Among all TN projects approved and running under SOCRATES II, E4 offers the widest perspective over all Engineering/Technology education fields covering relevant and transversal issues, which are definitely not branch specific. The paper first introduces the general aim of the project, underlining the meaning of the European Dimension of EE…

In an ever-changing labour market, university tries to make efforts to estimate the free labour market demands for university graduates. The strength of Engineering Education lies in the range and depth of fundamental knowledge the students acquire during their studies, but the abilities like: taking risk, taking initiative, teamwork,…

In this paper, we describe aspects related to learning and learning assessment including pedagogy, cognition, pilot study and results from the study. This study is conducted for an educational module on "10 Principles of Materials Handling". This module along with another on "Analysis and Design of Integrated Materials Handling Systems" constitute…

In this work, the characteristics of a simulator for channel coding techniques used in communication systems, are described. This software has been designed for engineering students in order to facilitate the understanding of how the error correcting codes work. To help students understand easily the concepts related to these kinds of codes, a…

In this paper it is presented a virtual organizational environment, conceived with the integration of three computer programs: a manufacturing simulation package, an automation of businesses processes (workflows), and business intelligence (Balanced Scorecard) software. It was created as a supporting tool for teaching IE, its purpose is to give…

A bioprocess engineer should have at least a set of basic design skills. Bioprocess design is a complex cognitive skill, which should be trained in every year of an academic Bioprocess-Engineering curriculum. However, there is little existing learning material to support the initial training of design skills early in the curriculum. For this…

A worldwide problem in Engineering education is the high rates of students' failure and drop out particularly at the beginning of the course. This is related to the process by which students learn Mathematics. An innovative methodology of teaching calculus was developed and it is presented in this paper. The approach, based on both course…

Engineering Design is rightfully regarded as a key element within all university Engineering courses and most laboratory assignments and project work seek to optimise the student's acquisition of knowledge and understanding of this process. Within this paper Engineering Design has been classified into a new "hierarchy of task level" each one…

The programmes offered by both institutions are geared to the application of current technology. All the University of Derby programmes, including the BSc(Hons) degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Higher Technical Institute Diploma in Electrical Engineering, are accredited in the UK at Incorporated Engineer level by the…

Preoccupied by the fact that the number of women involved in Engineering in Europe is increasing too slowly, a consortium (teams from seven countries) was created in 2001 with the aims to understand why is this the case, and to study means which exist and are effective in attracting women into Engineering training. In particular, an hypothesis was…

Analyzes the history of affirmative action admissions at the University of California. Focuses on two themes: first, the historical development of UC admissions; second, the debate over affirmative action. Considers problems in balancing the social contract with the idea of a meritocracy, race and affirmative action as a counterbalance, and the…

Offers some ideas concerning promotion of gender equality and diversity within European Union-funded programs and activities. Reviews efforts since the 1970s to foster equal access in European schools and universities, examines some principles of innovation and entrepreneurship, and considers stages in diversity policy development. (DB)

Three different approaches to the evaluation of higher education in European and Scandinavian countries are examined: evaluation of a single discipline across institutions (Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, northern Germany); evaluation of several disciplines within certain institutions (France, Germany); and internal evaluation of…

Policies, commissioning bodies, methods, and criteria for both internal and external evaluation of research at universities in eight countries (Finland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, France) are compared, and the effects of evaluations on the finance, structure, and research problems are examined. (MSE)

Discussion of problems surrounding "European Standards" for vocational education and training finds that there are no pan-European standards, nor is it likely that such standards, if formulated, would be implemented in European Union (EU) countries. Nevertheless, countries aspiring to join the EU measure themselves against perceived standards,…