The persistence, magnitude, and diversity of voices raising concerns about the state of engineering education and the need for drastic changes signal that the time has come to re-examine the very foundations of this key educational system in our society. Numerous efforts and initiatives to reform and fine-tune the system have proven insufficient and ineffective. Deep-seeded problems persist. The mis-alignments between today’s – and tomorrow’s – demands and the current system are much deeper than can be corrected by isolated efforts of curricular change or the adoption of new pedagogies. On the other hand, comprehensive efforts, when initiated, are quickly thwarted by a highly resilient and intricately interdependent educational system with a high capacity to revert back to the status-quo and squash all efforts that may deviate from it.
There is a growing number of mostly faculty-driven initiatives around the country and the world attempting to research and create alternative forward looking exemplars of engineering education. These exemplars are ambitious, innovative, and far-reaching in their potential impact. Because these initiatives represent potential challenges to the status-quo, most of them encounter systemic difficulties that take them by surprise and end up consuming much of their energy and resources. Leading such change efforts in isolation can be discouraging. The problem is compounded by two factors:
1. Since many of these transformative efforts are relatively new, there are few documented precedents that can serve as useful resources or guides;
2. The skill set and experience needed to navigate these systemic challenges are not typically in the repertoire of higher education faculty.
We are in the process of formalizing and seeking funding for an international network. In this workshop, we would like to share our motivation, progress, invite others to join, and work together at fine-tuning the scope and agenda for the network.