Plenary Address
ECEDHA - Engineering Profession
Workshop
November 14, 2005
Washington, D.C.
The Future of Engineering
Higher Education-
Its Global Divestiture
Dr. Lester Gerhardt
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York
gerhal@rpi.edu
What’s Happening in…
China
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More Students in Colleges & Universities (20 million)
than US, India, Russia, Japan
Doubled Number of S & E PhDs From 1996-2001
to Greater Than 8,000
Beijing Geely University, one of 1,300 Private
Universities – 20,000 Students @ $1,000/yr
Tsinghua University – the MIT of China –
Most Faculty Studied Abroad, English Popular
Applications to US Down 60% in Last Two Years
What’s Happening in…
India
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More Stay in India for Higher Education Than Ever Before
12,000 Seats in 54 Engineering Institutions
Berkeley, UCSD, CMU, Cornell, SUNY@Buffalo
& Case Western
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3 Year MOU with India (AMRITA Univ.) for Satellite Learning
Network Funded by QUALCOMM, Microsoft, Cadence
Applications to US Down More Than 40%
in Last Two Years
What’s Happening in…
Malaysia
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Private Universities Developed by Industry
Teaching in English
Germany
BS, MS, PhD Degree Structure
 Teaching in English
 ECTS
Everywhere
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For The US – A Changing Scene
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From a ‘Virtual Monopoly’ in Higher Education to
Formidable International Competition
The ‘ATT Divestiture Equivalent for Higher
Education’
Single Digit Percentages of UG International
Students
High Double Digit Percentages of Graduate
International Students
A Contradiction?
Engineering Has Held a Supremacy Role in the
United States and in its Development
BUT
The US Now Graduates 15,000 Fewer Engineers
Annually Than It Did 20 Years Ago
AND
Europe and Asia Produce 3-5 Times As Many Engineers
As The US Which Are Available at 20%-30% the Cost
of a US Engineer
AND
Many International Schools have Substantial Equivalency
and Are Seeking Full Accreditation
A Typical University Circumstance
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70% International Applications
Admissions of International Students Constrained
by the Need for Providing Full Tuition and
Stipend
One Half of Graduate Student Body is
International
One Half of Those are From China From Which
US Applications Have Dropped 60% in Two Years
International Applications
Country
Application
Change ’03-’04
Application
Change ’04-’05
China
Down 45%
Down 13%
India
Down 28%
Down 9%
South Korea
Down 14%
Down 0%
US Graduate Enrollment in
Science and Engineering – 2003*
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All Time High of 474,203
 Up 4% Over 2002
 Up 9% Over 1993
 Full time Students at 72%
 Growth in All Fields Except Computer Science
Postdoctoral Appointments at All Time High at
33,685
Women at 42%
 Up From 36% in 1993
US Graduate Enrollment in
Science and Engineering – 2003*
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Underrepresented Minorities Increased
First Time Full time Enrollment of Students
with Temporary Visas Declined for the
Second Year in a Row
 Decline of 6% From 2001 to 2002
 Decline of 8% From 2002 to 2003
* http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf05317/
2005 CGS International Graduate
Admissions Survey III
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Increase in First Time Enrollment
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China-3%, India-3%, Korea-5%, Middle East-11%
First Time International Enrollment by Field
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Engineering- up 3%
Physical Sciences- up 1%
The Rise of Competition in Graduate
Education: Some Indicators
 Europe produced more PhDs than US in 2003
 Asia produced more PhDs than US in 2003
 Application for Graduate Study in US is Down
 Bachelors (3 Yr. Becoming Standard in EU),
Masters, PhD Format Adopted in Europe & Asia
 Cost
 Cooperation within EU & within Asia
 All seeking diverse student population
 Increased Teaching in English
Barrier Erosion of
Global Education
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Technology
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Travel
Distance Learning
Language
Diversity of Culture
Uniformity of Process
Best in Class
Multi-National Corporations & EWP
Competition & Cooperation
The Reality
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A Technologically Borderless Planet
A Globally Interactive Economy
A Distributed Educational System
A Global Engineer is Needed
Balancing Cooperation and
Competitive Position
Specific Emphasis On:
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Globalization of Education
Distance Learning
Proper Use of Advanced Technology
Could and Should Accelerate Both
Generations of
Distance Learning Technology*
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Broadcast Technologies
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Same Instructional Model
Interactive Video + Initial
Internet Usage
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Websites, Electronic Course
Material (e.g. MIT)
Similar Instructional Model
*Kim A. Scalzo, Director,
Distributed Education & Multimedia, Rensselaer
Generations of
Distance Learning Technology*
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Internet Technologies
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2-way Communications + Collaboration
Increased Interaction between Students
and with Professor
Virtual Learning
Online Conferencing, Chat Rooms
Needs Change in Instructional Model
Extension to Online Journal Publication
(e.g. ASEE)
*Kim A. Scalzo, Director,
Distributed Education & Multimedia, Rensselaer
Generations of
Distance Learning Technology*
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Future Technologies
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Wireless Devices (PDA, Blackberry, etc.)
Revolution in Instruction
Innovation in Learning
*Kim A. Scalzo, Director,
Distributed Education & Multimedia, Rensselaer
Distance Learning for ?
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Undergraduate Students
Graduate Students
US Need for International Exchange
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96%
of Humanity Lives Outside the U.S. Borders
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13 Million
Americans in Higher Education
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175,000 (1.35%)
of Those Have an International Education
Experience Annually
5,000 (0.04%)
of Those are Engineering Students
United States
Internationalization in
Higher Education
“Crying in the Wilderness”
Global Engineering Education Exchange
Program Characteristics
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Tuition Paid at Home Institution
Room & Board Paid at Host Institution
Zero Net Flow of Student Semesters
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Full Credit Transfer of Courses
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Geographically and Temporally Integrated
Policy on Grades Determined by Individual
University Members
Course Data Bank
Voluntary
A Need For Global Quality Assurance
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Students Exchanged
Courses and Credits Exchanged
Research Experiences Exchanged
Dual/Joint Degrees
Mandates
A Move From Substantial Equivalency
To
International Accreditation
The Future
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Homogeneity of the Process
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Heterogeneity of the Students
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A Trend to Uniformity
A Trend to Diversity
Safety
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Go Anywhere, Do Anything
Insulating Bubble
Homogeneity of the Process:
Common Practices
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English Becoming More Prevalent
in Universities
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DTU, Budapest University, Tohoku
University, Nanyang University, etc.
Master Degree in Information
Technology at TU Munich in English
Homogeneity of the Process:
Common Practices
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Erasmus Program
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Large Scale Partnerships Between
European Universities
Joint Degree Programs
European Credit Transfer
System – ECTS
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Common Standards and Practices
within Europe
Homogeneity of the Process:
Common Practices
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ABET 2000
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Outcome Assessment Based
US and European Adoption
Bologna Declaration
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More Unified Higher Education Approach
Two-Cycle Bachelor’s and Master’s
Across Europe
Credit Accumulation System
Quality Assurance and
Accreditation Systems
Heterogeneity of the Students
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Large Number of International Graduate Students
in the U.S.
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572,509 in ’03/’04 overall
274,310 (of 1,893,736 US graduate students-14.5%)
U.S. and Asian Students Sought in European
Universities
University Consortia – Global Draw
Virtual Universities
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Country Independent
Internationalization
Graduate
vs.
Undergraduate
Reputation of Professor
Reputation of Field
Research Content
Focused Education
Research Credit Desired
Reputation of University
Knowledge – Credit
Credit – Knowledge
Internship More
Important
Internship Optional
Course Content Focused
Education
Course Credit Desired
Internationalization
Graduate
vs.
Undergraduate
Time to Degree More
Flexible
Time to Degree Well
Defined
Interdisciplinary Focus
Disciplinary Focus
No Consortium Based
Program
Financial Aid Expected
Global Eng. Education
Exchange [Global E3]
Financial Aid Critical
English/Other Language
English/Other Language
The Future
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Changing Face of Competition
Traditional Campus Based University
 Distance Learning Virtual University
 Industry Based University
International Competition Increasing
 A Global Virtual University
Degree Credit Requirements
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Competition
Domestic
Global
 Traditional
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Campus
Based Universities
 Distance Learning
Based Universities
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University of Phoenix,
NTU, etc.
 Corporate
Based
Universities
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Kettering, Motorola, etc.
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Teaching in English
High Quality
Seeking Student
Diversity
Many Tuition Free
Competition
Domestic
Global
 Traditional
Campus
 Teaching in English
Based Universities
 High Quality
 Distance Learning
 Seeking Student
Competition
AND
/or Cooperation
Based Universities
Diversity
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University of Phoenix,
NTU, etc.
 Corporate
Based
Universities
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Kettering, Motorola, etc.
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Many Tuition Free
Required Aspects of Engineering
Higher Education
 Breadth and Depth
 Academic and Research Integration
 Flexibility
 Disciplinary, Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary
 Skill/Tool based
 Communication and Language, Leadership,
Entrepreneurship, ‘Work and Play Well’ with
Others
 Societal Impact Understanding and Appreciation
Selected Responsibilities of the UniversityBoth Cultural and Technical
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Integrate Research and Academic Programs
Match Global Needs With Degree Objectives
Individual and Collective Responsibility
Educational Outreach-Both K - 12 and EWP
Promote Diversity
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Women-the Underrepresented Majority
Underrepresented Minorities
Leading and Reacting to Change
Engineering Educational Methodology
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Current Popular Paradigm
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Evolve Disciplinary to Multidisciplinary to Interdisciplinary
Evolve from the Simple to the Complex
Bottom up
An Alternative Paradigm*
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Evolve Interdisciplinary to Multidisciplinary to Disciplinary
Evolve From the Complex to the Simple
Top down
*Gary Gabriele- JEE, 7/05
Engineering-Commodity
or Profession?
Engineering as a Profession
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Click here for bullet
Engineering as a Profession
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Degrees
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Licensing
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Bachelors-Too much to learn, too few credits; core engineering;
global experience; conflict of 3 yr. vs. 5 yr. degree
Masters-First Professional Degree
Doctorate (and postdoc)
Accredited Professional degree, experience, continual renewal
(EWP), and validation
Professional Organization
Leadership
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National role in public policy, government, industry, university
The Future
European
Community
United
States
Asian
Community
Extending Global Markets
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Africa
Latin America
Middle East
Other
Selected Issues:
Pebbles, Rocks, Boulders
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Conflict of (Decreasing)
Technological Time Constant with Longer
Cultural/Societal Time Constants
Privacy and Security
Course Content and Quality
Homogeneity of ‘Process’ and
Heterogeneity of ‘Product’
Selected Issues:
Pebbles, Rocks, Boulders
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Measuring & Evaluating
Outcome Assessment
A Seamless Flow of Basic and
Continuing Education
Managing the Global University
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Degree Granting
Differential Tuition
Balancing Cooperation & Competition
The Future
University
Sector
PUSH
University
Sector
PUSH
Industry
Sector
Industry
PULL
Sector
PULL
The Future
University
Sector
PUSH
Industry
Sector
PULL
Relentless Pursuit of Wisdom
From Courses
and Degrees
Discrete ‘Packages’
To Data and
Information
Continuous Flow
To Knowledge
and Wisdom
Constancy of
Learning
A Global Approach and Global Quality Assurance
is the Only Long Term Option
The World is Flat
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