Engineerinc I rn

unive at German rities

by H. L. Hartnagel Changes in modern society have strongly affected German universities. In particulav, a large percentage ofthe

youngergeneration is following a degree course, especially in engineering. The result is overcrowding, Discussions are takingplare on how to handle large student numbers more efficiently without imurring a drop in academir

standards. In view ofthis latter requirement it is generally accepted that much importance must be attached to all professors retaining a direct involvement in research despite&nding problem Accordingly, recent developments in

UK universities, where teaching without a research compqnent is sometimes becoming a reality, are viewed in Germany with some astonishment. Therefore, one aim ofthis paper is to contribute to the important discussion 4

the idea ofthe European University.

Introduction

erman udca t ion has had many effects on Me in Germany. Perhaps the most sigruficant one is the shortage of government finance. G Nevertheless, the German university system

has not been Sected primarily by unification, rather it is experiencing new problems because of the general changes occurring in modern industrial societies. The enthusiasm of a large proportion of the population for a university education means that there are now more university students than ever before.

The legal basis of German universities

Responsibility for the universities rests with the German finder, the indwidual states of the Federation. Fundlng therefore comes h m the Ender Govern- ments. However, in order to maintain a unified system, the federal parliament ratified a Bundesrahmengesetz-a basic legal fiamework to which all Lhder legislation for universities has to conform.

Basically, anybody who has successfully passed, normally at the age of 19 years, the Abitur, which is a grammar-school final examination, is entitled to enter a university. Whereas in the 1950s only around 5 to 8% of that age group obtained the qualification of Abitur, this figure is now more than 30%, and in some towns even more than 40%. This development is very s igdcant as student numbers have accordingly increased by a factor of around five during this period. Whereas up to about 1975 German university expansion followed at about the same speed, since then the state governments have only allowed a very limited

growth. From that time onwards, university funding has been kept at an almost fixed level, so that a deplorable overcrowding of university courses has developed.

It must be appreciated that German university courses are basically longer than in Britain. In engineering, there is first a two-year preliminary course, the Vorrtudiirrm, with a substantial component of mathematics, physics, mechanics and other basic subjects. The Haupstudium, i.e. the main study period, of at least another 3 years can only be started once the examinations of the Vorstudium have been successfully passed. The duration of the complete university course in engineering therefore lasts at least 5 years and leads to the highly respected title Diplotn I~genierrr (Clniversitat). The German educational system also provides engineering courses at Fachhochrchule (FHS) (technical colleges). Entry to these establishments is allowed with a lower qualification than the Abitur,

Abbreviations

DFG = Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschafl Fl3 = Fachbereich FernU = Fernunivewtat FHS = Fachhochschule TH = Techmche Hochschule T U = Techrusche Urnersitat U-GH = Universitat-Gesamt Hochscbele U d w = Umvenitat der Bundeswehr VDE = Verein Deutscher Elektrotngerueure

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43

namely the so-called Fachabitur. However, many young though this is extremely di5cult because of the h g h people enter these courses now with an Abitur. The teachmg load of the professors there and the almost course duration is at least three years and leads to the total absence of assistants. title Diplorn-Znxenieur (FHS). The content of the In contrast, research is an essential feature of all the Fachhochschule course is not science-based, but is orientated more towards providing practical instruction only, in readmess for later professional practice. The mathematicalscientific basis of the Vorstudum at universities as required for a scient& course of stumes is thus not provided. Accordmgly, the title ‘Dip1.-Ing. (FHS)’ does not usually quahfy its holder to read directly for a doctorate at a university (the FHS does not have the right to award a doctorate). In this connection,

universities, where the state governments provide the research foundation. With this basis, external funding can be acquired by the university staff. Each professor has a number ofassistants-for teaching, administration and research. The professorial positions are designated by the letters C2, C3 and C4, equivalent to the assistant professor, associate professor and full professor, respectively, in the USA and some other English-

speaking countries. They each have full teachmg, examinahon

an intensive debate is talung and research responsibilities. place in Germany, since the Externally-funded research is Fachhochschule want their title encouraged, in particular by the ’Dip1.-Ing (FHS)’ to carry with fact that no overhead charges are it the right to read for a with an Abitur to enter imposed on external funding doctorate if the student has the designated for research. This is necessary ability However, it has any course at any of not the case for commissioned

work which is not in line with a professor’s research com-

been the practice of the universities only to admit FHS-

mitments. O n rare occasions some limited extra funding, in

engineers into their first year, and. in oarticular. to insist that

It is in principle the right of every German

the German universities

, L

the Vorstudium be taken, although some of the later course requirements could be abbreviated. An FHS engineer must first obtain the title Dip1.-Ing (Universitat), although this is possible after only three to four years of university study. It should be pointed out that the word university embraces also the Zchnische Universitut (TU) and the Zchnische Hochschule

Some state governments have made it a legal requirement for their universities to accept the ‘Dip1.- Ing. (FHS)’ as satisfjmg the entry requirements for reading for a doctorate, provided that the student possesses exceptional ability. Similarly, for exceptionally talented students, university entry is possible in a few other states without the Abitur, but this is hardly ever practised.

It is in principle the right of every German with an Abitur to enter any course at any of the German universities (or, with the Fachabitur, any FHS). However, when a course is oversubscribed at German universities, the status of ‘numerus clausus’ is declared by the state governments and entry then depends on the quality of the Abitur, the time the student has waited for a place and a number of other criteria. This status can apply to the whole Federal Republic or to particular courses at particular universities. This means that some engineering courses at some of the more popular universitier require extremely good Abitur grades.

Research-the essential component of a university

(TH).

Some research is conducted at the Fachhochschule,

proportion to the externally acquired research fundmg, is

provided by the Lander governments as an important token of encouragement for the university staK

External research fundmg can come h-om a large variety of sources. An important component of fundmg is provided by the Deutsche Forschungs- gemeinschaft DFG (German Research Association). This is equivalent, and works in a very s i d a r manner, to the UK SERC (now EPSKC) but its status is different in that it is an autonomous society whose members are the universities and some sirmlar establishments. The DFG’s major subject referees are elected by an electoral college comprising all of Germany’s university professors. Candidates are normally put forward for election by a number of organisations, such as the Fakultatentage (associations of the faculties of a particular subject from all universities; the Fakultatentage are generally also involved with course quahty assessment) and professional institutions such as the VDE (Verein Deutscher Elektroingenieure, equivalent to the IEE). About 60% of the DFG’s funds come h-om the federal government and about 40% f k m the Lander governments. Negligible funding originates h-om other sources such as industry. In 1992, the DFG was able to

w a k e awards for 49.9% of all the applications submitted (about 12 000 applications), although the awards were often for smaller amounts than requested. The total funding in 1992 amounted to 1.5 billion DM (see Table 1). It is interesting to compare this with other German research schemes. The ‘GroBforschungs- einrichtungen’ (major research centres) received almost double the fundmg of the DFG (see Table 1) whereas the Max Planck Society received more than two thirds

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Table 1: Funding of research by the Federal Government end the State GovernrnenEs, in million DM

GroCforxhungs- 2594.0 310.0 2904.0 2719.5 318 9 3038.4 4 6 einrichtungen

gemeinxhaft DeutscheFonchungs- 8745 635.1 15094 971.2 7084 16796 11 3

Max Planck Society 575.8 575.9 1151.7 632.6 632.5 1265.1 9.8

Fraunhofer Society 313-0 34.8 347.8 343.1 38.1 381.2 9.6

lnstitutionsof the 534.4 509.0 1043.4 593.7 568.9 1162.6 11 4 Blue List*

Academv Droarammes 29.6 29.7 59.3 32.3 32.3 64.6 8.8

Total 8.2 *The Blue List is a list of institutioni which ended up unfunded in the reunification of Germany and which are now funded by the Federal Government

that of the DFG. Both are very generously funded and some debate is under way whether this should not be more systematically associated with the teaching system of the universities. Table ‘1 also includes some of the other German research organisations. Not included are government funding to such schemes as the European Space Agency, German industry and the European- Conmiunitie5’ Research Programme.

Perhaps the largest contribution to research fundmg for engineering at German universities comes directly from industry. This close collaboration has a long tradition. However, mrect research hnding by parncular Federal ministries, often jointly with industiy, also plays an important part; examples are the BMFT (l3undesministerium h r Forschung und Technologie, the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology) and Gernlan Telekom.

Some reasons for urgent reform

At present, major reform ofuniversity teaching is being discussed. It is generally recognised that courEes are too long. However, there is no desire to shorten courses at the cost of both quality and the well-known flexibility of course coniposition provided by the German system (which is based not so much on the class approach found in the UK as on a liberal credit point scheme). Average study tirnes often exceed the tiuniinuin time of 5 ycars by many years. This is also partly the reason for the high student-professor ratio at German universities. However. the main cause for the extremely high rmo is the fact that there has been no university expamion since the mid-seventies, whereas the percentage of the total number of people from the relevant age-group in German society entering

universines has been growing continuously at a sipficant rate. At many engineering faculties, this ratio is now around 1OO:l. Even if we include an average of three university-funded assistants per professor, this still gives a ratio of 25:1, which is considerably larger than the corresponding ratio at British universities. As can thus be seen, the major problem i\ the

relatively small numbers ofstaff at German uniiiersities. German students have great &ficulty in obtaining personal tuition from their university teachers. Ilur tu the small numbers of university hostels (only J few percent of students have univertity acconlmod.ition) the students at German universities conic, niorc and more, only from the region around the university Daily travel times to the university are often up to 2 hour\ with the same time back, so that the study eficic.ncy i\ often low. This is the negative side of the often praired situation at German universities of ‘no study fees’.

Electrical and electronic engineering at German universities

Engineering is taught at all the Techiiirche Hoch- schulen (this is the old word for a German Technical University) and all the Technische Universidten, bur only at some of the Universitaten. The fadt ie \ ot‘ Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,ire listed iii

Tables 2 and 3 . The additional staff shown in thew Tables are often part-time. typically visiting orice (I

week only to fulfil their lecturing conmniitiiicntr. Sometimes the faculty unit is described as Fdkultiit. sometimes as Fachbereich (W). Universities deqigiixed U-GH in the Tables are Gesarnthochschulen (GH). i.e. a university combined with a FHS. The Frderd

ENGlNEEKlNG SCIENCE ANLI EIIUCATION~OUKNAL I EUIWAIIY 199.5

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Table 2 Numbers of staff in Electrical and Electronic Engineering of all those universities which weraa member* of the German Fakulatentag Elektrotechnik for 1993

Town Designation Designation Numbers of professors AQutianal staff, including of University of faculty part-time appoinmnts

from i n d w and hanwery c4 c3 U pc..otcarorsfrofflOutdde

Aachen TH

Berlin TU

Bochum TU

Braunxhweig TU

Chemnitz TU

Clausthal TU

Darmdadt TH

Dortmund U

Dresden TU

Duisburg U-GH

Erlangen-Nbg. U

Hamburg UniBw

Hamburg- TU Harburg

Hannover URU)

llmenau TU

Kaiserslautern U

Karlsruhe U

Magdeburg TU

Munchen TU

Munchen UniBw

Saarbrbcken U

Stuttgart U

Ulm TU

. Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

FB 19tI Elektrotechnik

Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

FB 71 Elektrotechni k

Fakultat Elektrotechnik

FB fur Maschinen- und Verfahrenstechnik

FB 17/Elektrixhe Energietechnik FB 1WElektrische Nachrichtentechnik FB 19lRegelungs- und Datentechnik

Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

FB Elektrotechnik

Techn. Fakultatt Elektrotechnik

FB Elektrotechnik

FB Elektrotechnik

FB Elektrotechnik

Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

FB Elektrotechnik Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik

Fakultat fur AutomatirierungJ Elektrotechnik

Fakultat fur Elektrotechnikt lnformationstechnik

23 -

19 -13 -

14 10 -

12 8 -

17 -

2 1 -

9-

9 -

10 -

10 4 -

22 14 5

15 5 - 9 -

8 5 1

16 -13-

18 7 - 3 3 -

10 2 1

14 10 -

8 -

21 __

FB Elektrotechnik 11 8 4

FB 1WElektrotechnik 7 2 -

FakultW Elektrotechnik 4/ % Z -

Fakultat Ingenieur- (no information wissenxhaftent available) Elektrotechnik

23

14

12

11

1

2

14

9

4

1

19

6

14

18

37

7

37

7

33

7

2

20

*On the basis of a satisfactory evaluation of their course content by the Fakukatentag. i.e. bv a committee of professom

tFB = Fachbereich, the German equivalent of a University Department in the UK set up from its membership. The criteria are based on high scientific professionalism.

ENGINEEIIING S(:IENCE AN11 EIIUCATIONJOURNAL FEBRUARY 19%

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Table p: Numbers of staff in E W i l and Electronic Engineering et thore UnhrarsititK Wwich haVcnOtbCOfM8 ofthe

Bremen U %chbereichl 12 - - - Hagen FemU Fachbereich 9 2 - 1

F’hysiWEkMrotechnik

Elektrotechnik

Ekhtrotwhnjk

fhktrotechnik Ekktronik

Elektrotechnik

Eielctr6tedmnk

Ekckb.catscknur

Kassel U-GH Fachbereich 15 - - Paderborn U G H fachberekh 11 3 - -

U 13 - 1 Rostock Fwhbenich - Siegen U-GH Fachbereich 15 - 3 - 3

WuppcNll U-GH Fachbereich 10 3 - -

Government operates two defence universities for officers (UniBw = Universitat der Bundeswehr); these are also involved with European Programnies such as Erasnius and Tempus. ‘FernU designates a university offering courses in connection with special television programmes, similar to the Open University in the UK.

Undergraduate courw at universities During the first two years of the ‘Vorstuduni’, the

basis for a scientific engineering approach is established. A sipficant component of advanced mathematics is provided, typically 4 hours per week of lectures and 2 hours per week of tutorial exercises. Sirmlarly, physics and the foundations of the chosen engineering subject-in electrical engineering, for example, fields, Ohm’s law and basic circuitry-are systematically treated. Additionally, there are lectures in computer science and programnung, in mechanics and material science.

The subsequent 3 years of Hauptstudium offer a possibility for specialisation. In Electrical Engineering, student5 can typically choose to orient their studies toward5 telecommunication electronics, control or electrical power engineering. During the first two years, about 6 core subjects must be taken, each involving normally 2 hours per week oflectures plus 1 hour per week of tutorial exercisec. Additionally, a number of options must be taken. During the third year the student has primarily the resexch and development oriented projects of ‘Studienarbeit’ and ‘Diploinarabeit’. There has always been a continuous process of reform in order to include all the new developnients in engineering. However, it is not felt

necessary to change the basic structure. It is, however, required to ensure that the studles do not take significantly longer than the minimum of 5 years. Often, the two projects of the final year do take significantly longer, at some universities even more than double the allocated time.

The problem of high student/staff ratios leads to the unfortunate situation that lectures and tutorials are rather formal, with large numbers of students involved. There is a strong personal interaction between staff and students only during the last year of studies.

Concluding remarks

The negative and pocitive aspects of German university engineering education as described in this paper are not normally recognised outside Germany. This paper has hopefully demonstrated how the situation is in many respects rather different from that in the UK. With both countries corning clorer together within the European framework, it is important to understand these differences.

I t is important to have some knowledge of the university systems in the various countries ofEurope in order to facilitate the provision of multicultural experience through programmes such as Erasmus, while ensuring that courses taken abroad will be credited by the home university.

0 IEE. 199s

Profesor I h . Eng. Hartnagel is with thc lnstitut fur Hochfrequenztechnik, Fachbrreich 18, Technische Hochschulr Darmstadc, 64283 Darmstadt. MrrrkstraBe 25, Germany.

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