The future of higher engineering education: a student´s point of view

By nature, engineers are challenged to operate beyond current practice. It is exactly this mindset that gives engineers a desired position at the job-market. When companies complain about a lack of engineers, we should be careful and ask the question whether there is a lack of graduates obtaining an engineering diploma, or whether there is a lack of people who have the attitude to push back frontiers. Higher education plays of course a leading role in the development of this attitude. The author gives his view on the biggest constraints in the present educational systems in Europe, preventing full advantage being taken of new opportunities. He briefly discusses teaching methods, internationalisation, and accreditation