Engineering Education in Canadian Universities

2. UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION

• If engineering educators are to produce graduates well prepared for their professional careers, those educators must know and be responsive to their various and changing markets.

• Most graduates of undergraduate engineering programs follow one of three major career paths: (1) employment in a dominantly technical capacity, usually in industry or government, (2) employment dominantly in engineering management, usually after a few years of technical experience and (3) employment in a dominantly research and/or teaching capacity.

• At present, Canada's needs in numbers of engineers are mainly in the first two categories. The third category, though relatively smaller, is however of major national importance and the desired numbers will likely increase. All of these people can contribute significantly to innovations in industry and also play a major part in shaping the future graduates of our engineering faculties.
  Undergraduate students should not have to commit themselves to any one of the major career paths until they have had an opportunity to absorb the broad-based fundamentals of engineering.

• In Canada and elsewhere, students choose a particular discipline in engineering (civil, chemical, electrical, mechanical, etc.) either on entry or in an early year. This limited degree of differentiation has served the profession and the community well, but the appropriateness of this differentiation must be continually examined.

• Experience has shown that, when highly specialized undergraduate programs and options were provided, only a minority of graduates pursued employment in their chosen specialties. This observation demonstrates the desirability of a broadly based undergraduate program that includes those concepts which are fundamental to the discipline and also those which are basic to closely related disciplines.

• Rapid changes in technology can be expected to continue. Accordingly, building flexibility, breadth of outlook and ability for independent and continued learning should be primary objectives of the undergraduate program. Holistic system thinking has become increasingly important for engineers in today's world.

• Some have argued for the provision of two distinct and separate undergraduate streams: one directed at the practice of engineering and another with a highly scientific approach leading to a research career. Further, some have suggested that there should even be separate institutions for these streams based on the German models of the Technische FachHochschule and the Technical University. Such models are considered to be inappropriate for Canada with its widely distributed population and industry, its large number of relatively small engineering faculties and its limited opportunities for research employment.

• A more appropriate model for Canada is one in which each institution provides broadly based undergraduate engineering education with considered differentiation to reflect local conditions. Opportunity for further education and specialization in technical, management or scientific areas may then be provided at postgraduate level at some or all institutions depending on their capabilities, locations and emphases.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Engineering faculties should ensure that undergraduate engineering programs are broadly based and holistic in scope, including both those concepts which are fundamental to the discipline and those which are basic to closely related disciplines. Specialization of programs at the undergraduate level should be avoided.

2.1. - Curriculum Content

2.2. - Educational Approach

2.3. - Teamwork and Leadership

2.4. - Practical Experience

2.5. - Length of Undergraduate Programs

2.6. - Accreditation