Implementing a complete control curriculum in the classroom

As the turn of the century approaches, we are entering a new realm in the field of automation and control. Personal computers (PCs) have become an integral part of the engineer´s toolbox for providing a complete control solution. Controllers have become more sophisticated and the task of programming and designing systems that acquire and process data has become increasingly complex. Man-machine interfaces (MMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems have become the rule rather than the exception. This paper describes how, as these systems become commonplace in the industry, educators are being asked to provide a curriculum to produce graduates with the skills required to implement SCADA and MMI systems as part of an automated system design