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ContentsChanges in working and decision making processes that all enterprises currently have to face, mean that the engineers' qualifications and professional view of themselves must likewise change. Besides this, their specialist authority must be combined with mobility and the readiness to cooperate inter-disciplinarily within a team, as well as acquire competence in achievement and decision making. The universities are confronted with the question, of whether or not present engineering studies meet the above mentioned requirements. In recent discussions between universities and industry, the view has often been supported that the current studies are still characterized by a narrow specialist and departmental view and by practical experience that does not adequately take into account the interactions between the development of modern technologies and the effects of their social application as well as the changes in management and organizational structures. Learning how to take responsibility presupposes that during the studies, besides the pure specialist education, additional skills will be imparted. Such additional skills should be aimed at reinforcing inter-disciplinary working and thinking in entire systems, social competence, i.e., working together with people in teams or in dependency relationships, should also be further developed. However, this requirement should not be fulfilled in such a way that students are obliged to attend lectures in social and human sciences. Thus broadening of engineering studies must be borne by the university professors and teachers in the engineering sciences. Subjects such as technological responsibility or the social, economical and ecological consequences of innovative processes and products should be integral parts of engineering studies.
We owe a great deal of our present prosperity to the creativity and efficiency of the engineering profession. Yet, their work is not appreciated. Various future challenges can only be achieved by qualified and responsible engineers and yet they are being criticized. Greater efforts in the area of innovation in the growth industries and the development of future technology are necessary to maintain prosperity, to ascertain the social balance and to leave a clean environment to following generations. When considering these challenges, innovative thinking and responsible behavior by well qualified engineers will play an important part. The world's economical and employment situation will depend to a high degree on engineers' creativity and ability to realize new ideas. Moreover, further developments in service industry will only be possible on the basis of efficient production. Therefore, engineers are required to respond to market demands by creating new products with a high utility value. The products themselves must be critically analyzed concerning their functionality and environmental acceptability during their whole life span including recycling and waste disposal. Engineers have to develop innovative and efficient production processes. In this way they play a decisive role in preserving and creating jobs for new employees.
Finally, engineers are increasingly involved in the formulation of requirements for technical design and application together with the legislator, the civil service, administration and environmental agencies. It does not work without engineers. More than ever they are expected to contribute to societies ecological and social future.
Nevertheless, there is disagreement about the role of engineers with regard to their work and their responsibility towards the society and environment. The media hardly ever report about the far-reaching influence technology has on our standard of living. It is taken for granted by society that even the most complex systems function. Unfortunately, technology only makes the news in the case of error, misuse or negative influences on the environment. It is a fact that technological progress goes hand in hand with certain risks. However, any overemphasis of these risks makes a lot of people, especially the younger generation, feel insecure in spite of the fact that engineering has brought such immense progress to society as a whole. This insecurity affects people' attitudes to the engineering profession. Engineers are increasingly held responsible for unintended technological consequences. In the post-war era there was an atmosphere of technological euphoria in which a lot of people thought that the engineers would be able to find a technical solution to every problem. This euphoria has been replaced by a more anxious attitude towards technology and engineering, with the consequence that change is considered to be riskier than the keeping of the status quo. Young peoples' caution in choosing the engineering profession is not simply a consequence of the difficult employment situation of the last few years. The total number of registrations at German universities has decreased only slightly whilst in the faculties for electrical and mechanical engineering, which are very important for German industry, the number of beginners at universities has decreased by 65% in comparison to the numbers for 1989/90. There is currently no end to this trend in sight. This can only mean that students have preferred other courses of study in spite of the fact that these subjects are renowned for having limited job prospects. So there have to be other reasons for this behavior independent of the difficulties of the labor market. In this context it should be noted that there is often the impression that the numbers of engineering jobs has decreased. However, whilst there has been a dramatic decrease in numbers of beginners for engineering studies, the total number of engineers working in mechanical engineering has increased by 17%, according to a study of the VDMA (Association of German mechanical and Plant engineering). Finally, the impression of a swamped labor market for engineers has also resulted from the fact that the former GDR produced a higher than average number of engineers. After unification most of the engineering jobs in the new federal states were lost due to industrial decline in many areas in East Germany. As a result, in the succeeding years, many more engineers than needed were forced onto the labor market in spite of a simultaneous 17% increase of engineering jobs. However, this overabundance is slowly becoming smaller. The reasons for young peoples' caution towards an engineering profession have therefore to be closely examined. Not simply the profession itself but also the engineering studies at our universities form the center of a critical discussion. This paper intends to examine the necessity of increasing the appeal of engineering studies and to discuss how young people can be better prepared for societies' and economies' expectations by reforming the university education of engineers. I will therefore refer to several discussions by the Mechanical Engineering Commission at the German University Rectors Conference and to the results of consultations concerning future engineering studies by the Joint Commission for Study Reform in the State of North-Rhine Westphalia.
ENGINEERS IN CHANGED SOCIAL INDUSTRIAL SURROUNDINGS
For years, our society, the economy and employment system have had to cope with increasingly far-reaching global changes. This is indicated among other things by the following:
Industry and Commerce are trying to meet this challenge by accelerating the innovation cycle, by improving quality and at the same time, reducing the costs of production methods as well as improving service. These measures are accompanied by a radical restructuring of management and work organization, developing from a strictly subject orientated, hierarchical structure to an open, flexible organization characterized by a flat hierarchy with broadened interdisciplinary competence on the shop floor levels.
The restructuring of responsibility in the companies has to be co-ordinated by the decision-making powers. The organizational aspects of a project increase by introducing teamwork since responsibility is then distributed to the work group. The advantage of this is that an individual employee can develop more activities on his own initiative, but additionally, this also implies the risk that every employee has to rely on other members in the working group.
An engineer is not only expected to be an expert in his subject. He also has to navigate in our technologically orientated world, take part in public discussion about technical developments and expected economic, social and ecological effects and he also has to play a part in forming political opinion. Therefore his professional competence is a very important prerequisite. Based on his special subject knowledge and the current state of scientific results he has to be able to evaluate the risks involved in undertaking product- or process alternatives. Certainly, one cannot expect more or less from a engineer than from any other committed citizen, if the question is asked: which political targets with respect to technical innovations should be reached. It is wrong to suppose that a single engineer or the engineering profession is solely responsible when technology is discussed. Technology arises through processes which are influenced and developed by many people. In a democracy everyone is asked to decide for himself how to help achieve political targets which correspond with the vision of a fair society and a fulfilled existence.
If, however, it is a question of finding appropriate engineering solutions to technical tasks which appear in connection with political objectives, problem solving competence must be presumed. Engineers must be able to decide on the proper means and their appropriate use. Buy they alone cannot be made responsible for the advantages and disadvantages which result from technical developments. Whatever emerges from the implementation of technical knowledge is the result of a network of complex decision-making processes which involve not only engineers, customers and users of the particular technology but also economists, ecologists, sociologists, lawyers and politicians.
Due to his specialized knowledge in complex technical issues, however, the engineer is in debt to society to support such decision-making processes with appropriate information. He therefore becomes particularly evident as an expert. He alone is able to decide competently upon technical issues. Yet he by no means decides alone on how technical processes are organized and technical products are employed. But the leitmotif defined in 1980 by the "Society of German Engineers" applies to him: The goal of all engineers is to improve humanities living standards by developing and using technology sensibly."
The quality of appropriate engineering behavior will be assessed more and more by the individual engineers' willingness to show co-operativeness and to set a good example. The quality of his actions will be measured by his readiness and ability to take responsibility for the welfare of his company, by his openness to pass on knowledge and information to all staff members, by the extent to which he places importance on the development of company-culture, and whether or not he feels obliged to follow a partnership, co-operative style of management. The company's ability to adjust and to change, and thus finally to survive, decisively depends on how successfully - in the course of an evolutionary process - the "resource man" can be tapped and likewise, how successfully all executives and staff members can be won over for a continuing modernization-strategy.
Engineers must set good examples by pushing this process of re-orientation by means of critical scrutiny and - if necessary - alternation of their own attitudes and behavior. To what extent the potential of innovation can be developed, is highly dependent on how far factual requirements can be brought into line with personal interests. It is clearly one of the engineer's tasks to actively contribute to the forming of organizational- and staff-development-measures which support this re-orientation.
The criteria for judging the qualification of engineers will therefore be:
In many enterprises the ability to think in entire systems especially and also to work in teams is underdeveloped. Answers to complex questions can no longer be found by individual persons alone. Decision teams are necessary. Therefore, the traditional barriers between departments which hamper team work, must be overcome. Only then is it possible to change the current pattern of rather sequential steps to parallel networked value creation processes in order to shorten the time to market. And, therefore, the engineer has to learn to be able to work in teams, to coach and to lead team discussions.
A special deficit in many enterprises is the lack of information for the members of staff. Conventional powerful positions in enterprises are often based on information and knowledge monopolies. The distribution of knowledge and communication have to be developed to ensure the future of enterprises. Only well informed staff members can develop their full competence. This is a special task for management. In this case social and emotional skills are more important than the specialist expertise which well trained staff normally have. The increasingly turbulent markets and the short reaction times demanded from the enterprises necessitate beyond specialist expertise a high degree of qualification from the engineers concerning methods and systems skills. Systems skills means the ability to find entire solutions to technical problems with respect to the consequences for people, the environment or natural and energy resources. Specialist competence as well as methods and systems competence are closely connected to each other.
Discussions held by the above mentioned commission with representatives from industry concluded the Engineering studies in Germany lead primarily to a very high specialist competence. Competence in methods should be improved, especially with respect to new organizational ways of product generation processes, as for example Concurrent Engineering or co-operation in Engineering Networks. Considerable deficits are also claimed regarding the system and social competence of younger engineers. The engineers' way of thinking and acting must be more than ever marked in an inter-disciplinary way. Those who are responsible for technology development, application and assessment of its effects must be able to view things from a whole.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGINEERING STUDIES
Changes in working and decision making processes that all enterprises currently have to face, mean that the engineers' qualifications and professional view of themselves must likewise change. Besides this, their specialist authority must be combined with mobility and the readiness to cooperate inter-disciplinarily within a team, as well as acquire competence in achievement and decision making. The universities are confronted with the question, of whether or not present engineering studies meet the above mentioned requirements. In recent discussions between universities and industry, the view has often been supported that the current studies are still characterized by a narrow specialist and departmental view and by practical experience that does not adequately take into account the interactions between the development of modern technologies and the effects of their social application as well as the changes in management and organizational structures. Learning how to take responsibility presupposes that during the studies, besides the pure specialist education, additional skills will be imparted. Such additional skills should be aimed at reinforcing inter-disciplinary working and thinking in entire systems, social competence, i.e., working together with people in teams or in dependency relationships, should also be further developed. However, this requirement should not be fulfilled in such a way that students are obliged to attend lectures in social and human sciences. Thus broadening of engineering studies must be borne by the university professors and teachers in the engineering sciences. Subjects such as technological responsibility or the social, economical and ecological consequences of innovative processes and products should be integral parts of engineering studies.
There was also agreement in the discussion between educational politics, industry and universities regarding the necessity to introduce continuous assessment in the training of engineers. Reform must focus on the above mentioned changes in the engineering profession and the reinforcement of communication and interaction skills with the aim of updating and expanding professional competence.
The Commission for engineering studies from North-Rhine-Westphalia has summarized the future requirements as follows:
On the basis of these requirements, the German commission for reforming engineering education has analyzed the potential weaknesses of our university education system for engineers which deserve our concentrated efforts:
Despite the shortages in personnel and material resources most universities are doing everything in their power to eliminate the possible weaknesses mentioned above to ensure highly qualified engineers for the future of our economy.
Modern industrial societies are shaped by technical innovations. Societies are, in part, radically changed by technical progress. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a maximum of competence in these technical developments in order to prevent serious and irreversible consequences, which may affect future generations. Thus, future engineers need to have sufficient general knowledge in addition to their subject-related knowledge.
It is of the utmost importance for every engineer to explore and recognize the effects of technological developments on society. An engineer ought to be a "doctor of technology" in order to analyze the genuine causes of problems instead of simply treating the symptoms. He is expected to know appropriate measures to improve or dispose of undesired consequences of technology. Hitherto, the discussions of societies' objectives have mostly taken place without the participation of engineers. Engineers must acquire skills to be clearly understood in such general discussions. They should not hesitate to exceed the boundaries of their specific subject. In the interests of objectivity, they must participate more in discussions about the future of new technologies and their consequences. In many public discussions superior discussion skills have replaced specialist knowledge. Such occurrences would then be avoided. More than ever the engineer has to be involved in the discussion about the objectives and visions of technical innovations. Such a vision must be a technique for the future not only because it fulfils the demands of functionality and economy but also because it satisfies the demands of the environment and society. The industrial future of many countries is dependent on the success of realizing these visions.
New forms of lecturing, learning and examinations must equip engineers with the knowledge to fulfil the aforementioned requirements.
The aim of studying must still be the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and practical use. This aim is specially ambitious because the topics of engineering are closely connected with, and indeed overlap, subjects such as science and mathematics. In addition to this, it must be considered that graduate engineers have to acquire besides the specialized knowledge the competence to work out innovative solutions to engineering problems while still considering the economy, society and ecology. Specialization must be reduced during the studies.
However, the basic knowledge must be preserved independently of trends. For Germanys' economic future the training of "universal amateurs" would be as bad as the training of "specialized idiots".
The following aspects of education are especially important for the future training of engineers:
- Skills in methods and applications:
Special methods applied to engineering subjects must be worked out and emphasized. With
method-oriented training in scientific topics the students have to acquire the skills to search for
their own ways of making use of their knowledge.
An academic education can only teach how to solve technical problems by using examples.
Students have to acquire the ability to deal with various problems using flexible and
systematic
lines of action. They should also be able to explain their selected method.
- System skills:
The integration of different subjects should improve the ability to develop products which
consider the whole engineering life-cycle ("Life-Cycle Engineering) in which limits within the
own discipline have to be overcome.
There should be projects, perhaps at a later stage in their academic studies, for students to develop an integrated view of engineering topics ("networked thinking"), to further the practice within inter-disciplinary teams, and to improve the practical side of the studies. In this way the students will also learn how to work on their own.
- Innovation skills:
Student engineers have to learn to ask the right questions. Basic knowledge is required
about
most important problems and how to solve them. Despite a growing amount of information, we
do not necessarily know more. Dealing with information, its condensation, filtering and
distribution is a great challenge. Here too science has to make great efforts.
- Social, communication and self-instruction skills:
Social and communication skills of engineering-students have to be promoted through
interdisciplinary projects and seminars.
In addition to conventional forms of education such as lectures and lessons, there must be
seminars offered throughout their studies, which can be used as a platform for communication
and reflection.
In these seminars, students should learn how to deal with their scientific topics independently, professional subjects should be communicated in a problem-oriented way and they should learn how to work on special areas independently.
Later in their studies practical and team-oriented lectures should be offered; for example, in the form of projects.
In this way the student engineers will be better prepared to acquire the skills expected of them, to interpret and to defend their own point of view in team discussions, to deal with other points of view critically, to moderate discussions and to push forward decision-processes within interdisciplinary teams.
- Foreign language skills:
As a result of international competition, decisions about production location are made
without
bias for traditional locations.
Even middle-sized enterprises often feel compelled to establish companies in foreign countries and other continents in order to bring their production near to the expanding markets.
For this reason, it would seem necessary to impart global competence to future engineers. Consequently, it is important for students to become familiar with the latest market developments at early stage. Foreign language skills and cultural awareness of important countries in the context of international networked relations from product creation to marketing should be offered at universities. Whilst still at school, pupils must be taught that English should be viewed as the second mother tongue for engineers and that knowledge of a further foreign language is indispensable. Additional language classes parallel to the studies are insufficient to impart the required skills if the basics are not already known from school. Language competence could be promoted by inviting more guest lecturers from abroad. Moreover, corresponding international ties between universities should be built up and cultivated. In particular, study-visits or perhaps periods of industrial practical training abroad are suitable to acquire foreign language skills and to become familiar with different cultures and social structures. For this reason, the foundation of agencies which arrange study-visits and periods of practical training abroad should be encouraged. Above all, a reduction in administrational red tape and a lasting support regarding study visits abroad are required. The universitates themselves have to guarantee that no disadvantages will arise as a result of spending time abroad. Achievements should, therefore, have corresponding standards, but not identical contents. Finally, the growing trend in European studies in which students can attend courses in two EU countries and graduate in both countries should be considered as an appropriate way of strengthening international ties in engineering studies.
A VISION OF ENGINEERS' QUALIFICATION IN THE FUTURE
The question how our society can face the challenges of the future will, to a large extent, depend on how far we can educate technically high-qualified engineers who also possess sufficient social and communicative skills. Structures must be established during the study-time which stimulate the desire for learning the whole life long and especially in the later profession. Such a learning process could well bring about a new engineering culture that may be summed up by a quotation from Adolph Diesterwegs' written in the pre-industrial era about 200 years ago:
At the meeting "Learning for Europe" in 1995, the physicist H.P. Voss called to mind the following quotation:
"It is not knowledge that strengthens, but understanding,
not accumulating in memory, but comprehending,
not storing quantity, but assimilating,
not observing, but searching,
not believing, but verifying,
not learning, but practicing,
not the already done, but preparing,
not spoon-feeding, but structuring,
not taking, but doing.
The implicit truth has already been perceived and accepted by teachers; It also has to
be
preached with stringency and absoluteness to our university lecturers."
On this basis, what will a vision of future qualified engineers be like? With regard to the later career the creation of the basis for a lifetime learning process is absolutely necessary. A new engineering culture can only develop by means of active scientific learning: Changes in Engineering studies at university may appeal to future students that are not exclusively interested in engineering. Studying helps them to acquire competence in establishing strategies to solve technical problems in a team-oriented way.
Knowledge with a mathematical-scientific base plus competence in methods enable the engineer to face new challenges in a company environment of increasing turbulence. Besides this, these reformed studies take into account the social economical and ecological relevance of technical developments. The graduate of engineering studies is also competent in evaluating the consequences of technology. He is able to take part in political discussions on social standards and values, as well as on the changes and risks of technical developments. In his studies, he learns to deal with other disciplines, social groups and cultures without bias. Of highest priority in engineering studies has to be the learning of first class expert knowledge. In this context, the education of responsibly thinking and acting engineers is important. Critical thinking and behavior in hierarchical structures are practiced. The studies offer the opportunity to evolve sel confidence by developing personal creativity and therefore the skills to solve problems.
By reforming engineering studies, both structure and content will become more and more widely accepted and therefore young people will become increasingly motivated to consider engineering as a profession.
The work of an engineer forms the basis of value creating processes which themselves are the existential basis for industry, this being the necessary requirement for the development of new workplaces in the service sector. The service sector likewise, creates challenging new tasks for engineers.
However, engineers, educated according to the requirements of a modern industrial society, can only bring an authoritative contribution to the protection and development of the societies' economical and employment situation if companies offer them a climate which is suitable for their personal development. Universities can only produce graduates with job skills but not job proficiency. They can, besides providing a qualified academic education, convey the very basics in social, communication and ecological skills. They can also impart integrated and networked thinking.
If however, these aspects are suffocated by archaic, suppressive, strong hierarchical structures, then no lasting impulses will results from this innovative concept of engineering studies.
Collective of authors: Perspektiven; Studium zwischen Schule und Beruf; Teil III
Ingenieurousbildung fur die Zukunft, Luchterhand Verlag Neuwied,
1996
Collective of authors: Faxit - Kolloquium der VDI-Hawptgruppe Technik und
Verantwortung:
Sonderheft der VDI-Nachrichten v. 13. Sept. 1996
Collective of authors: Dulen, Fukten, Argumente - Alles uher den Reruf des
Maschinenbau-Ingenieurs. Informationsschrift der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft fur
Produktionstechnik
WGP (Hrgg.), 1996