FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY HOSTS EUROPEAN CONVENTION OF ENGINEERING DEANS 2019

FACULTY NEWS

From 26 till 28 May 2019, the deans, directors and department heads of the European Faculties in Engineering gathered in Leuven for their 11th annual networking event organized by the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). At Group T Leuven Campus, the higher engineering education leaders were welcomed by Prof. Bert Lauwers, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Technology and Conference Chair.

The 2019 Engineering Deans Convention focused on university-business cooperation in engineering institutes. The central theme was ‘crossing borders’. The main purpose was to discuss how and where both entities can meet and exchange ideas, knowledge and human capital. Multiple dimensions of this border concept were explored from the perspective of the students, the faculty staff, the business professionals and the curriculum.

From a student’s perspective, the border is often perceived as a unidirectional temporal barrier wherein industry employment is the logical capstone of the educational career. However, the border can also be considered as a hybrid constellation wherein faculty staff collaborates with business professionals, who can in turn take an active role in the education of future engineers. Finally, from a curriculum perspective, parties on both sides of the border need to agree on the key and the peripheral content of the engineering curriculum. According to the deans, determining who is predominantly responsible for teaching specific and professional skills can only succeed in a meaningful dialogue between both parties.

Co-creation

Crossing borders refers not only to interaction, it also includes co-creation. The modern-day labour market is characterized by increasing degrees of complexity wherein different engineering disciplines are more and more intertwined. This calls for more multidisciplinary collaboration between the engineering disciplines and with subject areas outside the engineering fields. As a consequence, professional skills training should encompass an integral part of future engineering curricula.

Agreement

The Convention in Leuven created many opportunities for networking and sharing experiences. Existing informal contacts could be confirmed or institutionalized in official agreements and partner - ships. For the Faculty of Engineering Technology and the Sciences & Technology Group of KU Leuven the Convention has resulted in the signing of an agreement on the exchange of students and staff with Lund University, a world top 100 university in Sweden.

Yves Persoons