Members of IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association, are encouraging traditional university-based engineering educators to think about engineering education’s role in the new economy, and how today’s curriculum can influence tomorrow’s engineers.
“The new economy is based on invention: the creation of new solutions that address both world-changing challenges such as energy, healthcare, sustainability, and security and life-changing opportunities to feed the world's hunger for a better quality of life,” said Dr. Leah Jamieson, IEEE Fellow and John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering and Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. “From smart meters for energy to smart phones for business and entertainment, technology is the enabler, and engineering is the foundation for the innovation economy.”
IEEE members are promoting a cultural change to drive a more holistic view into engineering education; focused beyond technical skills to incorporate experience and relevance into university courses. Supporting experience-led education curriculum—from working on projects that bring electricity to remote villages to addressing challenges of sustainability, security, and infrastructure—educators can show engineering’s powerful role in delivering societal solutions – making engineers representative of tomorrow’s solutionist.
Responding to the question about engineering education’s role in the new economy, IEEE leaders participated on a leadership panel titled, “Thought Leader Perspectives: Engineering Education’s Role in Bridging Creativity and Relevance to Deliver Tomorrow’s Solutionist.”
About the IEEE Computer Society
With nearly 85,000 members, the IEEE Computer Society is the world’s leading organization of computing professionals. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 38 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Computer Society is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology, and is known globally for its computing standards activities.
