The application of the Tuning methodology to the Electrical and Information Engineering disciplines across Europe

This paper presents initial results of the Pan-European application of the Tuning methodology to the electrical and information engineering (EIE) subject set. The study is part of the EU funded EIE-surveyor project and aims to review the alignment of the perception of the content and level of the actual development of skills between current students, alumni, academics and EIE employers. Three types of skills are being considered in the study, technical skills associated with the subject area, generic skills and language skills (both written and spoken). Background information about each respondent is also being captured to facilitate the broadest possible analysis of the questionnaire returns. The survey has been made available electronically, via a Web-based front end, by email attachment and in paper forms to cover a range of data collection requirements. The EIE-Surveyor project is an EU Thematic Network project under the umbrella of the European Association for education in electrical and information engineering (EAEEIE). The Association has representative members from almost every country within the EU and this is reflected in the coverage we have in the survey. This paper presents the background to the EAEEIE, the EIE-Surveyor project and the Tuning methodology. It describes the survey instrument and the research collection and analysis methodologies. Data entry is to an SPSS file and all data analysis uses the SPSS software. This paper presents the results of one part of the survey drawing out key findings that will be of value to academia and to curriculum planners at the academic institution level as well as at the policy making level. The EIE-Surveyor ERASMUS thematic network has been launched in October 2005 for three years, the end will be in 2008.