IEE Science & Education Joint Board: Chairman´s address. Links between education and training

Recent investigations into the nature of learning suggest that it is closely related to the task to be performed. Learning can be considered as the acquisition of skills¿motor and perceptual. In parallel, developments have taken place in the techniques of teaching based on the `algorithm¿. The algorithm has particular importance in engineering, both as the basis of systematic equipment-maintenance schedules and for training. This leads to the developments in programmed learning. The concept of the learning of skills could be used more generally in engineering education by defining what students will be able to do as well as what they should know. The quoted needs of industry and the objectives of universities seem to differ. There seems to have been inadequate attention to developing inventiveness in scientific education, but there are signs of change. Project work can make an important contribution. Also, traditional academic disciplines tend to inhibit new ideas which occur between disciplines. A new undergraduate course is envisaged, based on the exploitation of natural resources, leading to a variety of educational programmes.