Curriculum design to revitalise electrical engineering education at Eastern Mediterranean University

International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, Jul 2005 by Erdil, Erzat, Bilsel, Ayhan

Abstract

Engineers of the 21st century are expected not only to be technical experts but also to integrate science and technology into society as a whole. We have compared the electrical engineering programmes of 24 Turkish and 87 North American universities with the revised electrical engineering programme of Eastern Mediterranean University.

Keywords accreditation; curriculum design; electrical engineering education

As Joseph Bordogna rightly states, 'today's engineering students will spend most of their careers coping with challenges vastly different from those experienced by engineers of the last century'.1 Indeed, we are living in a time of unparalleled change. The fast globalisation of industry and commerce is creating new challenges in politics, the economy, human society, and education. Beginning in the 1990s there was a dramatic shift in engineers' employment patterns. Now it seems that in the 21st century very few engineering graduates will be employed in traditional engineering jobs.2

During the past decade the need for a fundamental review of engineering education has been voiced by many educators worldwide.3'7 Nowadays, engineers are expected to have at least a working knowledge of other technologies. As David Bishop, Head of Microstructure Physics Research Department of AT & T Bell Laboratories, quite rightly says: 'In today's world, if you have a customer with a problem, he doesn't really care if it's a physics, engineering, or software problem. He just wants it to be fixed'.8

It is commonly agreed that the new engineering curriculum must be broad in order to provide diversity and depth of skills required by constituents. It should also address:

* The challenges of globalization;

* Effective communication;

* Cultural literacy;

* Social, ethical, environmental, and economic issues;

* Quality, information, and human management;

* Life-long learning.

The engineers of the 21st century are thus expected not only to be technical experts but also to integrate science and technology into society as a whole. The idea of a broad education is, however, not new. It is worth noting that, as early as 1893, William Burr, a professor of civil engineering at Columbia College, School of Mines, described the 'ideal engineering education' as having two characteristics: First, a broad, liberal education that would allow engineers to interact well with people generally; secondly, a thorough training which includes the body of mathematical and scientific knowledge constituting the theory of engineering.9 In 1925, the founders of Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, set their goals in engineering education with the statement that: 'The subject matters taught should lead to broad education rather than narrow specialization'.10

In the USA, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) are the major driving forces for new engineering education reform. In response to the challenges of the global marketplace, ABET adopted the new Criteria 2000 which provides an excellent starting point for curriculum designers. The new Criteria 2000 requires institutions to list what students learn rather than what they teach. The students' role is thus changing from passive listeners to active learners.

In this paper we report the curriculum revision of the electrical and electronic engineering programme at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) as part of the preparation towards accreditation by ABET. We also discuss the constraints, which are common to all Turkish engineering schools, and compare the new curriculum with that in Turkish and American schools.

Electrical and electronics engineering curriculum revision at EMU

Curriculum design is one of the occasions where professional bodies produce forceful arguments regarding programme structure and content. Revision of teaching methods and materials, in response to constituents' changing requirements, usually creates a conflict of interest among the faculty, leading to an intense process of discussion for the improved assessment of future requirements.

The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was established in 1979 as one of the three departments of the Higher Technological Institute at Famagusta, North Cyprus. Initially, during 1979-1984, it offered a three-year programme leading to what was then called a technician-engineer diploma. The curriculum was broad-based and a large number of courses were common to all three departments - civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. In 1984 the department reorganised itself and switched to a four-year programme leading to a BS degree. In 1986 the Higher Technological Institute received its charter and became Eastern Mediterranean University. Since then the curriculum has been revised three times. The curricular structure and content were designed similar to models adopted by the prominent universities in Turkey. This was a prerequisite, considering that the majority of student admission was from Turkey. This also meant that the curriculum was based on the American system widely utilised in Turkey.