Mike Qaissaunee, at Frequently Asked Q, had a timely blog today about Improving Engineering Education. This was based on a report from American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) that points to a report from the National Science Board (NSB) titled Moving Forward to Improve Engineering Education[pdf]. It is timely because this Friday, NetWorks will be having a free webinar about improving Engineering Technology Education with the NSF 2010 Electronics (better known as the ESyst) grant. ESyst is will announce the first three courses, as well as a schedule for the other courses. While ESyst is for two year colleges, some of the ideas can be taken into four year colleges as well. From the report:

The third challenge for engineering education is to retain those students who are initially attracted to engineering. Attrition is substantial in engineering, particularly in the first year of college.

Mike wrote:

Number three may be the most challenging. We can’t make engineering “easier” or less demanding, it is what it is. Instead, we have to do a better job of preparing our students to study engineering.

This is what ESyst is all about - keeping students interested, making the classes relevant by going from a components approach to a system approach.

Join us this Friday, February 15, at 12 EST, for a free webinar that discusses the future of electronics education! To register, just send me an email with the subject 2010 Webinar registration.

If you haven’t read Frequently Asked Q, take a look at this always enjoyable and enlightening blog from Mike.

Mark Viquesney