3. POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION and RESEARCH

3.3. Engineering Research, Development and Design

• In universities, the processes of engineering education and of engineering research are closely linked and interdependent. Most fields of engineering are in rapid evolution and change. A sensitivity to what is happening at the frontiers of both the sciences and the marketplaces is necessary for the evolution of relevant engineering educational curricula and programs. Involvement in research and development projects is therefore a valuable aspect of the formation of competent engineers.

• Involvement in depth in a project of research has proven, over many decades, to be a means of developing superior engineering attributes in Master's and Doctoral students. The environment for undergraduate students is also influenced markedly by the involvement of the professors and the graduate students in research.

• Policies and practices relating to engineering research have been explored in some depth in a companion report, "Engineering Research in Canadian Universities" [1]. The thrust of that document can be summarized in the following excerpt where the Academy suggests that the universities consider the following:

...a dedication by engineering professors to contribute to the solution of the present and future problems of Canadian society that fall within the broad scope of the engineering profession..... Since engineering research must be oriented toward eventual application, it is proper that Canadian engineering professors choose to direct their efforts and those of their students mainly toward areas with Canadian needs and future opportunities in mind. The impact of this engineering research may however be made international through the efforts of Canadian companies and consultants working in an international context.

• The researches undertaken by engineering professors and their graduate students should be directed at real and relevant issues so that significance of the work to society, both now and in the future, is evident to the educational, industrial and governmental communities.

• Some have suggested that the two primary roles in the university of teaching and research are separable, even to the extent of having distinct research professors and teaching professors. This policy would be particularly inappropriate for engineering. Engineering is a profession dedicated to serving society through the application of knowledge and skill gained from a variety of academic disciplines, from research in its own engineering disciplines, and from engineering practice. Emphasis in the profession is focused mainly on the integration of available knowledge to achieve useful ends. It is important that the undergraduate and postgraduate education of engineers take place in an environment that is permeated with all elements of this philosophy of the profession. Close integration of research and teaching is essential in this process.

RECOMMENDATION 35: Professors and their graduate students should choose their research, development and design projects with a view to their relevance to the solution of present and future problems and opportunities of Canadian society.