ICT Education ReformICT Education ReformWhy and How?Why and How?

GONG KeChair of WFEO/CIC

Nankai Univesrity, China

Hereby ICT includes or relevant to：– Electrical Engineering–Computer Engineering– Electronic Engineering– Information Engineering–Communication Engineering–Optical Engineering–……

• ICT education development

• ICT education reform: Why?

• ICT education reform: How?

ICT education development

• First Modern HEI in China (1895)– Peiyang University (Tianjin University)

•Civil Engineering

•Mechanical Engineering

•Mining Engineering

•Electrical Engineering

ICT education development

- Advanced Electromagnetic- Electrical Engineering- Power Networks - Telegraph and Telephone

• After WWII, Electronic Engineering become an important “major program” provided in many universities worldwide, both its scale and scope experienced dramatically expansion.

Graduation photo of EE dept. in 1950’s

ICT education development

Faculty of Electrical Engineering in 1936

ICT education development

ICT education development

By 2010, in China, there’re about 2000 HEIs, 984 of them providing ICT program for 3,297,872 students, about 43% of total engineering students.ICT education become the largest part of today’s engineering education both in scale and scope, e.g.

– from Telegram & Telephone to multimedia communication through optical fiber, satellite and wireless links on internet.

• It’s no doubt, that ICT education will further expand to meet ever growing demands of ICT engineers. According to Chinese governmental prediction, there’re urgent demands for engineers in the areas of ICT, Biotech, Astronautics, New energy, New material, Mechanical fabrications, Agriculture, Environment engineering, as well as experts for international trades, such as lawyer.

• ICT education becomes so important and widely required for it deals with the most important infrastructure of human life today and in the future.

ICT education development

• Recent survey shows the graduates are lack of – Capability of solving real problems

independently– Capability of team working with different

disciplines– Capability of efficient international

collaboration– Capability of innovative design and

development

ICT education reform: Why?

It is to identify 3 challenges of:1. Sci-Tech revolution, breaking through disciplinary

borders and opening many new areas, and renewing itself in a very fast pace, this brings ever expanding and renewing contents to ICT education on the one hand, and new physical and mathematical fundamental to it

2. Sustainable development, raising many new issues which have not been included in the curriculum

3. Globalization, putting many new requirements to the contents and delivering approaches

ICT education reform: Why?

ICT education reform: Why?

• The purpose of the reform is to meet the challenges or new requirement to the new generation of “world citizen”– Recognition to the value of world peace and

harmonious co-exist of nations – Recognition to the sustainable development

of human being– Enable to learn and apply new knowledge

continuously in whole life– Enable to work and collaborate in team across

disciplinary and country borders

ICT education reform: Why?• And, to meet challenges or new

requirements to new generation of ICT engineers– Interdisciplinary application of ICT

• Electronic systems are everywhere• Computer and data processing are everywhere• Data communication are everywhere

– Green ICT for sustainable development– New technology and application systems– Transition to new generation of ICT

ICT education reform: How? – How to train engineers being able to adapt

to the fast changes or reconfiguration of industry?

– How to train engineers being able to continuously updating their knowledge and skills with the pace of fast development of high techniques?

ICT education reform: How?

• How to train engineers to have more consciousnesses of environment, energy, economics and to use the techniques properly?

• How to train engineers to take more cares to the human-being and harmonization of nature and society?

ICT education reform: How?

• How to train engineers in a more “globalized way” to meet the demands of international cooperation and competition?

• How to train engineers having the ability of cross-culture communications and meet the demands of worldwide job markets?

CAE has made a survey and concluded in 3 proposals to the government:

1. Paying more attention to engineer’s development by efficient policies in attraction, recognition, promotion of engineers;

2. Reforming engineering education in terms of contents renewing, industrial cooperation, 3rd party accreditation, enlarging major scope, etc.

3. Enhancing engineering research funds and improving rewarding system.

ICT education reform: How?

• According to a recent survey, – 89% of the respondents recommended to

strengthening engineering education in a global context

– 68% indicated that current engineering programs do not provide students with enough training in engineering practice, in creative thinking and innovative design

– It was suggested to further broadening the international collaboration on the accreditation of engineering programs.

ICT education reform: How?

ICT education reform: How?

• To summarize all of the above, we need a reform in– Curriculum design to bring in new contents

considering the new frontier of ICT development, the new fundamental knowledge for further break through, the sustainable development especially by energy efficiency

– Delivering approach to train and develop student’s capability of self-learning, team working and international communicating

– Setting new quality standard and accrediting it internationally

ICT education reform: How?

• Dilemmas :– Curriculum design

• More general or more professional?• More fundamental or more advanced?• How to embed “green considerations”?• How to across the disciplinary borders?

ICT education reform: How?

– Delivery approach• Principle-based or problem-based?• Classroom, laboratory, or out-campus

intern?• Active learning, strict training?

ICT education reform: How?

– Quality control– What has been done to up-date (un-

grade?) the standard of ICT education?– How to check and control learning quality

efficiently?– How can accreditation enhance quality?

ICT education reform:

How?

Program of training excellent engineers

• On June 23, 2010, China has initiated the “Program of training excellent engineers” (卓越工程师培养计划 )at Tianjin University.

Guidelines of the program

• Summarizing the successful achievements of Chinese engineering education and learning from overseas good practices

• Serving to national strategy of adjusting economics structure and building national innovation system

• Strengthening cooperation with industry• Enriching students comprehensive quality

and social responsibility• Globalizing the engineering education

3 Features of the program

• Industrial involvement– More than one year practice in industry

• Standardization– General standard (setting by MOE)– Special standard for different majors

(setting by different industrial association)• Emphasis on engineering practice and

innovative working

5 key measurements by MOE– Implementing new models of cooperative engineering

education with industry– Establishing “Center of engineering practice” in

selected enterprises to providing 1 year practical training

– Setting requirement to industrial experience to engineering faculty by recruitment and promotion

– Enhancing international collaboration in engineering education and supporting

• Oversea internship • Joint programs with international industrial partners• Development of degree programs delivered in English, French

& Spanish– Establishing standards of engineering education jointly

with CAE and different sectors of industry