Engineering Professors Council - University of Surrey 14/16 April 2003 The Bologna Declaration and Engineering Education - the Irish Experience Denis McGrath

Engineering Professors’ Council - University of Surrey 14/16 April 2003

The Bologna Declaration and Engineering Education - the Irish

Experience

Denis McGrathDenis McGrath

RegistrarRegistrar

Institution of Engineers of IrelandInstitution of Engineers of Ireland


Institution of Engineers of Ireland

Established 1835, Charter 1877

Charter Amendment Act 1969 - CEng

title protected by law

17,000 members plus 4,500 student

members

5000 Chartered Engineers


Institution of Engineers of Ireland

Established 1835, Charter 1877 (Cont’d)

Only engineering professional body in Ireland

Functions include accreditation, registration,

promotion of engineering, submission to

government etc

32 full-time staff including 4 Professional

Engineers


Engineering Education in Ireland

From Grace


Bologna Declaration - June 1999(35 Signatories)

Prague Ministerial Summit - September

2001

Berlin Ministerial Summit - September

2003

Provisions of Bologna Declaration to be

implemented by 2010


Bologna Declaration-Goals-

Establishment of a Europe of knowledge

Creation of a European area of higher

education to promote citizens’ mobility and

employability and to attract students from

outside Europe


Bologna Declaration-Goals- (Cont’d)

Achievement of greater compatibility and

comparability of the systems of higher

education

Development of educational co-operation


Existing Student Mobility Schemes

Ministers believed that the ERASMUS,

SOCRATES etc. schemes required

extensive management to yield

modest mobility results


Mobility Mechanisms within the Bologna Declaration

Diploma Supplement

Two cycle structure for degrees

ECTS Credits System

European co-operation in quality assurance

Elimination of obstacles to student and teacher mobility etc


The two-cycle degree structure was

considered by the engineering

community in Europe as meriting

serious study and comment.


European Engineering Community

SEFI - European Society for Engineering

Education

FEANI - Federation of European National

Engineering Associations

CESAER - Conference of European Schools for

Advance Engineering Education and Research


CLUSTER - Consortium linking Universities of

Science and Technology for Education and

Research

CLAIU - Liaison Committee of the Associations

of University Graduate Engineers of the

European Union

European Engineering Community (Cont’d)


Higher Education in Ireland

Ireland, like the UK, already has a two-

cycle higher education system in place i.e.

Bachelor degrees and Master degrees.


The IEI decided, however that the response

of the European Engineering Community to

the Bologna Declaration merited careful

consideration, particularly in the context of

the two cycle degree structure.


“The option of 5-year integrated programmes (exceptionally 4-year) spanning the 1st and 2nd cycles and leading straight to a Master’s Degree in Engineering without the mandatory award of an intermediate professional degree at the end of the 1st cycle, should be maintained in addition to the two-cycle degree structure envisaged in the Bologna Declaration”.

Response of the Engineering Community


All degrees listed in the FEANI Index to be

classified as :

First Cycle or Second Cycle

and

Applied or Theoretical

Response of FEANI


The Bachelor Degree is to be the mobility ‘hub’. Graduates should be able to enrol in their chosen Master Degree either at home or in another European university with reasonable transfer constraints.

The Structure should be attractive to students from the Far East who would choose Europe rather than the US as a study destination.

Student Mobility Through Bologna Declaration


Germany and Italy changed laws to provide for

3+2 Bachelor/Master degree structure

Anecdotal evidence suggested that similar

developments were taking place in other

countries, particularly in Central Europe

Response Of Other European Countries


“European higher education institutions

reaffirm their support to the principles of the

Bologna Declaration and their commitment

to the creation of the European Higher

Education Area by the end of the decade”.

Convention Of European Universities - Salamanca - March 2001

Message to Prague Ministerial Summit (Sept 2001)


Published as a discussion document and

submitted to the Irish government in July

2001

IEI Submission to Government



Analysed Bologna Declaration

Focussed on two-cycle degree structure

Described and evaluated options in

response to views of European engineering

community



-Options described-

Maintain the ‘status quo’ - Present structure

compatible with Bologna Declaration

5 year integrated Master and/or 3+2

Bachelor/Master



-Options described- (Cont’d)

Replace 3 year National Diploma with 3 year

Bachelor Degree, transfer then to 2 year Master

Degree

Maintain ‘status quo’ but in addition, offer a 3

year Bachelor degree


The Bologna Declaration and Engineering

Education in Ireland

IEI Seminar - November 2001

Speakers from CESAER, a German

university, Irish university and an Irish

Institute of Technology

Attended by 70 engineering academics


Policy Working Group established by our

Accreditation Board in February 2002, to

produce a focussed discussion document

which would:

Analyse all the options available

Recommend the option considered best for

Irish engineering education.


Feedback sought from HE institutions and

industry representative bodies by 28 March

2003

“Guidelines for the Implementation of the Bologna Declaration in Engineering

Education in Ireland”

Published November 2002


Not favoured in the majority of European countries

Imbalance in distribution of years within a five year framework

Might (would) be classified with three-year Bachelor Degrees, especially in the FEANI Index

OPTION 1

Four-year Bachelor Degree followed by one-year Master Degree (4+1)


Does not meet two-cycle degree requirement

Has virtually unanimous support in the

European engineering community

OPTION 2

Five year integrated Master degree (5)


Broadly compatible with European model (5 years) and the US model (4 years)

Does not meet two-cycle degree requirement

OPTION 3

Three-year Bachelor of Engineering Science followed by one year leading to Bachelor of Engineering followed by one year leading to a Master Degree (3+1+1)


4 year degree might be classified with three

year Bachelor degree, especially in the FEANI

Index

Not proposed as a Bologna response in any

other signatory country

OPTION 3 (Cont’d)


Accurately reflects provisions of the Bologna

Declaration and the recommendations of the

European engineering community

Being widely implemented in Engineering schools throughout Europe, in some cases, by legislation

OPTION 4

Three-year Bachelor degree followed by two-year Master degree (3+2)


Two types of the three-year Bachelor degree

- Scientific

- Applied

Both meet educational standard for Associate Engineer (IEng in UK)

One Master degree type meets educational standard for Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Structure Recommended by IEI

‘3+2’


Engineering and Sciences foundation needed

for the two-year Master degree (as first three

years of existing four year Bachelor of

Engineering.)

Enables graduates to move to Master degrees

in Ireland and in other European countries.

Bachelor Degree - Scientific


May prepare graduates for employment

provided above two criteria are in no way

compromised.

Entry Standard as for existing four year

Bachelor of Engineering degrees (Higher

level Mathematics a requirement).

Bachelor Degree - Scientific (Cont’d)


Prepares graduates for employment as

engineering technologists.

Curriculum focus on engineering

technology with supporting

Mathematics/Sciences

Bachelor Degree - Applied


Entry standard as for any Bachelor degree

(moderate level Mathematics required)

Transfer to Master degree dependent on

satisfactory completion of bridging studies

and high level of performance in Bachelor

degree examination.

Bachelor Degree - Applied (Cont’d)


Bachelor Degree (Scientific)

or

Bachelor Degree (Applied) together with

- a high level of performance in the Bachelor Degree examination

- satisfactory completion of a programme of bridging studies in Mathematics/Sciences

(probably one semester)

‘Two-year’ Master Degree

Entry Standard


The IEI ‘3+2’ Bachelor/Master degree structure was supported by

All 8 University faculties of engineering.

5 of the 7 Schools of Engineering in

Institutes of Technology which responded

Responses Received


4 year Bachelor of Engineering degree would go

- valid for admission to postgraduate study in US universities at present.

MEngSc by research under threat

“Why Change? Our main graduate market is the US not Europe!”

Funding

Concerns of Universities


Bridging Studies from Bachelor Degree (Applied) should be carried out over 1 month in Summer

An applied Master Degree?

Concerns of Institutes of Technology


Very wide consensus in the engineering academic community about the new ‘3+2’ structure for engineering education in Ireland

Next phase, win the case for funding from government so that the new structure will be fully operating by 2010?

Future Strategy


The Bologna Declaration and Engineering Education - the Irish

Experience

Denis McGrathDenis McGrath

RegistrarRegistrar

Institution of Engineers of IrelandInstitution of Engineers of Ireland

Documents

Engineering Professors Council - University of Surrey 14/16 April 2003 The Bologna Declaration and Engineering Education - the Irish Experience Denis McGrath