The latest reincarnation of globalization, fuelled by advances in communication and transportation, increased commerce and brought new approaches to business across the world, not unlike its earlier versions. Because of its unique role in the current globalization, technology is viewed as an equalizer. As a result, expectations of graduates for the future workforce, including in engineering, include topics related to globalization. Some view the new opportunities as preparing future engineers to work in a global world. Others find opportunities in distinguishing their graduates by preparing them to be innovators, setting them apart from “blue collar” engineers. Moreover, globalization of education has also accelerated with educational opportunities reaching across the borders.
This issue of the Journal presents a collection of papers that address different aspects of globalization from the perspective of engineering education, each presenting ideas and experiences that respond to the needs brought by globalization.
For example, “Trans-national recognition and accreditation of engineering programmes in Europe: perspectives in a global framework” by Augusti, presents perspectives, efforts and proposals for the establishment of a system for Europe-wide accreditation of degrees as “entry routes to the engineering profession” that in parallel with the Bologna process is supposed to provide the employability and competitiveness of European engineers on a global scale. “Bologna and the consequences: do we get the engineers we need?” by Becker, shows how a worldwide European company like Siemens judge the implications of the Bologna regulations and expresses its views on the major issue of engineering training, it also reviews the requirements of international employers, showing that the number of jobs requiring a solid technical base has not diminished, but the demand for graduates combining technical knowledge with other skills is growing due to the more complex working environment. “Lifelong learning for engineers a global perspective” by Guest, considers what the 21st century holds in terms of lifelong learning and continuing professional development, and touches on some related issues, including coaching and mentoring. “Development of Strategic International Industry Links to Promote Undergraduate Vocational Training and Postgraduate Research Programs” by Abanteriba, describes the general principles necessary to develop the attributes of a globally employable graduate, and reports, in particular, on activities already being undertaken by RMIT University in Melbourne, in association with industry partners within and outside of Australia, to meet these challenges. “Offshore outsourcing and the dawn of the post-colonial era of western engineering education” by Oberst and Jones, summarizes the phenomenon of offshore outsourcing and relates it to the history and the current state of engineering edu-cation and the engineering profession in Europe and the US. “Migration of Computer Science Graduates from South East Asia to Europe and North America” by Khan, Siddiqi and Ahmed, addresses the ramifications of globalized workforce on the individuals and their societies with a series of recommendations. “Globalization and organizational change: Engineers’ experiences and their implications for engineering education” by Lucena, offers, first, a hypothesis connecting engineers’ educational experiences with their responses to organizational change, and, second, a curriculum to help students prepare for the complex engineering tasks in ever-changing organizations in the context of a merger of two major aerospace companies. “Global university system for Engineering Education in the Age of Globalization” by Utsumi, presents and briefly discusses a comprehensive and holistic approach to building smart and creative communities in developing countries for e-learning and e-healthcare/telemedicine called the Global University System initiative and how it can be related to engineering education. “Transforming academic globalization into globalization for all” by Ramalhoto, describes the new basic function of the University Institution “to teach students to be critical about any kind of information” and presents perspectives, efforts and three proposals for the establishment of a system for managing globalization and technological and scientific changes.
We are very grateful to all the authors and reviewers for their contributions to the present issue and wish to acknowledge Prof. Jean Michel, who gave his support and contributions to the success of this issue.
Maria Fernanda Ramalhoto
and Adhan Akay