6.4.2011

SUCCESSFUL ENGINEER ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM OF KEEPING UP WITH CURRENT KNOWLEDGE

Professor Debasish Dutta, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is on a mission - to help science and technology professionals keep abreast of the latest technological developments. As part of the Lifelong Learning Imperative, Professor Dutta and his project team are conducting research to identify ways in which graduate engineers can acquire new information to meet their changing needs.

Technological know-how is now at risk of being outdated just 5–7 years after someone graduates. "An engineer who wants to be in the leader in his field cannot expect knowledge gained twenty years ago to be groundbreaking or even current," said Professor Dutta during a recent fact-finding visit to Finland.

The Lifelong Learning Imperative, a study launched by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in Washington DC, is aimed at engineering professionals who are working hard and doing well, but operating in a rapidly-changing world. They may not even be aware of the changes taking place in their sector, with the worst scenario being that they only realise the situation when it is too late to catch up. Even individuals who recognise the problem acknowledge that keeping up on their own requires a great deal of effort.

New knowledge regarding lifelong learning will be an important resource

As well as being topical, Professor Dutta’s research is sorely needed. The most-recent in-depth report on the subject was produced in the USA some 25 years ago. "Back then, “Twitter” and “Facebook” did not denote anything at all and Microsoft was still a small company," he says, laughing. In the second decade of the new millennium, things are completely different. An uninterrupted flow of new information floods in from numerous sources.

Professor Dutta emphasises that in the context of the study he is running, “Lifelong Learning” does not mean re-training or simply updating one’s existing knowledge. Through this study, he and his project team are aiming to understand the roles that universities, private companies and government might play to enable technology professionals to remain at the cutting edge in their chosen field.

The initial findings of the study, including results derived from survey of approximately 6,000 engineers and interviews of several industry thought leaders, will be reported at a NAE workshop to be held in Washington in November. The research team will publish their final report incorporating the workshop feedback and recommend ways of implementing lifelong learning.

Global teamwork as part of the learning experiment

Lifelong learning is about focusing on what will be coming next. "We are seeking ways of predicting what technology professionals will need in the future," says Professor Dutta. Asked about his own experience in developing lifelong learning skills, he mentions a course he put together. Lasting several years, it took place simultaneously in three universities located in Germany, South Korea and the United States.

As part of the coursework, students of various nationalities formed groups, with each group being assigned the task of designing a global product to be marketed worldwide in at least two separate market areas. Student participants met each other in person at the beginning and end of the course, but all other course activities were organized through video lectures and Internet correspondence.

"Feedback received from students was great, and the course sponsors were very enthusiastic about the concept," says Professor Dutta. “Everyone involved - both students and companies - felt it was excellent preparation for working life in which ideas are exchanged and employees collaborate across national borders.”

Professor Debasish Dutta’s project is part of Technology Academy Foundation’s cooperation with sister academies.