Developments in Groningen design engineering, or: the virtual reality of the engineer

In Groningen, in the North of the Netherlands, both a university, the Rijksuniversiteit van Groningen, and an institute for higher vocational education, Hogeschool of Groningen are located. The technology faculty of the latter institute could be compared with the former polytechnics in the UK; however by law the difference in the Netherlands is more strict between Universities (key words: academic, research, search for general laws, universal truth, trends and patterns) and Higher Vocational Education (main goal is vocationally related: preparing for future working life, training in skills and logic of a technology). For some disciplines, Product Design Engineering being one of them, it means that there is not a smooth transfer possible for students having acquired the Hogeschool title, Ing, to the University and the Ir title within a reasonable time span. At the other hand, in special cases like the Technical Business Science course at the university of Groningen, in which the vocational approach and expertise of Hogeschool lecturers is incorporated in the academic curriculum, the combination can be very beneficial. The author discusses vocational education in design engineering, and design value in product development