What engineering is?

Principally, Engineering is the utilisation of ingenuity to make innovations happen for the benefit of society and the planet. Therefore it is essential that the education of engineers inspires and encourages the development of ingenuity – without this, the innovations will not happen, and society will not benefit from its engineers.
Engineering is crucial to the innovation required by society. Innovation is not just the introduction of new ideas – it is the successful adoption of those new ideas, and this needs to be engineered as much as the generation and development of the ideas themselves. Without engineers, innovations will not happen, so it is necessary that engineers are well-versed in how to innovate, in the full sense of this term, for the benefit of society.
Pedagogical focus of the curriculum shifts from the acquisition of knowledge towards knowledge, skills and evidenced judgement for the application and combination of learned knowledge, development of the capacity of critical systems thinking, relational understanding, creative problem solving, contextualisation of knowledge and extensive acquisition of practical/digital experience.
Also, the acquisition of non-technical skills, especially the abilities of written and oral communication, cooperation, team work, empathy and other social skills and understandings, are becoming equally significant as the traditional academic / disciplinary knowledge.
Engineers that we educate have to be ready to add value to whatever they do – to be ready to innovate.

Student Learning Method as a creative problem-solving.

Embedding new pedagogical approaches and new learning technologies:

• Develop problem-solving skills within the engineering method and engineering habits of mind (Problem, Project, Challenge-based learning and the like).
• Stimulate hands-on experience (experiential learning, learning by doing, and the like).
• Enhance skills of critical thinking and decision making in uncertain and vague environments.
• Use CAx tools for engineering design, AR/VR technology, Digital Twin technology (digital experience) and MOOC technology.
• Develop skills and abilities for team work (collaborative learning), multiculturality and global communication skills.
• Develop an innovative spirit and entrepreneurial spirit, interaction with the innovation ecosystem.

Engineering method as a creative problem-solving

No profession unleashes the spirit of innovation like engineering. From research to real-world applications, engineers constantly discover how to improve our lives by creating bold new solutions that connect science to life in unexpected, forward-thinking ways. Few professions turn so many ideas into so many realities. Few have such a direct and positive effect on people’s everyday lives. We are counting on engineers and their imaginations to help us meet the needs of the 21st century....

The Engineering Habits of Mind

Ultimately what the curriculum has to deliver is not ‘engineering’, but the learning of how an engineer should approach thinking about a challenge at hand. The figure above ‘Engineering Habits of Mind’, captures the essence of engineering – visualising, improving, systems thinking etc. leading to ‘making things work better’ – and the essence of learning (curiosity, open mindedness, ethics, reflection, collaboration etc.) to provide the framework for engineers in the 21st century.