Abstract :
Electronic engineering has been changing at a furious pace, as has the education system that struggles to supply the trained persons needed. The author examines some exciting developments and points to some areas where major change seems generally overdue. Some clear messages emerge from this discussion of electrical engineering education and training: the first degree provides at best an overview of a part of our subject field coupled with a foundation in some of its enduring principles; financial constraints are crippling universities´ ability to offer access to ´state-of-the-art´ facilities for project work-this is now much better done in industry perhaps through a thin sandwich model; the term ´qualification´ as traditionally understood by the engineering profession has lost much of its meaning as skills become increasingly ephemeral-the emphasis has shifted to ´just-in-time learning´, in which staying up to date counts for more than the degree one did ten years ago; first degree programmes at attractive prices will soon be as important as programmes setting high academic standards-this will generate space for much innovation in both structure and delivery; leading companies are developing, with universities, new ways to carry their staff through first degree, into first employment and onward throughout their careers-such schemes seem certain to have a profound impact upon the HEI-industry relationships of the future, with the divide between learning and working increasingly blurred
