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09/2024

SEFI NEWSLETTER

Monthly news feed about engineering education in Europe and overseas

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Dear SEFI friends, 



In September, we met for the trully remarkable SEFI 2024 conference, and while we prepare the SEFI 2024 in brief summary publication, we already bring you some news from the conference as well as invitations to the SEFI events this academic year. I kindly ask you to share this Newsletter with your colleagues and engineering educator friends!



I would also like to thank Denise Bernardo, SEFI Communication Assistant and a student of MSc in Sustainable Materials Engineering at KU Leuven, who worked with us for one year preparing these Newsletters and Social Media posts amongst other things. As of October, we will have a new student fulfilling this role, Missieanna Edwards, a Master's student in Communication at VUB Brussels.



Best wishes, 



Klara Ferdova

SEFI Secretary General

From September 2-5, 2024, the SEFI Annual Conference was successfully held in Lausanne, Switzerland, hosted by the prestigious EPFL. This year's event brought together brilliant minds from around the world, thanks to the enthusiastic participation of attendees, speakers, and the dedication of the organizing team.

A special highlight of the conference was the recognition of outstanding achievements in engineering education through various prestigious awards.

Prof. John Mitchell has been awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal. This prestigious accolade recognizes his transformative contributions to global engineering education, particularly through his pioneering work at University College London and his international influence in shaping innovative learning practices.

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The SEFI Francesco Maffioli Award of Excellence in Teaching of Engineering Education was awarded to Dr. Ir. Volkert van Steijn and the Pre-University Team at TU Delft, Netherlands. This award recognizes their innovative "onboarding" programme, which has supported thousands of prospective students.

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SEFI Fellowship

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Müller and Prof. Luís Manuel Sánchez Ruiz have been awarded the SEFI Fellowship at SEFI 2024. This prestigious recognition honors their exceptional contributions to advancing engineering education and their long-standing service to SEFI and the global academic community.

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Best Research Paper: Aditi Kothiyal, Avanish Chauhan, Sameer Sahasrabudhe, Madhu Vadali (IIT Gandhinagar, IN) –⁠ “Making Confident Designers: Effect of a design and prototyping course and gender differences in students’ engineering design self-efficacy”



Best Practice Paper: Aled Wyn Davies (Cardiff University, UK) – “Using ‘Design Shorts’ to Engage Engineering Students in Self and Peer Supported Problem Based Learning“



Best Student Paper: Elizabeth Sara Volpe, Denise Rutledge Simmons (University of Florida, USA) – “Advice for Success: Insights from Early Career Women on Vital Competencies Empowering Their Transition into the Civil Engineering Workforce”



Susanne Ihsen Award: Shameela Arbi, Corrinne Shaw, Bruce Kloot (University of Cape Town, ZA) – “Using Narratives to Explore Social Influences on the Identities of Women Students in Engineering: Two Case Studies”

DOCTORAL SYMPOSIUM

The 8th SEFI Doctoral Symposium in Engineering Education Research, held on 1 September 2024, at EPFL, brought together 31 Ph.D. students from 13 countries across four continents. This full-day event, preceding the SEFI Annual Conference, offered a dynamic and enriching experience for early-career researchers, who had the opportunity to share their research, explore study plans, and expand their professional networks.

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    FORUM

    At SEFI 2024, the Chinese Society of Engineering Education (CSEE) proposed a workshop on Asian Engineering Education, centered on the theme "Exploration and Practice of Asian Engineering Education: Cultivating the Next Generation of Outstanding Engineers." 

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    ANSWER A SURVEY

    SEFI SIG collaboration project on lifelong learning - share your insights!

    As technology evolves an the labour market shifts, the need for lifelong learning has never been more critical. Join our SEFI SIG collaborative survey and share your insights on LLL practices of educators and practising engineers. Your response will inform how LLL can shape the future of engineering education and practice and to a broader understanding of how engineering educators and professionals perceive and engage with LLL opportunities. Together, we can foster a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability in the engineering field.

    • SIG Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning (Aniko Kalman and Chris Smith)
    • SIG Capacity Building (Jennifer Griffiths and Madeline Polmear)
    • SIG Engineering Skills (Neil Cooke and Lynn Van den Broeck)

      OPEN CALL

      The European Journal of Engineering Education is now seeking to expand the editorial team with one or more Associate Editors. An Associate Editor is expected to manage the review process for up to 12 manuscripts per year. This includes recruiting and communicating with reviewers and preparing proposals for decisions about manuscripts. The editorial team is headed by the Editor-in-Chief in close collaboration with the Deputy Editors, together managing journal affairs on a daily basis.

      SEFI@WORK

      24 October 2024 - A number of papers and activities around Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) and Lifelong Learning (LLL) were presented and discussed at SEFI 2024 Annual Conference. Recognising that the conference will highlight emergent practices, discussions, raise challenges, opportunities for research and a search for solutions, the Special Interest Group (SIG) on CEE and LLL invites you to a post-conference event to share and engage with your international peers.

        SEFI@WORK

        12 December 2024 - Lauri Malmi will present the A Selective Review of Computing Education Research, chapter 26 from the International Handbook of Engineering Education Research, by Lauri Malmi and Aditya Johri. This webinar provides a unique opportunity to get insights in this research topic in Engineering Education and to get to know the researchers behind the chapter. 

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        SEFI@WORK

        10 February 2025 - The SEFI Ethics SIG is excited to invite you to take part in the Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education Talk Show Series, where 3-4 authors will discuss in a lively format on themes of interest for the community of engineering education research.

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        SUMMER SCHOOL

        20 - 23 May 2025, Eindhoven - Another edition of the Summer School, organised by Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and SEFI provides an opportunity for PhD students engaged in engineering and science education research to learn from experts and their peers. Students will participate in workshops led by experts, centered around aspects of research in engineering and science education research. 

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        PODCAST

        Terms such as diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion have long featured in discussions relating to engineering education, and are often used interchangeably. Their meaning both evolve over time and vary significantly across context. Inês Direito and Jan Van Maele from SEFI Diversity Equity and Inclusion Special Interest Group discuss these topics with the podcast hosts Natalie Wint and Neil Cooke.

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          BOARD OF DIRECTORS

          New board members elected at the 2024 General Assembly

          4 September 2024 - Congratulations to the newly elected members of the board of directors for the 2024-2027 term. Their mandate starts today, on the 1st of October.

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          Annoesjka Cabo

          TU Delft

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          Darren Carthy

          Engineers Ireland

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          Shannon Chance

          TU Dublin

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          Stephan Krusche

          TU Munich

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          Helena Kovacs

          EPFL

          Congratulations to the reelected officers: Greet Langie (KU Leuven), the SEFI Vice President until 2026; Alex Tarchini (Mathworks) and Henning Meyer (TU Berlin) as board members until 2027.

          

          SEFI would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the board members who ended their mandate on 30 September.

          • Gerhard Mueller, TU Munich (Board member 2017-2024)
          • Zbynek Skvor, CTU Prague (Board member 2017-2024)
          • Gorkem Kulah, METU (Board member 2018-2024)
          • Damien Owens, Engineers Ireland (Board member 2021-2024)

          You can find the full composition of the SEFI board on our website here.

          ANNUAL REPORT

          The SEFI Annual Report takes you on a journey through the past academic year starting at the last SEFI Annual Conference in Dublin. 


          Have a look at past year's activities and achievements before we start another cycle in our organisation's lifetime! 

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          OBITUARY

          Professor Kenichi Natsume

          Kenichi Natsume was a professor of science and technology studies at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan, researching the history of science, technology, and engineering ethics. Kenichi was a committee member on engineering ethics at the Japanese Society for Engineering Education and the Japan Federation of Engineering Societies. He was also a valuable member of the SEFI Ethics SIG, where he contributed to the international policy project that explored ethics in accreditation requirements and to “The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education”. 

          Continue reading...

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          FROM MEMBERS

          SYMPOSIUM

          Join us for the landmark combined 10th IRSPBL, 7th SASEE, and 5th SoTL in the South conference, where transformative ideas and interdisciplinary collaboration will shape the future of higher
          education. Held at Future Africa, Pretoria, South Africa from 17-21 November 2025, this conference is your gateway to a community experience that bridges boundaries and fosters innovation.

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          CONFERENCE

          Join us at Aalborg University on 20-21 November 2024 for ETALEE2024, an international conference on Exploring Teaching for Active Learning in Engineering Education. Focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Interdisciplinarity, the event features keynote speakers, workshops, and networking opportunities. Submit your extended abstracts by 1 September. 

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          FROM PARTNERS

          PUBLICATION

          IEEE Transactions on Education recently published a special issue on the “Conceptual Learning of Mathematics-Intensive Concepts in Engineering”, with nine articles covering three categories: assessment, instruction, and learning. On assessment, you can discover principles for designing rubrics. Regarding instruction, you can learn (a) how textbooks differ in their explanations of differential equations and (b) how concept maps can support the transfer of learning. You can read about (c) integrating real-life engineering examples into mathematics education, (d) using e-Textbooks, and (e) using software to help students bridge the gap between procedural skills and conceptual understanding of the Laplace transform. On the theme of learning, find out how to overcome misconceptions regarding (a) Stoke’s theorem, (b) exact differentials, and (c) sample mean.

          

          As described in their guest editorial for this special issue, Drs. Shannon Chance (Ireland), Farrah Fayyaz (Canada), Anita Campbell (South Africa), Nicole Pitterson (USA), and Sadia Nawaz (Australia) implemented a range of innovative, collaborative models for capacity- and community-building while shepherding this project from conception to completion. Their editorial also provides recommendations for IEEE and other editors of special focus journal issues.

              CONFERENCE INVITE

              Engineering & Anthropocene? New Challenges, New Paths in the Humanities and Social Sciences

              12 December 2024, 9:00-18:00 - CNAM, Paris Réseau Ingenium, in collaboration with EPSI and OFC 

              Here is the registration link for the conference organized by the Ingenium Network in collaboration with EPSI (Multidisciplinary Engineering Team) and the OFC association (Observatory of Citizen Training): 

              CLICK HERE.

              FROM EUROPEAN UNION

              EU degree talks overshadowed by ongoing row about Hungary

              European Union ministers debated the development of a European degree system at an informal meeting of higher education and research ministers in Budapest, Hungary, this week, although the meeting was overshadowed by an ongoing row about Hungary’s access to EU education and research programmes.

              Learning organisations help to advance sustainability in HE

              Adopting the principles of a learning organisation can enhance the ability of universities to embed education for sustainable development into teaching-learning, research and outreach. A culture of continuous learning and innovation equips students and staff to tackle the complex challenges of sustainability.

              

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