Engineering education: Where we are and where we go from here

While MOOC-s (massively open on-line courses) are getting a lot of attention in the press, many other interesting developments have been happening in the field of engineering education. It can be argued that many of the problems, perceived or real, have had solutions for quite some time and that problem is not in the development of new, effective and efficient instructional techniques but that the problem lies in the implementation of the known techniques. This paper will attempt to briefly summarize the current state of engineering education in the US, perceived problems, and potential solutions. As an example of what can be accomplished by a switch to more research-based instructional strategies we will discuss our experience in introducing active learning technique in microwave circuit design course. It is hoped that this will in some small way contribute to the discussion on the direction of engineering education in Croatia.