Though the rapid evolution of technology makes it difficult to pinpoint "the next big thing," the outlook for information technology (IT) employment appears to be promising. In fact, several categories of IT jobs currently face shortages of qualified workers, a troubling trend that is projected to get worse over the next five to seven years. These…

Technology has made a significant impact on assessment, including its use to automate assignment submission. On-line assignment submission, marking, and return were introduced into a fourth-year engineering management unit for the first time, and a formal evaluation was undertaken to assess student perceptions of this new development. Nearly all…

In France today most initial vocational training is delivered within the school system, in the lycees professionnels (vocational lycees) and the technological streams of general lycees. Historically this characteristic feature of the French system came about at the end of the 19th century as a result of the educational policy of the Third Republic…

Purpose - The authors have developed an educational model that operates at the undergraduate level and aims to produce graduates who can comfortably operate in the gulf between the laboratory bench and the commercial marketplace. The purpose of the paper is to describe the course, approaches, activities and initial outcomes of the Bachelor of…

An important challenge in the introductory communication networks course in electrical and computer engineering curricula is to integrate emerging topics, such as wireless Internet access and network security, into the already content-intensive course. At the same time it is essential to provide students with experiences in online collaboration,…

Shortly after becoming a CIO (Chief Information Officer), the author read an article by Gregory Jackson in the January 2004 Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "A CIO's Question: Will You Still Need Me When I'm 64?" Jackson, one of the most widely known and respected CIOs in higher education, argued that CIOs in higher education face four…

This paper presents the preliminary work for developing guidelines to ensure that industry-sponsored projects in first-year courses aid, not hamper, retention of students. Specifically, the overall research plan includes the following steps: (1) investigating the appropriateness of industry projects in a required introduction to engineering design…

It is striking to notice that the notion of skill is not only used in industry but also in higher education in most major industrialized countries. If a significant number of companies have taken a skills approach, one notices that this term is also used in higher education to determine teaching programmes according to a simple idea: higher…

The work of Activity 1 of the Thematic Network E4 "Employability through Innovative Curricula" on curriculum development issues has been guided by the intention to contribute to the establishment of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by addressing crucial aspects of harmonisation, compatibility and comparability. In due course the…

The individual stories of scholars of South Asian descent are as divergent as the communities, countries of origin and cultural traditions from which they and their families originate. Though their numbers are believed to trail those of their counterparts in business, science and engineering fields, U.S. scholars of South Asian descent are adding…

This article describes a chemical-processing program at Saginaw Career Complex in Saginaw, Michigan. The program is preparing 42 11th- and 12th-graders to work as chemical-processing operators or technicians by the time they graduate from high school. It was developed in partnership with the Saginaw Career Complex--one of 51 centers in the state…

This article describes BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology), a hands-on robotics program founded by Texas Instruments engineers Ted Mahler and Steve Marum. BEST links educators with industry to provide middle and high school students with a peek into the exciting world of robotics, with the goal of inspiring and interesting…

A systematic study of the implementation of simulation hardware (TIMS) replacing software (MATLAB) was undertaken for advanced undergraduate and early graduate courses in electrical engineering. One outcome of the qualitative component of the study was remarkable: most students interviewed (4/4 and 6/9) perceived the software simulations as…

The need to develop alternatives for fossil fuel energy consumption is mandated by the limit of world oil reserves and the environmental costs associated with their continued use. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate to local farmers the environmental benefits provided by a modified farm implement and to enhance interest in alternative…

"Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls" looks into global practices of e-learning, examining the successes and failures of e-learning professionals. It provides a judicious mix of practical experiences and research in the form of case studies. Written by experts from all over the globe, this book shows how to…