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The world of two-year degree in Engineering Technology (ET) technician preparation is conveniently recognized by its community of practices. The members of that extended community are labeled by their ET program participation elements. The nationally significant members include the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the National Science Foundation Advanced Technical Education Program (NSF ATE), and the broad ET-supportive industry sectors. An appreciation of current ET technician preparation in the United States requires an examination of these three contributors to the ET national community of practice. This paper presents the characteristics of each of these community of practice members. Technician preparation examples from each will be presented and examined for similarities and differences. Suggestions for tightening the expectations for these three preparation sectors will be presented. The successful integration of ET technician preparation within 22 colleges in the Florida State College System will be presented. An overview of the seamless transition, as regulated by the Florida Department of Education, from high school Career and Technical education through two-year college, four-year ET programs, followed by paths to the ET Professional Engineer or graduate degree level, will also be presented. Specific industry involvement and responsibilities at the State ET program Advisory Board (SETIAB) level will be included in this paper.
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An Academic-Industry Partnership for Preparing the Next Generation of Ethical Engineers for Professional Practice
In light of both social and ABET expectations, engineering educators need to consider how to effectively infuse engineering ethics education into current engineering curricula. This article describes our initial efforts in that realm. We considered how to improve ethics education in engineering through establishing an academic-industry partnership, which facilitated conversation between engineering faculty members and practicing engineers in industry. We formed a College-level Ethics Advisory Council with representation from industry partners across all 13 engineering departments in Purdue’s College of Engineering. As the first official activity, we held an Ethics Advisory Council Workshop to define common goals and share mutual expectations for long-term relationships. This article shares some basic information about the academic-industry partnership and outputs from the Ethics Advisory Council Workshop. We also discuss lessons we learned from the initial work on the partnership, including limitations and other considerations important for potential adopters of such a strategy at their institution. This article can provide insights to engineering educators who are interested in adopting the academic-industry partnership approach to facilitate direct conversations between academia and industry, especially for better engineering ethics education.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1737303
- PAR ID:
- 10312448
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advances in engineering education
- Volume:
- Summer
- ISSN:
- 2224-7491
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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