What are the perceptions of lecturers towards using cooperative learning in civil engineering?

The objective of the current paper is to examine how group learning and cooperative learning are used in civil engineering courses. The paper defines group learning and cooperative learning in the first section. It is hypothesized that group learning is used in civil engineering courses to build teamwork skills and communication skills among civil engineers but that its effectiveness is not maximized owing to a lack of awareness of how it can be structured. The paper suggests that using cooperative learning is more effective. The paper describes a study of the attitudes and perceptions of lecturers in civil engineering departments in several universities. The paper finds that many lecturers use group learning in order to teach civil engineers ‘soft skills’ but are uncomfortable with the assessment of such work. There is a lack of awareness regarding how group work can be structured and regarding research into the use of cooperative learning.     

The Synthesis of the European Engineer

The early development of civil engineering in the United Kingdom stemmed from a base of sound practical skills leavened with an understanding of theoretical knowledge. In the continent of Europe engineering stemmed from a theoretical base enhanced subsequently by practical experience. This emphasis on practical skills continues to influence the education and training of civil engineers in the UK and the author presents the historical background which still dominates the UK approach. A comparison is made of the different approaches to the education of civil engineers in France, Germany and Spain. The author develops the theme that the European Engineer will be a product of the teamwork and cooperation of the European educational establishments with recognition by Industry of the commercial advantages of a flexible European system of education.     

Recognition of substantial equivalence of engineering competence: the Canada—France mutual recognition agreement

Recognition at the full professional level of engineers coming from two different countries with totally different systems is a very difficult task. However, in the context of globalization of all human activities, particularly engineering services, it is essential that well-developed countries take very serious efforts using an open-minded approach to establish the parameters that will permit the ultimate objective of international recognition to be achieved. While there are many ways to move toward this objective, one recognized method of making very important steps is certainly the signature of mutual recognition agreements by major players in the trade of engineering services. In this context, this paper presents the features of a bilateral agreement that has been signed between France and Canada for the recognition of engineers at the full professional level from both countries. This agreement is the first of its kind for Canada. Many features of the agreement are worthy of note for others trying to identify the parameters to achieve an agreement between two countries having very different systems. How this success was achieved is explained, giving full attention to those factors that contributed to the conclusion of this agreement.     

Women’s job‐related training in Canada: returns to human capital investments

The prevailing discourse informing most Canadian training and labour market policy assumes a positive link between individuals’ training and their labour market returns in the new knowledge economy. The primary objective of the study is to test the current rhetoric by developing a statistical model of women’s job‐related training. Training participation is a complex and multi‐dimensional social phenomenon. Within the arsenal of existing statistical methods, structural equation modeling is one of the few methods with a capacity to represent complex phenomenon by simultaneously testing cause‐and‐effect hypotheses. The study uses structural equation modelling to develop, test, and evaluate a model of the determinants and rewards of women’s job related training. Empirical studies of job‐related training in Canada are few. Until the recent launch of a linked, employer–employee survey, there had been a paucity of data sources that facilitate a national level analysis of job‐related training. By using this new data source, the study makes a significant contribution filling the existing gap in our understanding of the determinants of, and returns to women’s training in Canada. The study confirms that women are deriving significant economic benefits from their training participation. The conclusion drawn from the national‐level patterns in Canada is that training is a crucial element in the reward structure of the labour market for women, as it plays a dual role of being both a reward in itself and a predictor of other labour market rewards.     

Educational Foundations for Environmental Effectiveness

The paper combines findings from three sources: an international workshop on the environmentally educated engineer, research on the characteristics of the effective engineer and an early-level undergraduate course for civil engineers which aims at laying down an educational foundation for the education of environmentally effective engineers. The main findings are that there is a need for a more general education for some engineers, that an ability to understand and deal with complex systems is a key element for environmental effectiveness, that there is no correlation between engineering effectiveness and the degree of educational attainment, and that the characteristics of effective engineers can be learnt, but are not normally taught in engineering institutions.     

执业制度下卓越工程人才培养模式分析

为培养具有工程实践能力和创新能力的高素质工程技术人才,提出将“卓越计划”与注册执业制度相结合的工程类人才培养方式改革.针对“卓越计划”实施过程中存在的问题,结合我国注册工程师执业资格制度对人才能力的要求,从课程设置与内容、授课方式、师资培养、能力考核等方面提出了改革建议.同时指出：高等院校工程人才培养应按照“卓越计划”要求,主动适应注册工程师执业制度,积极推进人才培养模式改革,是培养适应社会需求并具备较强的工程实践能力和创新能力技术人才的必然选择.     

土木工程类高职实践性教学模式探讨

土木工程高职教育实践性教学是培养适应生产、建设、管理第一线高等技术应用型人才的关键教学环节，通过对学生在专业知识的感知、掌握、拓展方面的实践培训，可使学生具备较强的土木工程建设施工综合实践职业技能和职业创新能力，是土木工程高职教育走向市场必经之路。     

工程化教育背景下土木工程专业力学课程体系改革的探讨

高等工程专业教育的工程化改革是国际工程教育改革的方向。以工程化为视角的土木工程专业力学类课程体系改革,要将培养学生的工程素养和实践能力作为出发点,在力学类课程教学体系、教学内容、实践能力培养、教学和考核方式等方面进行改革探索,以期为培养合格工程师的目标的实现提供参考。     

土木工程专业基于结构工程课程群的CDIO项目设计

以土木工程专业卓越工程师的培养标准和能力实施矩阵为出发点,结合土木工程专业结构工程课程群的课程设计环节,将各门课程设计有机组合,构建成若干个CDIO模式的二级项目,实现以工程项目为导向的工程教学模式,使学生得到构思、设计、实现、评价的一系列工程训练。分析了土木工程专业结构工程类课程间的相互关联性,设计了两个CDIO二级项目,并提出了项目的实施过程和需要解决的问题。     

Industrial Collaboration in Engineering Education in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom engineering education as it was set-up was more divorced from industry it served than in, for example, Germany and France. During the last three decades some efforts have been made to achieve a partnership between industry and the institutions of higher education in the education and training of engineers. Up till a few decades ago much of engineering research in the universities was in the field of engineering science, but now more engineering research is being carried-out in co-operation with industry and it is realised that the advantages greatly outweigh the problems it poses. University engineering departments have also realised that they have a contribution to make in providing advisory services for industry and short post-experience courses for engineers in industry.     

Quality Assurance in Engineering Education: Comparison of Accreditation Schemes and ISO 9001

In recent years, the world of engineering education has been changing rapidly. Emerging communication technologies offer new means of distance education, the job market is getting narrower and increasingly competitive, and numerous stakeholders are concerned about the quality of education the students receive. To offer quality assurance to interested parties and the general public, engineering faculties in the US and Canada undergo accreditation processes, fostered by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, which are professional boards. However, some university-level institutions in Europe have turned to the ISO 9000 family of international standards as a framework for quality assurance. This paper provides an outline of these three quality assurance schemes, followed by a comparison of their common elements. It is argued that engineering faculties can establish meaningful ISO 9000 quality systems on the basis of, and integrated with, the accreditation schemes. Finally, recent European initiatives for quality assurance in engineering education are addressed.     

Learning as sociocultural practice: Chinese immigrant professionals negotiating differences and identities in the Canadian labour market

The last few decades have witnessed both an expansion and a transformation of immigration flows, which pose significant challenges with respect to how people work with differences across culture and space. Against this background, this paper explores how some Chinese immigrant engineers respond to differences in the Canadian labour market. It not only examines some of the learning practices engaged by the immigrants as they negotiate professional niches and professional identities, but also demonstrates how their learning process is socially mediated. In particular, it shows that licensure processes and immigrant settlement services are instrumental in entering immigrants into the cultural and social order in the Canadian labour market. It pinpoints a lack of recognitive justice in the ways in which immigrants' learning processes are institutionally reshaped. Informed by the sociocultural approach, this paper treats learning as a social participatory process, through which individual identities are constituted and reconstituted.     

Verbal-visual preferences of working engineers

ABSTRACT

Many have argued for increased continuing education for working engineers, but relatively little research has been done on how to most effectively teach that group. Many have also recommended using learner characteristics to enhance learning, but relatively little is known about the learner characteristics of working engineers. In the study reported here, 116 engineers at a medium-sized US manufacturing company were surveyed to determine their verbal-visual preferences as defined by the Verbal-Visual Learning Style Rating instrument. There was a much higher percentage of visualisers in the engineering sample compared to the general population. This suggests that instructional designs for continuing engineering education should be highly visual.     

Advancing intercultural competency: Canadian engineering employers’ experiences with immigrant engineers

This paper explores Canadian engineering employers’ perceptions of and experiences with internationally educated engineers (recent immigrants to Canada) employed in their organisations for varying lengths of time. Qualitative data were collected from employers using focus group methodology. Findings reflected employers’ observations of culturally different behaviours and characteristics in their internationally educated employees, employers’ reactions to cultural differences ranging from negative attributions to tolerance, and the implementation of largely ad hoc intra-organisational strategies for managing cultural differences in employer–employee relationships. Findings exposed the lack of corporate intercultural competency in the Canadian engineering profession. Equity and gatekeeping implications are discussed.     

土木工程专业应用型人才培养模式探究

随着建筑市场的快速发展,社会对土木工程专业人才的需求也越来越多样化。从土木工程专业人才培养目标、培养方案、课程体系、教学手段及方法等多方面入手,进行土木工程专业人才培养模式改革,为应用型专业人才培养提供参考。     

卓越工程师计划中核心能力的培养探讨——以土木工程专业为例

为适应我国工业化发展进程,培养和造就一大批创新能力强、适应我国经济社会发展需要的工程技术人才,国家实行了"卓越工程师教育培养计划"。针对这个计划探讨了当前大学毕业生在卓越工程师教育培养中应具备哪些知识能力,针对这些能力要求,以土木工程专业为依托,从专业知识模块、理论教学课程体系、实践教学体系、人文与职业素质培养体系等方面提出了高校土木工程专业学生核心能力培养教育的方案。     

Towards Mutuality in the Canada-China Relationship: The Experience of the Department of Surgery at Laval University since the 1980s

The Department of Surgery at Laval University has been a key player in the development of Canada-China cooperation since the 1980s. The projects initiated and developed by Jean Couture and Guojin Liu to address cancer issues, and specifically breast cancer, were heralded as outstanding successes. In the meantime, the Department of Surgery at Laval University trained numerous Chinese scholars, students, and post-doctoral fellows who became leaders in their fields of expertise. A few of these scholars and students settled in Canada, but the vast majority returned home. Since 2007, a highly specialized research program related to surgical implants with the College of Textiles at Donghua University has been opening new avenues in medical textiles to develop expertise through student training, to launch bridges between textile engineers and clinicians, and to provide the industry with a unique expertise. The final goal is to improve the accessibility and affordability of health care delivery in both Canada and China. China is now a key player in related research and no longer requires foreign assistance. Since it can easily find multiple partners, Canada must be alert to building on its legacy and maintaining its privileged position. China is now a place for Canadian champions.     

Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering Education in Hungary

Engineering education has more than 200 years of tradition in Hungary. Chemical engineers are trained at the Technical University of Budapest (TUB) and at the University of Veszprém. The curriculum of the TUB chemical engineering education is given. Undergraduate environmental engineering education is offered at the University of Miskolc, at the Janus Pannonius University in Pécs and at the University of Veszprém. Curricula of the latter two are given. The TUB has several environmental specialization opportunities for engineering students, but at present no separate undergraduate environmental engineering education is offered. Such a curriculum is now under preparation and will be introduced in 1998. Several technical colleges also offer environmental engineering education, where the duration of the training is 3 years. Postgraduate education is a very suitable form to add environmental knowledge to the existing engineering knowledge of graduate engineers. The TUB and the universities in Miskolc and Veszprém are all very active in this field.     

The colour of skill: contesting a racialised regime of skill from the experience of recent immigrants in Canada

This article contests a racialised skills regime in Canada. Canadian studies of the labour market transitions of skilled immigrants are analysed through the lens of critical race theory. The analysis shows that knowledge and skills of recent immigrants in Canada are racialised and materialised on the basis of ethnic and national origins. Skin colour is a central basis of social marking. Through processes of de-skilling and re-skilling, a racialised regime of skill has become a social engineering project for manufacturing normative, white, docile corporate subjects who conform to Canadian norms and workplace cultures. The study demonstrates that skill is not colour-blind; it is coloured. Skill is not only gendered and classed, but it is also racialised. The findings move us beyond the traditional colour-blind, gender- and class-based analyses of skill that fail to account for racial differences in the social construction of skill.     

基于卓越工程师培养下隧道工程教学改革研究--以贵州工程应用技术学院为例

根据“卓越工程师教育培养计划”对学生掌握专业知识提出的新要求,在我校推广“模块化”课程改革之际针对土建专业隧道工程进行了教学改革的研究。基于隧道工程教学现存的问题,开展了隧道工程的教学改革思路研究,通过改善学生学习兴趣及专业知识实用性,为学生日后的工程实践打下坚实的基础,也为我校培养应用技术型的一线卓越工程师做出了积极探索。