Interdisciplinary integration in engineering education

Quality engineering education requires a proper balance between an up-do-date specialized training and a general broad background in key areas of scientific and social human knowledge. The strengthening of interdisciplinary aspects in the engineering curriculum combined with a more decisive exposure to frontier ideas of modern science can provide a viable antidote to a damaging fragmentation of knowledge into numerous and poorly interacting "areas of expertise". Active exposure to interdisciplinary areas stimulates curiosity, encourages self-directed learning and positively contributes to an individual\´s creativity and intellectual independence