Recent and Upcoming Events
Reimagining Higher Education through the Lens of the Digital and Sustainable Society and Workplace
Congress plenary speaker at the Plenum of Congress of the 7th World Engineers Convention 2023. The WEC is known as the “Olympics of Engineering” and is held every four years. This year organisated by World Federation of Engineering Organizations and the Czech Association of Scientific and Technical Societies in Prague.
Summary:
The digital transformation of industries and the efforts to design for sustainability have brought about massive shifts in the engineering profession. Universities need to address the issues of the digital and sustainability competencies at scale. This challenge is significant as it addresses a wide spectrum of issues, ranging on the one hand from highly specialised innovations to the need for broader intellectual range on the other side, new business models, sustainable design skills, aspects of social acceptance and security, to values thinking and self-leadership. (Prague, October 11-13, 2023)
Relevance and role of university in a fast changing and unstable world
Presentation and roundtable discussion at the 51st NORDTEK Rector's Meeting about today's engineering universities as technology hubs, the great reversal, the need to understand the coherence between the changing university context, and an example of a metamorphosis how to organise future engineering education to meet future needs and expectations.
NORDTEK is a network of the Rectors and Deans of the Technical Universities in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
(Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, August 18, 2023)
Engineering Education for Sustainability
Keynote presentation at the 51st NORDTEK Annual Conference about the two different sustainability competency frameworks according to ASU School of Sustainability and the Inner Development Goals, the potential of Challenge-Based Education, and the big picture of educational change.
NORDTEK is a network of the Rectors and Deans of the Technical Universities in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
(Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, August 17, 2023)
How Else Can We Think About The Key Elements of Higher Engineering Education?
Open invited presentations for the NTNU Centre for Science and Engineering Education Development (SEED) and an inspirational seminar for the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, in the scope of the implementation of NTNU Technology Education of the Future (Fremtidens teknologistudier) project.
(NTNU, Trondheim, Norway, March 24 and September 5, 2023)
Global Trends and Challenges and Shifting Competency Outcomes
Two presentations followed by working sessions at the 'Forum sur l'Ingénieure et l'Ingenieur de demain' for 250 academic staff of Polytechnique Montréal to think about the future of engineering education at institutional level.
Presentations (in French) about the Global trends and challenges that impact higher engineering education, and Shifting competency outcomes for tomorrow's engineering graduates.
Graphic impressions of the presentations and discussions are available here.
(Polytechnique Montréal, Canada, May 15, 2023)
Higher Engineering Education for the Digital and Sustainable Society and Workplace
Invited keynote at the SEFI/European Convention of Engineering Deans 2023 that has 'Leadership for digitalisation in higher engineering education' as its headline.
The digital transformation of industries and the efforts to design for sustainability have brought about massive shifts in the engineering profession. Universities need to address the issues of the digital and sustainability competencies at scale. This challenge is significant as it addresses a broad range of issues from technological content, new business models, sustainable design skills, security, trust, social acceptance, to values thinking and self-leadership.
(University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, May 24-26, 2023)
EDUCATION 4.0: Shifting the engineering mindset from systems to human value
Invited keynote at the ISEE2022 conference about the necessary shift from thinking in technical systems to more thinking in human value and human qualities. Adapting engineering education to humanisation, digital engineering and engineering for sustainability .
(Glasgow, UK, September 1-2, 2022)
Higher Engineering Education for Sustainability
Do you know what a young person needs to lead a responsible life in this rapidly changing world? To design solutions that balance technological innovation, economic competitiveness, environmental protection and social flourishing? Education for sustainability is so much more than teaching expert knowledge and principles related to sustainability.
(Plenary session at European Robotics Forum Rotterdam, June 2022)
How else can we think about the key elements of higher engineering education?
Presentation about changing societal and business needs, changing professional engineering roles and long-term thinking of major transformations in engineering education. Online conference of the European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA) community about Innovation and Design in European Engineering Education.
A contribution to the 'Re-invention of the European Engineer' (May 2022)
Adapting Engineering Education to Change
Students are at the start of their journey figuring out who they want to be and where they want to go. Lecturers are expected to show them the possible routes and effective ways to experiment and grow. Do they have a clear sense of what a young person must learn in order to lead a responsible life in the age of accelerating change? Do they know how to deal with the dilemmas that are caused by the digital transformation in the engineering profession. What competencies play a key role for sustainable employment and satisfaction at work? Do they have a good sense of the desires and aspirations of Generation-Z students, and what is the impact of paradigm shift in engineering education that human value gains prominence in the digital and global learning society? The keynote provides a forward-thinking perspective on higher engineering education and refocuses the purpose of studying engineering sciences
(TU Delft Education Day November 4, 2021)
Workshop Future or Engineering Education
Workshop with presentations and panel sessions by four thoughtleaders in engineering education to benchmark the educational model of Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), with the purpose to identify key features of innovative educational programmes and develop a vision for the future model of engineering education at FEUP.
(University of Porto March 14, 2022)
Matching Future-Fit Engineering Education With the CDIO Framework
A plenary talk that gives a vision for future-fit engineering programmes and shows how each programme can customise the CDIO approach to respond to profound shifts in society, technology and pedagogy and changing programme wishes and needs
(Batangas State University, Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, November 2021)
Teaching and Learning Beyond What We Have Always Done
Presentation of a vision and framework for future-fit undergraduate (bachelor) and graduate (master) engineering programmes that prepare students for a lifelong career in the digital age. With examples of an agile master programme and an interdisciplinary master programme that both are under construction, and an interdisciplinary master project that is being delivered jointly by university and industry annually for 200 students in mixed teams across disciplines. Their set-up and alternative assessment approaches, the need for an agile organisation and competent staff will provide food for thought.
(Keynote at the CDIO Asian Regional Meeting, Australian College of Kuwait, October 2021).
If we don’t want them to focus on passing exams but learning for life
To prepare the future generation of engineering professionals, many programmes shift towards more socially-relevant and outward-facing curricula to better prepare them for a lifelong career in the digital era. This requires major changes in the teaching and learning environment. Not seldom are facets of the assessment of outcomes on course or programme level, used as an excuse to act as we have always done. The keynote is a call upon accreditation agencies not only to evaluate the programme objectives, teaching and learning process, resources and regulations, but also the readiness and agility of the programme for an uncertain future, and thus stimulate and guide institutions and programmes to find the courage to act beyond as they have always done and create momentum in this challenging situation
(ENAEE Online Forum September 2021).
Educating an Integral View on Engineering Asset Management
If you ask universities what graduates need to solve complex problems in Engineering Asset Management, they say it requires deep specialists who are educated in highly specialised programmes. But if you ask engineering professionals, they say that solving complex problems in an uncertain and volatile world requires deep generalists who have learnt specialized expertise in a more generalised programme. So how can we best educate an integral view on engineering asset management that is future fit and combines science, engineering and technology principles with human behaviour and business practice?
(Seminario EGAF - Engineering Asset Management webinar at Universidad de Chile July 2021)
A Journey Through Tomorrow's Landscape of Higher Engineering Education
Provoking thought about teaching and learning and assessment of complex learning outcomes, the need for agile educational programmes and changing engineering competency requirements due to the digital transition and rapid change in society, science and technology, and changing aspirations of Generation-Z students
(14th International Symposium on Advances in Technology Education (ISATE) Turku, Finland, 17-20 August 2021)
A Journey through Tomorrow's Landscape of Higher Engineering Education
Presentation at University of Twente's Month of Education about trends in engineering education in the post-Covidium. Adressing the changing society, the developments in science and technology (S&T), the consequential shift in key aspects of a 21st century engineering curriculum, the need to change mindsets in curricula, the necessary changes in competency requirements of graduate engineers which are directly and indirectly caused by the digital transition and the dominant role of data in the professions in science and technology. Factors that lead to the need for agile educational programmes and unlearning and relearning of staff to adapt the teaching and learning and assessment of complex learning outcomes (May 2021).
Digital Competencies for Future Engineers
‘We need to address the issue of digital skills at scale, and that challenge is significant’.
Online presentation about the Digitalisation Seminar for department heads who are in charge of master programmes at the Faculty of Engineering at NTNU and involved in the “Future Technology Studies (FTS)”-project (February 19, 2021)
Senior Teaching Qualification module Curricular Change
Interactive module about leadership in curricular change, covering Change Management, Educational Leadership, Managerial Leadership and Political Leadership including Colour Thinking. Delivered as 3-hour interactive sessions for interfaculty groups of educational leaders at VU Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam, as a customised part of the Senior Teaching Qualification (STQ) programme for both universities (2020, 2021, 2022)
Never Waste a Good Crisis
This introductory speech at the 16th CDIO International Conference reflects on the disruption of higher engineering education by Covid-19. It addresses reflections on personal experiences of myself and my CDIO Co-director Helene Leong, at our own university in the Netherlands and Singapore about the COVID situation, and how it has made us rethink the way we teach and assess our students in engineering education (June 2020).
Thriving Online
With an accumulation of the VUCA world and the COVID-19 pandemic, this presentation sets the scene and provides inspiration for a four-day challenge a group of 12 multidisciplinary, international and intercultural teams of 50 students total from all over the world. They will address challenges we face right now as our world is disrupted by COVID-19 and design how to go beyond mere survival and truly thrive online in education, in working life and in our communities, beyond the pandemic. Organised by Petrus Communications, McMaster University and the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) (25-28 September 2020).
An Innovation Journey through Tomorrow’s Landscape of Engineering Education
Invited opening keynote presentation at the ASEE's Virtual Conference, about navigating the landscape of higher engineering education and coping with decades of accelerating change ahead. Portraying the changing world of science, technology and society, and the expected impact on the engineering profession in 2030, and on the organisation of higher engineering education in 2040 and beyond (Virtual Conference, June 2020).
The World Itself is the Most Effective Teacher
Panelist in the panel session Leveraging Experiential Education to Become an International Engineering Education Leader. Explaining the range of experiential learning opportunities in the TU Delft bachelor and master in aerospace engineering (ASEE Virtual Conference, June 2020).
Innovate or be History
In this talk I present my six-year personal journey with the 4TU.Centre for Engineering Education for which I was the leader on behalf of TU Delft, from its very beginning in 2014 till 2020 today. It's a farewell of the centre because the retirement forces me to step down from this position (Delft, 18 June 2020)
Vad behöver framtidens ingenjören kunna?
August 28, 2019 I was invited by the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) in Stockholm to join their 100-year Jubilee Seminar for
a keynote in the afternoon about changes in society, technology and engineering, and shifting attributes of tomorrow's engineering graduates;
a seminar presentation about "Diversity Matters", in student population (iGen, gender, nationalities), staff members (gender, discipline) and education portfolio.
(Stockholm, Sweden, 2019)
SMU Lyle Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board
At the invitation of Lockheed's member of SMU's Industrial Board I presented and discussed the rapid changes in society, technology and engineering and its impact on future engineering education with the members of the management team of the Mechanical Engineering department and the SMU Lyle Industrial Board (Dallas, USA, May 2019).
Quote from participant: "Thank you very much for the great presentation this morning. I hear all the buzz words but it is inspiring to see that you are making an attempt to answer how should be the engineering education of the future. Current Engineering is still cookie cutter style rather than focusing on how to cater to the Society 5.0 and address the VUCA challenges."
Appetiser for an awayday of HR managers from all over the world
Presentation with Q&A about societal and technological trends, changing demands for engineers and impact on lifelong learning, on an annual gathering of HR managers of Royal HaskoningDHV, an independent, international, engineering, design and project management consultancy with offices worldwide (Amersfoort, Netherlands, May 2018).
Consultancy and Case Studies
Comenius Senior Fellows 2022
Chairman of the evaluation committee of the proposals for the Comenius Senior Fellow 2022 grants. The Comenius programme contributes to the innovation and improvement of higher education in the Netherlands. The grants enable education professionals to put their ideas for educational innovation into practice.
Systems Engineering Vision 2035;
Building the Systems Engineering Workforce of the Future
Providing input to INCOSE (International Council on Systems Engineering) SE Vision 2035 document, chapter Building the Systems Engineering Workforce of the Future – Education and Training of System Engineers (December 2020).
Providing detailed comments and feedback to the whole 'World in Motion' draft report Systems Engineering Vision 2035 (March 2021).
Providing input to the white paper Building the Systems Engineering Workforce of the Future
(March 2022)
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A Roadmap 2030 for the CDIO™ INITIATIVE
Development of a new Mission and Vision Statement and a Roadmap for CDIO in 2030, re-imagining the CDIO framework and community to better prepare its members for tomorrow's needs. In a series of international working meetings and workshops at regular gatherings and conferences all over world over the period 2017-2020. Consolidated in a conference paper, presented at 17th CDIO Internatonal Conference (June 2021).
Towards CDIO Syllabus 3.0
Update the CDIO Syllabus with the changing competency requirements of engineering graduates that are caused by the digital transition in engineering, the new ways of working, the shift in stakeholders' wishes and needs, and the accelerating change in society, sciences and technology (Spring 2021)
Centre of Engineering Education (CEE)
Member of international assessment panel to evaluate the Centre of Engineering Education (CEE) at the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University. Discovering particular strengths and weaknesses and defining recommendations for further growth and development (Lund, Sweden 2019)
Task Force "S&T Education for the 21st Century"
Leading the discussions and workshops within the task force and at the CESAER Annual Meeting 2018 (Bucharest) to gather input from multiple and diverse sources (2018-2019), as input to the development of a Discussion Paper about 21st century engineering education in Europe. .