Finding and facing the Frontiers at FIE Conferences

Each year since the founding in 1971, Frontiers in Education Conference participants have sought the newest innovations and concepts in engineering education, i.e., the true frontiers at the cutting-edge of the profession. While those frontiers have obviously changed over the past 42 years, the primary objective of identifying and addressing them has remained at the forefront. This WIP paper describes what was perceived as the main frontiers in each of four periods corresponding to the four decades since the first conference by examining papers from two sample conferences in each decade. In addition to a careful analysis of selected FIE Proceedings, results of a brief survey of long-time FIE leaders and more recent participants are presented as further evidence on identifying the recognized frontiers for each period. Changes during the intervening years of the conference included more formal presentations, required reviews before accepting papers, and references to clearly show the relevance of each paper within the body of knowledge. Currently, papers are categorized as innovative practice, research-to-practice, or research; an emphasis on STEM research nationally has created engineering education departments within universities. Faculty and staff from these departments regularly present their research results at FIE Conferences. The overall goal for conference organizers and program chairs is to make certain not only that accepted papers point to existing frontiers as the major focus of the FIE Conference each year but also include invited speakers, sessions, panels, and keynote addresses that focus on other emerging frontiers.