andprocesses and they deliver results; they arethe ultimate doers. Without innovation thereis no wealth creation and as a consequence,no economic growth [1].

Clearly, the preservation and expansion of thisprofession is vital for the future growth of this nation.

SKILLS SHORTAGE OF ENGINEERS INAUSTRALIA

Firstly, one has to ask a critical question: why is thishappening in Australia?

Presently, in Australia, less than 5% of 24-year oldmales hold an engineering degree and even lowerfigures are reported for the opposite gender fallingwithin this same age group. In fact, only six in 1,000women in this age group have an engineering degree.In comparison, the figures from other developednations, such as Japan and Finland, are much higherthan in Australia [2].

The highest number of undergraduate engineeringenrolments in Australia ever recorded was 11,500 in1997 and this number has been gradually declining [3].Australia does not appear to be a big player in themass production and creation of engineering andIT graduates when compared to other populouscountries like China or India.

The skills shortage of engineers in Australia couldbe viewed in two ways, either from an educational oreconomic perspective.

From an educational perspective, there are afew reasons why Australia is experiencing this skillsshortage of engineers. Firstly, the demand andinterest for science and mathematics in primary andsecondary schools have declined. Without a properexposure to mathematics and science, which are thefundamentals of engineering education, elementarylevel students are not expected to fully understand,appreciate or even be aware of what engineeringreally entails and/or what an engineer really does.

It is obvious that most students, upon the success-ful completion of their secondary education, are notlikely to enrol at the university level in a discipline thatthey are not familiar with.

Secondly, the declining interest to study engineer-ing at universities among school leavers is not helpingthe current skills shortage problem. The rapid declinein domestic undergraduate engineering studentsbegan in 2001 and the situation will not improveunless significant changes are put in place.

As stated by Hartley,

If universities do not give credit oradequate weighting to engineeringstudies at secondary level, students will notbe interested. If there are not enoughHECS funded places for engineeringAustralia doesn’t have a hope of over-coming the skills shortage [4].

The decline is more noticeable in some engineer-ing disciplines, for example, software and tele-communications, and increased in other areas such ascivil engineering [5].

When looking at this problem from an economicperspective, the current skills shortage in Australia ismainly due to the resources boom and growth in theconstruction industry, both locally and internationally.In addition to this, there is a big global demand forengineers around the world, particularly in Asia, theUK and the USA. The shortage of engineers in theareas of civil, chemical, mining and petroleum hasresulted in the listing of these engineering professionson the Migrant Occupations on Demand List(MODL), which is a list that shows when there isa national shortage of qualified people in a certainprofession [3].

Johnston believes that there are a number ofcontributing factors that are responsible for this down-ward trend and these include the following:

• Limited perceptions about likely careers inengineering;

• Fear of mathematics;• Lack of appeal of subject contents, modes of

delivery, enthusiasm and base knowledge ofteachers [5].

Others believe that students are turning away fromengineering programmes because they are nowsearching for a broader education and perhapsmore choice [6].

CHANGES IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEMTO ADDRESS THE SHORTAGE CRISIS

To address this issue of skills shortage in engineering,one must first examine the entire Australian educational

Issues and Challenges in Engineering... 109

system starting from the primary to the tertiary level,and identify where the problems are in the structureand then make the necessary changes to encourageand attract more students to enrol in engineeringcourses at the tertiary level.

Firstly, the problem needs to be examined at theprimary and secondary levels. It would appear thatthere is a lack of mathematics and science taught inthe classroom. Therefore, educators must raise thelevel of mathematics and science subjects being taughtat primary and secondary schools. The exposure tosuch subjects, which are seen as the fundamentals ofany engineering degree, is necessary if students areto have any understanding of what engineering is andwhat engineering entails.

It is believed that the exposure to mathematics andscience subjects at an early age would arousestudents’ curiosity, interest and enthusiasm for math-ematics and science subjects. Moreover, it should helpstudents develop the appreciation, understanding,connection and affinity towards engineering for laterstudy, and prepare students for the transition to studyengineering at university. It has been considered bysome institutions in Australia that lowering the univer-sity entry scores of engineering programmes mightincrease student enrolment numbers and attract abroader selection of students to study engineering.

The authors are not convinced that lowering thescore, and hence the standard of engineering, is thebest solution to attract students to engineering coursesas the highest calibre of students should be attractedto engineering and not just the average students.

At the tertiary level, a major restructuring andrevamping of engineering education, in particular thecurriculum contents, is urgently needed in Australia toreflect the changes within the current global market.The new curriculum should have less focus on physicsbut more on biology, less on technical content and moreemphasis on humanities, arts and social sciences, andless focus on analysis and more on synthesis [6]. Thenew education should be broader in scope, and shouldintegrate knowledge from both the natural sciencesand the social sciences and humanities [6].

Further, Boger states that: Clearly the traditional,almost entirely technically based Australian engi-neering degree must change and is changing [6].

In addition to all of these new requirements, thenew curriculum must also be consistent, unified andharmonised, and be in accordance and comparablewith global standards. More importantly, it mustbe capable of obtaining international recognition. Thisleads to the discussion of another important issuein this article, namely, the internationalisation of engi-neering education.

The other alternative in addressing the nation’sshortage of engineers as expressed by Sheridan is torely on qualified overseas engineers, either onshorethrough the immigration program or offshore viaoutsourcing [3].

The challenge here, of course, is whether the over-seas engineers’ qualifications meet Australian nationalstandards and if the foreign qualifications are recog-nised in Australia so that such qualifications wouldenable overseas educated engineers to practice theirprofession in Australia. The other critical issue is toovercome the language and cultural barriers experi-enced by overseas engineers in Australia.

There has been an increase in the number of skilledimmigrants obtaining visas in engineering-related fieldsfrom 1,012 in 2001-2002 to 2,636 in 2004-2005.However, these immigrants are largely made up ofinternational students who have studied and success-fully completed their education (in engineering-relatedfields) in Australia and applied for a permanentresidence status.

Fox suggests that perhaps removing the HigherEducation Contribution Scheme (HECS) fees forengineering degrees might be an incentive to encour-age more domestic students to study engineering [7].This definitely would help, but it is not likely to happenin the near future.

WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE SKILLSSHORTAGE CRISIS IN AUSTRALIA

A list of recommendations was formulated by delegateswho attended the recent National Engineering,Science and Technology Skills Summit to address theskills crisis in engineering. The list includes thefollowing suggestions:

• obtaining more timely and robust data toidentify Australia’s skills capability and futureskills needs;

• providing greater support for the teachingof maths and science in schools anduniversities;

• providing primary and secondary students withopportunities to interact with engineers andscientists to spark their enthusiasm and toimprove awareness of the rewarding careersavailable – thereby increasing demand fortertiary courses;

• coordinating programs of government,community and professional organisations toprovide a solid, technical, experience-basedresource for teachers and schools acrossAustralia;

D.Q. Nguyen & Z.J. Pudlowski110

• increasing the level of support for universitystudents to improve retention rates;

• providing increased support for postgraduatecourses to ensure that Australia has anappropriate skills base in advanced technicalareas;

• addressing workplace culture, remunerationand working conditions to encourage retentionof technology professionals;

• developing programs to assist technicalprofessionals to upgrade their skills or transfertheir expertise into alternative industries;

• developing programs to encourage scienceand engineering professionals to broaden theircapabilities to facilitate engagement in theeducation systems;

• supporting initiatives to retain skilledprofessionals in the workforce [8].

The points raised in the list all share one thing incommon: they all make reference to improving andchanging the current education system. This may leadto the conclusion that education appears to be the keysolution to the addressing the skills shortage problem.

NATIONAL ENROLMENTS INENGINEERING PROGRAMMES INAUSTRALIA

The national enrolment of students in engineeringcourses in Australia is presented in Figure 1, obtainedfrom Monash University Planning and Statistics [9].This line graph represents student enrolment numbersby the field of engineering from 2001 to 2005. Thisfigure takes into account the following:

• Age groups from less than 16 to 60 years or more;• Attendance mode (internal, external and combi-

nation);• Attendance type (full-time and part-time);• Course type from non-awards to doctorates;• Course group (undergraduate, postgraduate and

higher education research);• Field of education (engineering);• Gender (females and males);• Students’ origins (domestic and international);• All universities and colleges in Australia offering

engineering courses.

There are presently engineering programmesoffered in over 30 different engineering disciplines byuniversities and colleges across Australia.

The overall enrolment numbers show that there hasbeen a steady increase in the enrolments of engineering

courses from 48,898 in 2001 to 59,417 in 2005 (althoughdomestic undergraduate enrolments decreased).

It would appear that courses covered in Engineer-ing and Related Technologies are the top choiceamong students, even though the enrolments numberhas slightly fluctuated from previous years, but it stillholds the highest number of enrolments (15,439) in2005. The next most popular choice among studentsrecorded in 2005 is Mechanical Engineering (6,067)follow by Computer Engineering (5,237), CivilEngineering (5,008), Chemical Engineering (3,142),Electrical Engineering (4,034) and, finally, Processand Resources Engineering (not elsewhere classi-fied) (2,045). However, the figures also show thatthe decline is happening across some engineeringdisciplines, namely Engineering and RelatedTechnologies, Mechanical Engineering, ComputerEngineering and Electrical Engineering, whencompared to previous years.

THE INTERNATIONALISATION OFENGINEERING EDUCATION – THEINEVITABLE PROCESS

Internationalisation, otherwise more commonly knownas globalisation, is forcing corporations and educationalinstitutions around the world to think and act globally.As the title of this section suggests, internationalisation isinevitable, which means that no country can avoid orbypass this process if they are to be a competitiveplayer in the global market. The effect is real and isfelt across all nations. It has already altered the waythat people work and conduct business globally. Also,the impact of globalisation has already had a profoundaffect on the educational sector. It is putting pressureon educational institutions to modernise, revamp andtransform educational materials and policies to meetinternational standards, offer qualifications that areinternationally recognised and produce graduates withglobal potentials. These are some of the immediatechallenges facing educational institutions in Australiaand overseas today.

Why has the internationalisation of educationbecome a major concern for educational institutions?

Hallak points out that due to the worldwide spreadof the labour market, it has had two consequences:

Firstly, the need to compare competencies:how can a company compare a diploma?How can it be sure that certain training hasinstilled a certain skill? Secondly, the racefor excellence: the competition between edu-cational institutions is very likely to intensifyand promote the search for the best quality [10].

Issues and Challenges in Engineering... 111

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D.Q. Nguyen & Z.J. Pudlowski112

Further, Hallak suggests that the traditional taskof higher education in producing the cadres ofsociety should be revised in order to address thenew demands and challenges generated byglobalisation [10].

How has this impacted on engineering educationin Australia? There have been serious discussions anddebates about the problems that arise from the vari-ous different standards, accreditation, recognition anddiversity of engineering programmes across the globe.These problems would not be an issue if all engineersafter graduation would find work and remain makinga living in their home countries; but the reality of theproblem is that engineering is becoming a globalprofession due to the impact of globalisation.

Many engineers in Australia are now going off-shore to look for work. This provides a great opportunityfor many engineers to gain first hand experience inworking overseas. The other obvious reason is thatmany are forced to travel abroad to seek employmentdue to the shortages of jobs in the local environmentor seek better salaries and job opportunities and prospects.In order to overcome this problem, current engineeringeducation in Australia needs to address the issue ofestablishing the compatibility, comparability and stand-ardisation of qualifications in education and trainingsystems at the international level. The positive out-come is that engineering education in Australia is alreadyon this path of establishing international accreditationthrough the Washington Accord and other means.

The impact of internationalisation has influencedmany Australian universities to tap into the globalmarket by making their programmes more aligned withthose universities in Europe in order to promote stu-dent mobility, to be seen as a competitor in the globalmarket, as well as attract full fee-paying Australianstudents’ enrolments [11].

ENGINEERING BECOMING A GLOBALPROFESSION

Increasingly, engineers conduct their work in more thanone country and in countries other than where theyreceived their education. The mobility of students andengineers is very much driven by this process of inter-nationalisation/globalisation. Many countries havedifferent laws, cultures, procedures and standardsconcerning the education and practice of engineering.It is anticipated that the growth of major trading blocs,such as the European Union (EU), the Asia/Pacificarea and the Americas, will intensify this process ofmobility. Also, instant worldwide communication isa strong catalyst for the development of the globalpractice of engineering and engineering education.

It is appropriate for the world’s engineering profes-sion to recognise this developing situation and to takesteps to ensure the orderly transition into the worldwidepractice of engineering, and the education of engineersin particular [12]. Yeargan suggests that one methodby which this can be accomplished is through the estab-lishment of international accreditation of engineeringeducational programmes, the recognition of academicequivalency between institutions, and reciprocal agree-ments between engineering licensing agencies [12].

ENGINEERING CURRICULA INAUSTRALIA – A NEW PROGRAMME

The University of Melbourne, which is considered asone of the leading Group of Eight (Go8) universities inAustralia, is considering the introduction of a new engi-neering curriculum leading to a Master of Engineering.The proposed model is similar to that of the Europeanmodel, which may be undertaken in two stages. Thefirst stage is the undergraduate degree (baccalaureate),which can be completed in three years, followed by aMaster’s degree that requires another two years (theBologna Model) so that the total programme is com-pleted in five years. The introduction of this new pro-gramme came about because there was a demandfor the broadening of engineering education, the lackof mathematics and sciences available at high school,the most obvious reason being to offer a qualificationthat is internationally recognised, and that the extendingthe tertiary education process is necessary for Aus-tralia to maintain its international standing [13].

The opinions expressed by Evans and Marrels, ifother Australian universities were to adopt this verysame model of a five-year engineering programme attheir institutions, are that this would provide a basefor further collaboration among the universities to pro-duce an Australian-wide version of the Bologna-likemodel. This outcome would increase the flexibility andmobility of students between all Australian universitiesand perhaps even with European universities.

The ramifications of this shift from four years tofive years of undergraduate study for an engineeringprogramme are such that it will eventually replace allbachelor engineering degrees, eliminate double degreeprogrammes in engineering and the standard Master’sdegree programme either by research or coursework,which is typically completed within two years. Thestandard Masters programme by coursework remainsa popular choice for international students and, hence,a substantial source of revenue for the university.

In fact, the statistics show that the number ofstudents undertaking a Master’s degree by courseworkgrew from 1,022 in 2001 to 2,560 in 2004 and, what is

Issues and Challenges in Engineering... 113

even more surprising, is that more than 80% of thegrowth was in the field of electrical and electronicengineering [3]. The important question here is: doesthe introduction of the five-year study programme,leading to a Master’s degree in Australia, has anegative impact on this lucrative market? The otherquestion is: does extending the study of engineering tofive years deter students from studying engineeringand attract them to other disciplines?

PROBLEMS WITH A FEE-BASEDEDUCATION SYSTEM

Although there are great benefits and advantagesstemming from this new five-year study programmein engineering, the authors are not absolutely certainwhether this new model proposed by the Universityof Melbourne is suitable for the Australian educationsystem, which is predominantly a fee-basededucation system.

During the most recent years, governments in richcountries, especially in Australia, New Zealand andthe UK, have significantly decreased education fundingand are forcing many universities to seek private andfee-based funding to remain in operation. In Australia,for example, all universities are charging local studentsHECS, and hefty educational student fees and chargesalso apply to international students to obtain a higherdegree. The concept of free education was still avail-able in Australia in the early 1980s, but was eventuallyphased out in 1989 and replaced by fee-based educa-tion. The main sources of funding in higher educationin Australia are essentially made up of governmentfunding, fees and charges from local and foreignstudents, as well as HECS.

Australia generates revenue of about $10 billionper year from its education export and attracts a largenumber of full-fee-paying students, mostly fromcountries in Asia. The increase in cuts in governmenteducational funding around the world means thatcommercial and private entities will take a greater rolein educational business. Education is slowly becominga service industry similar to banking, insurance, travel,etc [14]. This seems to be the trend witnessed inrecent years in Australia. Fortunately, the situation isnot as drastic in those European countries whereuniversities and engineering schools are still receivinglarge government grants [14]. In light of this situation,the proposed new programme, as advocated by theUniversity of Melbourne, is, perhaps, better suited tocater for higher learning institutions in Europe.

The alternative model strongly advocated by theauthors of this article, which maybe suitable forthe education market in Australia, is through the

establishment of one common or so-called globalengineering curriculum, which can be used world-wide. Such a curriculum would address the issue ofoffering an internationally recognised programme, aswell as eliminate the need for any recognition andaccreditation problems between countries [15].

CONCLUSIONS

Australia is currently facing a skills shortage ofdomestic engineers across all disciplines. This short-age has come about because of the rapid decline indomestic student enrolments in engineering coursesin Australia. The number of enrolments in Australiapeaked in 1997 but has declined since. There are anumber of contributing factors why students are turn-ing away from engineering. The national curriculumat the primary, secondary and tertiary levels is to blamefor this national shortage and changes are urgentlyneeded in the national curriculum to reverse thisproblem. Moreover, due to the process of internation-alisation, Australia is also trying to tap into the globalengineering market and offer internationally recognisedqualifications and boost student mobility. The Univer-sity of Melbourne is looking at introducing a five-yearprogramme leading to the Masters of Engineering. Themodel is similar to that of the European model.

The alternative model, as proposed by the authors,is through the establishment of one common orso-called global engineering curriculum, which wouldaddress the issue of offering an internationally recog-nised programme, as well as eliminate the need forany recognition and accreditation problems betweencountries. The additional benefits provided by offering aglobal curriculum have been elaborated on elsewhere[16]. There appears to be general support for thedevelopment of the global curriculum in environmentalengineering education when taking into account thedata collected from an inventory of global engineeringeducators [16].

REFERENCES

1. Farrell, P., Engineering, innovation and entrepre-neurship. ATSE Focus, 141, 14 (2006).

2. Stojanovich, D., Changes needed in education andworkplace. Engineers Australia, 79, 4, 30-31 (2007).

3. Sheridan, J., Why aren’t we training more engi-neers? ATSE Focus, 141, 15-16 (2006).

4. Hartley, R., Expanding the number of engineersis essential to economic growth. EngineersAustralia, 79, 3, 3 (2007).

5. Johnston, A., Generational change and its impacton engineers. ATSE Focus, 141, 4-5 (2006).

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6. Boger, D., Engineering education – a personalperspective. ATSE Focus, 141, 6-7 (2006).

7. Fox, J., Engineering and Australia’s future in the21st Century. ATSE Focus, 141, 17-18 (2006).

8. Taylor. P., Addressing the skills crisis. EngineersAustralia, 79, 7, 6 (2007).

9. Monash University – Planning and Statistics(2007), www.ups.monash.edu.au/statistics/stats-pivot tables/

10. Hallak, J., Globalisation and its Impact onEducation. In: Mebrahtu, T., Corssley, M. andJohnston, D. (Eds), Globalisation, EducationalTransformation and Societies in Transition.Oxford: Symposium Books (2000).

11. Simmons, J., New issues of mastery andglobalisation. ATSE Focus, 141, 11-12 (2006).

12. Yeargan, J.R., International accreditation of engi-neering and technology programs. Inter. J. ofEngng. Educ., 7, 6, 464-466 (1991).

13. Evans, R. and Mareels, I., Five years to completea basic engineering education. ATSE Focus, 141,13-14 (2006).

14. Bordia, S., Problems of accreditation and qualityassurance of engineering education in developingcountries. European. J. of Engng. Educ., 26, 2,187-193 (2001).

15. Nguyen, D.Q. and Pudlowski, Z.J., The design andstandardisation of engineering curricula in thecontext of globalisation. Global J. of Engng. Educ.,10, 2, 129-139 (2006).

16. Nguyen, D.Q. and Pudlowski, Z.J., A comparativestudy on the perceived level of support by generalengineering educators versus environmental engineer-ing educators for development of a global curriculum.Proc. 4th Asia-Pacific Forum on Engng. and Tech-nology Educ., Bangkok, Thailand, 191-194 (2005).

BIOGRAPHIES

Dianne Q. Nguyen gradu-ated with a Bachelor of Ap-plied Science, majoring inchemistry and environmen-tal management, fromDeakin University, Australia,in 1994, and then completedher Honours year in 1997 andMasters in Engineering Sci-ence (Research) at MonashUniversity, Australia, in 2000.

She has spent time working in research laborato-ries before entering academia. Since December 1995,she has been with the UNESCO International Centrefor Engineering Education (UICEE) in the Faculty of

Engineering at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.She is currently a Research Fellow and finalising herPhD in environmental engineering education.

Her special research interests include environmentalengineering, engineering education, sustainable engineer-ing, global education, curriculum analysis and design,statistical analysis, research methods, and women inengineering. Also, she has external interests in Webdesign and programming in Java and Javascript. In herspare time, she enjoys doing high impact aerobics,weight training, tae-box and reading. Her hobbiesinclude fashion, shopping, computers, travelling,playing music, playing golf and watching movies.

Her awards include: UICEE’s Women in Engi-neering Education Scholarship (1997-2000); theUICEE Silver Badge of Honour for her contributionto engineering education and to the operation of theUICEE (1998); the UICEE Best Paper Diamond (FirstGrade) Award for a distinguished contribution in de-livering an outstanding paper to the Global Congresson Engineering Education (July 1998); the UICEEBest Paper Silver (Fourth Grade) Award at the 8th

Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education(September 2004); the UICEE Best Paper Diamond(First Grade) Award at the 9th UICEE Annual Con-ference on Engineering Education (February 2006);the UICEE Best Paper Gold (Third Grade) Award(first place) at the 10th UICEE Annual Conferenceon Engineering Education (March 2007); and herlatest award, the UICEE Best Paper Diamond (FirstGrade) Award at the 11th Baltic Region Seminar onEngineering Education (June 2007). She is also arecipient of the prestigious Australian PostgraduateAward (October 2000-October 2003), Monash Depart-mental Award (October 2000-October 2003) andMonash Travel Grant (October 2001).

She has also served on several national and inter-national engineering education conference organisingcommittees. She has already published close to 50 con-ference and journal papers.

Ms Nguyen is the current Treasurer of the Inter-national Liaison Group on Engineering Education(IL-GEE).

Zenon Jan Pudlowski gradu-ated Master of ElectricalEngineering from the Acad-emy of Mining and Metal-lurgy (Kraków, Poland), andDoctor of Philosophy fromJagiellonian University(Kraków), in 1968 and 1979,respectively.

From 1969 to 1976, he

Issues and Challenges in Engineering... 115

was a lecturer in the Institute of Technology withinthe University of Pedagogy (Kraków). Between 1976and 1979, he was a researcher at the Institute ofVocational Education (Warsaw) and from 1979 to 1981was an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Pedogogywithin Jagiellonian University. From 1981 to 1993, hewas with the Department of Electrical Engineering atThe University of Sydney where, in recent years, hewas a Senior Lecturer.

He is presently Professor and Director of theUNESCO International Centre for Engineering Edu-cation (UICEE) in the Faculty of Engineering atMonash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia. Hewas Associate Dean (Engineering Education) of theFaculty of Engineering between 1994 and 1998.

In 1992, he was instrumental in establishing theInternational Faculty of Engineering at the TechnicalUniversity of Lodz, Poland, of which he was the Foun-dation Dean (1992-1995) and Professor (in absentia)(1992-1999). He was also appointed Honorary Deanof the English Engineering Faculty at the DonetskNational Technical University in the Ukraine in 1995.

His research interests include circuit analysis,electrical machines and apparatus, implementationof computer technology in electrical engineering,software engineering, methodology of engineeringeducation and industrial training, educational psychol-ogy and measurement, as well as human aspects ofcommunication in engineering. His achievements todate have been published in books and manuals and inover 350 scientific papers, in refereed journals andconference proceedings.

Professor Pudlowski is a Fellow of the Institutionof Engineers, Australia, and of the World InnovationFoundation (WIF), UK. He is a member of the editorialadvisory board of the International Journal ofEngineering Education. He is the founder of theAustralasian Association for Engineering Education(AAEE) and the Australasian Journal of Engineer-ing Education (AJEE), and was the 1st Vice-President and Executive Director of the AAEE andthe Editor-in-Chief of the AJEE since its inception in1989 until 1997. Currently, he is the Editor-in-Chief ofthe Global Journal of Engineering Education

(GJEE) and the World Transactions on Engineeringand Technology Education (WTE&TE). He wason the editorial boards of the International Journalof Electrical Engineering Education (1993-2005)and the European Journal of Engineering Educa-tion (1993-2005). Prof. Pudlowski was the Founda-tion Secretary of the International Liaison Group forEngineering Education (ILG-EE) (1989-2006) and iscurrently its Chairman.

Professor Pudlowski was a member of theUNESCO International Committee on EngineeringEducation (ICEE) (1992-2000). He has chaired andorganised numerous international conferences andmeetings. He was the Academic Convener of the2nd World Conference on Engineering Education,the General Chairman of the East-West Congresseson Engineering Education. He was also GeneralChairman of the UNESCO 1995 InternationalCongress of Engineering Deans and IndustryLeaders, and General Chairman of the GlobalCongress on Engineering Education, to name a few.

He received the inaugural AAEE Medal forDistinguished Contributions to Engineering Education(Australasia) in 1991 and was awarded the Order ofthe Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers for Contributionsto the Development of Engineering Education on bothNational and International Levels in 1994.

In June 1996, Prof. Pudlowski received an honor-ary doctorate from the Donetsk National TechnicalUniversity in the Ukraine in recognition of hiscontributions to international engineering education, andin July 1998, he was awarded an honorary Doctorateof Technology from Glasgow Caledonian University,Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was elected a member ofthe Ukrainian Academy of Engineering Sciencesin 1997. In 2002, he was awarded the title of anHonorary Professor of Tomsk Polytechnic University,Tomsk, Russia, and was an External Professor atAalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark (2002-2007).He is listed in 14 Who’s Who encyclopaedias,including the Marquis Who’s Who in the World.He has been recently appointed to the Register forExternal Reviewers of the Oman Accreditation Council(OAC).

D.Q. Nguyen & Z.J. Pudlowski116

11th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education: Seminar Proceedings

edited by Zenon J. Pudlowski

The yearly 11th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education was organised by the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE) and held Tallinn, Estonia, between 18 and 20 June 2007. The Seminar attracted participants from 10 countries worldwide. Almost 40 papers have been published in this Volume of Proceedings, which grossly document and present academic contributions to the Seminar. All of these published papers present a diverse scope of important issues that currently affect on engineering and technology education locally, regionally and internationally. The principal objective of this Seminar was to bring together educators from the Baltic Region to continue dialogue about common problems in engineering and technology education under the umbrella of the UICEE. To consider and debate the impact of globalisation on engineering and technology education within the context of the recent economic changes in the Baltic Region, as well as in relation to the strong revival of the sea economy. Moreover, the other important objectives were to discuss the need for innovation and entrepreneurship in engineering and technology education, and to establish new links and foster existing contacts, collaboration and friendships already established in the region through the leadership of the UICEE. The papers incorporated in these Proceedings reflect on the international debate regarding the processes and structure of current engineering education. They are grouped under the following broad topics:

• Opening address • Education and training for engineering entrepreneurship • Innovation and alternatives in engineering education • New developments and technologies in engineering education • Quality issues and improvements in engineering education • New trends and approaches to engineering education • Simulation, multimedia and the Internet in engineering education It should be noted that all of the papers published in this volume have undergone an international formal peer review process, as is the case with all UICEE publications. As such, it is envisaged that these Proceedings will contribute to the international debate in engineering education and become a valuable source of information and reference on research and development in engineering education. To purchase a copy of the Seminar Proceedings, a cheque for $A70 (+ $A10 for postage within Australia, and $A20 for overseas postage) should be made payable to Monash University - UICEE, and sent to: Administrative Officer, UICEE, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. Please note that sales within Australia incur 10% GST.

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