Problems in Teaching for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Techniques in the Field of Mechanical Engineering

Teaching, and especially higher engineering education, has to accept right now the challenge of new technologies. Consequently, schools are confronted with many questions which should be answered rapidly. What should its objectives be in this wide and fast-moving field? What are the means to reach them? How will the teachers acquire a training in sophisticated engineering? Which costly equipment will be needed and how to afford it? The objectives of our teaching are first to provide a high–quality tuition, open to the requirements of modern industry and mostly in step with it, if not ahead of it. Secondly, our future engineers should be familiar with new technologies without being too much involved in specialised topics. Basic principles and their universality should be stressed instead. Furthermore our ultimate purpose is to train leaders, for the benefit of either our own teachers or engineers kaving to take the lead in their firms as far as new technologies are concerned.

After defining the objectives, we still have to determine the necessary means in order to satisfy the hardware and software requirements by taking the available budgets into account. Is it better to invest in a hardware solution specific to a software system or to move towards a broader scope of softwares and studies? Concerning studies, the specificity of some CAD– CIM softwares sets the trainer the double problem of software learning duration and its tools. Concurrently, the next question is how to approach the tuition of our students to fulfill the objectives. In such a context, a School– Industry synergy is absolutely essential if our wish is to ensure this change in education. However, all this may take shape provided the necessary tools are available. In this field, new technologies force schools to face very heavy and sometimes unbearable expenses. One school alone cannot afford the whole required equipment to implement its aims. The realisation of investments which would be concerted between schools of the same region can bring a solution to this problem. The creation of technology centres clears the way to more collaboration between teaching sectors concerning new technologies. Moreover it should meet the permanent care of working together with industry so that both sides put their human and scientific potentialities in common. By making moves in this way, tomorrow's education can face today's tremendous challenge.

A list of the main abbreviations used is given at the end of the paper.