RE-ENGINEERING ENGINEERING
EDUCATION IN EUROPE
By C. Borri, E. Guberti and R. A. Hagaseth
School of Engineering, Università di Firenze, Italy
The European Modernisation Agenda
and the EU2020 Agenda
Promotion of a creative and competitive engineering
education and the employability of future engineers
with the necessary competences that can match the
constantly evolving needs of the labour market
Engineering Education
under Continuous Evolution
It is essential that individuals maintain interest in the
lifelong learning process and understand the
importance of further developing and adapting their
skills
Engineering Education Under Threats
The rapidly changing
scenario in Europe, with
ever larger migration flows,
in particular from the
Northern Africa countries,
imposes attention to the
burning issue of the
Mediterranean HE area
and its integration with
continental Europe.
The modernisation agenda
of European universities
has to speed-up!
Source: the BBC
The Key Role of Universities
Universities already play a key role in the effort to
ensure a growth that is both intelligent and
sustainable.
They should nonetheless receive a higher recognition
of their key function and be given more possibilities
of contributing to the modernisation agenda by
influencing the decision making process at policy
level and share their best practices.
Attractiveness of (European) EE
 Overcome the often bad
image of technology offered
by the media;
 Diffuse awareness of the
importance of technology in
today’s advanced societies
beginning from scholastic
formation at an early age;
 Enhance attractiveness of
female students (a potential
still underexploited);
 Improve the status of
engineering profession in
society
(non) Attractivenes of (European)
Phd Studies in Engineering
Recent studies show very clearly that the balance of
incoming/outgoing students to/from EU countries is evidently
negative for Europe. Despite the strong qualification and well
known reputation of many European schools at PhD level, some
invisible barriers due to:
a) different languages & cultures (otherwise an incomparable richness
of our continent);
b) access and participation conditions, which are often nontransparent;
c) lack of visibility to a wide community of
potential candidates from all over the world
still create unavoidable problems which
reduce the overall attractiveness of PhD
students from third countries
towards Europe.
Industry University Collaboration
A key role in proposing,
evaluating, and finalising
these initiatives can be
played by the strict
collaboration of industries
and universities.
Such collaboration can
assume various forms.
1. Promote
 European education system
must become much more known and
open in all areas and regions of the
world.
 International networks of EE
stake-holders can offer this
opportunity that lead to a significant
change of the situation, by drastically
improving and enhancing career
prospects and promoting
intercultural understanding.
 The first issue would be to provide
clear and coherent information
about the quality and excellence of
European HE and what it actually
offers, thereby promoting the
opportunities available for students.
2. Diversity = Richness
Diversity is a plus and
an added value and gives
students the opportunity
to obtain additional
experiences. The fact that
each country is different
and is identified not only
by a different language
but also a different
culture is an
incomparable richness of
our continent.
3. Cooperate
Promotion of international
cooperation between the
European Union and thirdcountry higher education
institutions and in particular
the facilitation of institutionbased mobility is a win-win
situation.
4. Move!
Institution-based mobility
has the capacity not only to
improve the results of
education, but also to create
long lasting links and
generate mutual enrichment
and understanding between
the peoples.
EUGENE Contribution 1/2
Line A - European common set of excellence standards and principles to
make the PhD in Engineering and Technology in Europe more effective,
competitive and innovative
Line B - Promotion of EE in Europe as a research field and in comparison
of worldwide developments (through a series of summits, reports
available)
Line C - improved trans-national mobility of engineering students,
graduates and professionals (accreditation issues)
Line D - LLL & continuing education as a tool to improve competitiveness
and innovation of European engineers (Concepts and tools for improving
university’s productivity, innovativeness
and societal impact)
Line E – Tools to increase attractiveness of
EHEA (reports available)
EUGENE Contribution 2/2
TA1 - A comprehensive report on instruments to enhance the direct
involvement of industrial stakeholders (European corporate with global
dimensions)
TA2 - The creation of the EEDC, the European Engineering Deans Council
TA3 - A number of actions targeted to the sustainability of the network,
including found raising and management of the contents on the web site
which will remain also after the end of the project
www.eugene.unifi.it
Conclusion
- importance of trans-national cooperation and its
promotion in the future
- creating and promoting creative and competitive
engineering education, while making it attractive in
Europe
- identifying future engineer’s skill requirements to
improve employability.
- welcoming contributions and inputs from
all actors in engineering education since the
basis of collaboration is to include
and not to exclude.
Thank you!
Elisa Guberti
Head of the International Relations Office
School of Engineering
Università di Firenze
[email protected]
Florence: The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore from Giotto’s belltower