Meeting the Growing Demand for Engineers and Their Educators 2010-2020 - Objectives and Outcomes

A major challenge to engineering education is the way engineering is portrayed to young students in the pre-university system. There is often a notable discrepancy between what future engineers need in their pre-university years and what their teachers know (and can) provide them.  Furthermore, many countries suffer from a shortage of qualified science, technology and mathematics educators at the pre-university level. Quite often science, mathematics and technology subjects are taught by general practitioners, with little enthusiasm or insight.  Many pre-university teachers know little about engineering and engineering design.

In addition, there are prevailing stereotypes that are deepened in the pre-university years which discourage women and certain minorities from considering engineering. The result is that many young students never discover engineering as a viable program of study and career choice.  Many others make uninformed choices that block their path to engineering studies by the time decisions on university studies need to be made.

The IEEE, and VDE, together with other professional organizations, are hosting an international conference on the growing demand for engineers and their educators. The conference seeks to define actions required to meet that demand for engineers and their educators in the period 2010-2020.  The conference will be held in Munich, Germany on 9-11 November 2007.  Participants will include invited representatives from industry, government, and academia, with a focus on decision makers and policy makers. The objective is to steer the educational system at both pre-university and university levels to be more cognizant and more responsive to the anticipated needs for qualified engineers and their educators.

The conference will be data driven.  It will center on presenting and analyzing relevant data on the engineering labor markets and the educational systems that train and educate engineers.  The conference will develop recommendations to the relevant constituents (school systems, ministries of education, private industry, and engineering and education colleges) based on data and the best available forecasts and projections. An addtional objective of the conference is to improve the dialog and connectivity between the various constituents.  The looming shortage in qualified engineers and their teachers will not be averted unless industry, government, the pre-university education system and the university system work together across traditional boundaries to meet the challenge.

The conference will feature invited speakers, presentations, panels, breakout groups and a poster session.  There will be opportunities for interaction of practitioners and planners from different sectors and regions; an analysis will be developed of what solutions have and have not worked so far; roadmaps will be outlined on how to proceed; and follow-up plans will be announced.

 1/16/2007

Click here to download the complete planning document.

• bring together representatives of the various organizations with decision making ability;
• understand who are the customers and constituents;
• understand pre-university education trends in various areas of the world; and
• generate an “inventory” of effective activities.

• identify and agree on a set of action items;
• identify opportunities for collaboration;
• develop an action plan to accomplish the purposes of the Summit;
• institutionalize identified practices; and
• disseminate opportunities for collaboration.