SEFI and the Engineering

Education in 2012-2013

SEFI Annual Report

Towards our 40th Anniversary

SEFI is the largest network of engineering education actors in Europe

Published by SEFI aisbl, Brussels, Summer 2013

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

Publications not to be missed

SEFI position Paper :

Engineering Education and the
Bologna process

SEFI position Paper :

The Accreditation of
Engineering Education in
Europe

Conference Proceeding SEFI

2012 Thessaloniki

UPCOMING PUBLICATION

Innovation and Quality in

Engineering Education

The Knowledge Triangle

Re-inventing the Future
A Framework for Mathematics
Curricula in Engineering
Education

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

From the President

It is my pleasure as SEFI President to present you with this 2013 Annual Report (Activities
2012-2013), which contains a testimony of our achievements and a reection on our future.
Looking back on the past year we are happy to show how much SEFI was able to achieve
in such difcult times, with numerous activities all over Europe and beyond. All these
would not have been possible without the solid support from the secretariat and the strong
involvement of our members. Among our activities, the 40th Annual Conference, organised
in Thessaloniki by the Aristotle University, could undoubtedly be called a major success. One
shall also not forget the creation of two new Working Groups, which is a sign of the ever
growing capacities of our society and its exibility to cope with the rapidly changing context
of engineering education.

Prof. Dr. Wim Van Petegem

SEFI President 2011-2013
KU Leuven (B)

But the end of 2012 has also been marked by the loss of our beloved friend and colleague,
SEFI President 2005-2007 and SEFI Treasurer, Prof. Francesco Mafoli from the Politecnico
di Milano. Francesco has been for decades one of our most active members and was
fully dedicated to SEFI in different roles. He was a living memory of our association, but
he was always supporting the development of new ideas and a stronger involvement of
the Youth, pushing all of us to look forward. As SEFI is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in
challenging times, we shall indeed not shrink on ourselves, but use this moment to explore
new possibilities. That is the best way we could honour a colleague, a friend, a gentleman,
a wise man as Francesco was.
An organisation like SEFI is nothing but its members (390 in 46 countries). Therefore our
main focus is clearly on the services we offer, in reply to the needs of our members or
proactively anticipating them. We hope to continue our collaboration with all of you in order
to increase the benets we offer to our members, to adapt those that already exist, or even
to develop new ones. All of that will not be possible without your support and contributions.
Nevertheless, in these times of globalisation, we also recognize the need for international
visibility. Maintaining this visibility is important when reinforcing our European activities.
Together, I hope we can set a right balance, according to the priorities of our members. In
my role as President I will do whatever is possible to make this happen.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013

SEFI over the last year: we keep going on, remaining

open-minded and creative
Our community shared another year of hard work, dedication and
passion towards Engineering Education, and for these contributions
that make SEFI a strong living society, we thank all of you! 20122013 has been an eventful year for SEFI, full of success but also
more difcult in certain aspects of our daily life. Numerous activities
both internal to SEFI and external have marked out this year with a
highlight of our 40th Annual Conference held in Thessaloniki, Greece,
and perfectly organized by the Aristotle University. It has been a huge
success -285 participants from 32 countries - (see later in this issue).

Membership
However, SEFI has suffered in 2012 a backlash of the current
economic crisis that directly impacts the Higher Education Institutions
all across Europe. If the number of members remains stable,
membership contributions were less easily collected than the former
years. Would such difculties go on, there might be consequences
on SEFIs activities in the coming years. But at this stage, we wish to
be optimistic and hope that 2013 membership revenue will allow
us to pursue our activities. So far, our membership is composed 390
members (institutions of higher engineering education, academic
staff and students, related associations and 6 corporates).

Values
Under the impulsion of our President, Prof. Wim Van Petegem, SEFI
has set ofcially the values that dene our Society. These values 1 approved on the occasion of the SEFI 2012 General Assembly - are
shared by all our members and ofcers, and dene the ways and
spirit in which SEFIs activities are run:
Creativity and professionalism: in reaching the highest
professional quality possible whilst encouraging creativity in our
thinking, in our doing, in our learning and in our working;
Engagement and responsibility: in achieving our aims and
objectives and fullling our mission for the benet of higher
engineering education in Europe;
Respect for diversity and different cultures: in cooperating
with different regions all over the world, with specic social and
economic settings, with different educational environments,
and with different ways of thinking and communicating;
Institutional inclusiveness: in involving all higher
engineering education stakeholders, at individual, institutional,
organizational and governmental level;
Multidisciplinarity and openness: in being open minded and
promoting exchanges across all engineering disciplines;
Transparency: in cooperating in a good and open spirit;
Sustainability: in working efciently and effectively with
technological achievements and with available environmental,
economic and human resources, to the benet of future
generations.
1 Reections on these values will be published in the context of the SEFI Anniversary
Book in the summer of 2013.

Working groups
The General Assembly also approved the creation of two new
working groups on Sustainability in Engineering Education and
Quality Assurance and Accreditation by the evolution of the two
former relevant Task Forces. Considering the priority given by SEFI
to the collaboration with the Students and the collaboration with
the Industry, two new Standing Committees on the latter matters
were established on the General Assembly as well.
Our working groups (WGs) have been very active over the last
year. In the context of the Thessaloniki Annual Conference, they
formed the structure of the conference, and WGs Chairpersons
were deeply involved in reviewing papers and the chairing of
the sessions. The WGs also held successful open workshops and
meetings just before the conference (Curriculum Development,
Ethics, Engineering Education research, Educational Technologies,
Sustainability, Gender and Diversity, Attractiveness, Quality
Assurance and Accreditation)
Many other activities have been undertaken during the year by
our WGs that are described hereafter.
The WG on Mathematics in Engineering
Education (chaired by Prof. Burkhard Alpers,
Aalen University) held various meetings
in 2012 on top of its open workshop in
Thessaloniki. The major outcome of the
WG will be the publication in 2013 of the
3rd edition of the curriculum document for
the mathematical education of engineers,
following two meetings held in Salamanca and
Prague.
The
publication
will
be called A Framework for Mathematics
Prague
Curricula in Engineering Education since the WG is convinced that there
should not be a one-ts-all curriculum. Engineering study courses
and engineering workplaces are much too heterogeneous for such an
approach. In the publication, the authors intend to advise mathematics
educators and curriculum designers regarding educational goals,
contents and methods such that they can set up their own curriculum
which is well integrated into the study course.
The Curriculum Development WG (chaired
by Urbano Dominguez, University of Valladolid)
organized jointly with the EU Academic
Network project EUGENE Academic
Network European and Global Engineering
Education - and the University of Valladolid,
an International Symposium on Innovation
and Quality in Engineering Education, on 26th
to 28th of April at the University of Valladolid.
Participants
came
from
all
articipants cam
a the sectors directly involved in Engineering
Education: companies, administrators, students and teachers, in other
words, they totally reected SEFIs audience. The Symposium was a
discussion oriented meeting on topics such as Curriculum Innovation,

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013
Quality Assurance and Accreditation, Active Learning, Good Practice,
and Teachers Training and Faculty Development, among others. The
Proceedings, containing keynote lectures, presentations, the minutes of
the sessions, the outcomes of a workshop and a panel, were published
as a book of 400 pages. On the occasion of the Workshop run by ALE
(Association of Leadership Educators) at Danish Technical University and
Engineering University College of Copenhagen, in June 2012, Erik de
Graaff did a short presentation informing on CDWG activities.

the project is to implement Knowledge Triangle in the design of tailormade CEE to SMEs. This theme is in the very core of Horizon 2020.
Our Working Group on Ethics in Engineering Education has
developed itself under the leadership of Prof. Esat Alpay, Imperial
College, with numerous activities such as a Twin International Meeting
on Responsible Conduct of Research for Scientists and Engineers, held in
Bradford university UK in July 2012.

Our Gender and Diversity WG (chaired by Susanne Ihsen, TU Mnich)

is active in various projects as member of the Advisory Board of the
EU project Teaching-learnING.EU, a partner project of the German
universities: RWTH Aachen, Dortmund and Bochum, together with
Volkswagen Stiftung and other partners. The aim is to link actual didactic
approaches with coaching and further education to university teachers
in Engineering Education. Diversity aspects have a strong emphasis in
this. It is also in touch with the project genSET Women in Science with
the European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT) - a network of
female engineers, working together with National Science Foundation
and US universities, as well to the project Gendered Innovations in
Science, Health&Medicine, and Engineering. Following the successful
workshops organised in 2009 and 2010, the WG worked in depth on
the eld of Quality Management and Diversity in Engineering Education,
a presentation and paper were prepared together with Fraunhofer
Institute about Gender and Diversity in Engineering Education for the
VHTO conference Women in STEM in 2012.

Publications

The former ICT (Information Communication Technology) Working Group

was transformed in to the WG on New Educational Technologies,
chaired by Pieter de Vries, TU Delft. This WG is devoted to the goods
and the odds of technologies for learning. In most instances, this
concerns web technologies like learning management systems or
collaboration tools or social media like Facebook, Twitter, and many
others. The one thing these tools should have in common is that they
can be used to enhance learning. Twitter was not created to enhance
learning, but is for the third consecutive year number 1 on the top
100 list of Learning Technologies (http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/).
The term Educational Technologies therefore covers a wide range
of tools, interests, opinions and discussions. This is even truer for the
staggering development of Online Learning, Open Education Resources,
Open Education and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS). v
At the level of Sustainability in Engineering Education, a WG chaired
by Anne-Marie Jolly from PolytechOrlans, she participated in in a
BEST 2 workshop organised in Vienna in September 2012 on the theme
of Education to sustainability. Future plans for cooperation with BEST
are on the agenda for the summer of 2013.

Two new position papers were also

published by SEFI this year. The rst one
on the Accreditation of Engineering
Education in Europe, and the second
addressed jointly by SEFI and BEST to the
8th Ministerial Conference of the Bologna
Process on the matter of Engineering
Education and the Bologna Process.
Copies of these Position Papers are
available at SEFI secretariat or on www.se.be. In the Spring of
2013, was also published the book entitled The Knowledge
Triangle, publlished by University of Aalto, UP Valencia and SEFI.
The proceedings of the 2012 Annual conference are also available
in SEFI.

Activities for Deans

European Convention for Engineering Deans
In 2012, the SEFI European Convention for Engineering Deans launched by Prof. Borri, in 2005 - was hosted by the University
of Birmingham and was organised in conjunction with CESAER 4.
This 4th Convention has held on the 29 and 30 March and brought
together more than 80 deans from across Europe to exchange the
theme of Tomorrows engineers for an attractive Europe: Working
Together to Build on Europes Excellence in Engineering Education
and Research. The event was exceptionally well organised by Prof.
Hawwash, University of Birmingham, School of Civil Engineering,
and his team. Many thanks to all of them. It also strengthened the
collaboration between SEFI and CESAER.

At the level of the WG on Continuing Engineering Education,

chaired by Kirsti Miettinen, Director of Aalto PRO, Aalto University, they
contributed actively in the activities of IACEE 3, by the participation in
their meeting organised also in Valencia (May 2012. In the winter
2012-2013 a group of several WGs members with the lead of Marc
Goossens, Executive Ofcer of Socit Europenne des Ingnieurs
et des Industriels SEII- designed a proposal for Project ERAUSME
(Establishing Regional Alliances between Universities and Small
& Medium-sized Enterprises) to LLP ERASMUS Multilateral Project,
Knowledge Alliances, under 2013 call DG EAC/S07/12. The objective of

In the Spring of 2013, the 5th European Convention for Engineering

Deans (ECED) was organised jointly by CESAER, SEFI and the
University of Aalborg, in Aalborg. The Convention was attended
by approximately 75 deans in engineering from 27 countries.
The general theme was of Engineering for a Sustainable Europe
Transforming Research and Education to meet Sustainability
Challenges. The invited speakers were Prof. Leah Jamison from
Purdue University College of Engineering (US), Prof. Ed Crowley,
President of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
(US), Prof. Marco Gilli, Rector Politecnico di Torino (I), Prof. Karel
Luyben, Rector Magnicus TU Delft (NL), Prof. Manfred Hampe,
TU Darmstadt and President of 4ING, Mr. Poul Toft Frederiksen,
Grundfos (DK) and Mr. Peter van der Hijden (EU, DG Research)

2 BEST: Board of European Student in Technology

3 International Association for Continuing Engineering Education

4 Conference of European Schools for advanced Engineering Education and Research

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013
who gave inspiring presentations that were discussed during a
series of working sessions. Presentations were also given by our
SEFI corporate members and sponsors of the event, namely Mr.
Xavier Fouger (Dassault Systems, FR), Vice - President SEFI, Mr. Alex
Tarchini (Mathworks, IT) and Torbjrn Halvarsson (HP, SE)
European Engineering Deans Council
After the Signature of the Declaration of
Lisbon, that took place in Lisbon on September
27 2011, the ofcial creation of a European
Engineering Deans Council (EEDC) was
ofcialised in March 2012. The EEDC aims to implement a network
of European Engineering Deans (individuals) and to leverage these
deans collective strengths for the advancement of engineering
education and research. The Council was ofcially established as a
Belgian non-prot organisation (EEDC aisbl), whom Head Ofce is
based in SEFI. The SEFI staff is running the EEDCs activities, under
the Presidency of Prof. Froyen, Dean of Engineering, KU Leuven,
until March 2013, and since that time under the Presidency of
Prof. Mike Murphy, Dean, Dublin Institute of Technology. A public
meeting was held in Birmingham in the Spring 2012, followed by
a series of others in Thessaloniki and Florence in September 2012
and the organisation of the rst EEDC General Assembly in Aalborg,
in April 2013.

International Cooperation Projects

2012 has been a very active year for SEFI in terms of projects,
with numerous events that were organised. Nevertheless, it also
coincided with the end of several projects such as EUGENE, EU
Drivers, ECCE, MODERN ....
SEFI played this year again a major role into
the EU funded Academic Network EUGENE
project, coordinated by the University of
Florence (Prof. Borri, Ms. Guberti) The
Third Scientic meeting of the EUGENE project was hosted by
the School of Industrial Design ETSID (Escuela Tcnica Superior de
Ingeniera del Diseo) Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, on 15
and 16 May 2012. It was addressed to all the representatives of
the EUGENE partners (84 from 31 countries) and was attended
by approximately 60 of them. They all contributed actively to
the event that aimed to stimulate the active participation of all
EUGENE partners in the project activities, receive feedback on the
selected topics and prepare a report about the status of EUGENE
Lines activities (A) Ph.D. Studies, Structure and Bologna follow-up:
Establishment of a European common set of excellence standards
and principles, in order to make the PhD training in Engineering and
Technology in Europe more effective, competitive and innovative;
(B) Promoting EE in Europe as a research eld and in comparison
of worldwide developments, a true and innovative research area
to improve entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness); (C)
Improve trans-national mobility of engineering students, graduates
and professionals, also through contacts and synergies with the
International Engineering Alliance and the Washington Accord; (D)
LLL & continuing education as a tool to improve competitiveness
and innovation of European engineers (Leaders: Aalto University

and EuroPACE at KU-Leuven) and (E) Increase attractiveness of

EHEA: towards an ERASMUS Mundus Network in EE) also in the
perspective of the closing of the project.
The Final Conference of EUGENE was held on the 14th of September
2012 in the Aula Magna of the University of Florence. With more
than 90 participants from all across Europe, the event was the
occasion to wrap up all the work produced during the 3 years of the
project and to disseminate its results.
Contributions from EUGENE Line Leaders were given during a panel
session chaired and moderated by Line D Leader, Prof. M. Markkula
that involved Prof. A. Avdelas (Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Line
A), Prof. E. de Graaff (Aalborg University, Line B), Prof . G. Augusti
(ENAEE, Line C), and Prof. K. Hawwash (University of Birmingham,
Line E).
One of the highlights of this event was a debate on Attractiveness
of 2nd Cycle and Ph D Studies in Europe (a question among others:
which language?), that was chaired and moderated by Prof. M.
T. Zanola (Universit Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano) that
convened Prof. G. Azzone Rector of the Politecnico di Milano, and
Prof. A. Tesi, Rector of the University of Florence.
This session was followed by a round table on Employability of
Graduates and Accreditation, chaired by Prof. Borri and involving
G. Manfrida (School of Engineering, University of Florence), A.
Squarzoni (QUACING & University of Genova), I. Wasser (ENAEE and
ASIIN), R. Zecchino (Robert Bosch S.p.A.) and F. Kostoris (University
di Roma, La Sapienza / ANVUR).
The creation of the European Engineering Deans Council - EEDC
was presented by Prof. Quadrado (ISEL), as one of the evidence
of the continuation of the project work, after its ending, offering
a new platform of discussion for Deans of Engineering in Europe
(see above).
As a conclusion, Prof. Borri animated a session of reections and
remarks on the continuation of the partnership, offering nal thanks
to all the project partners and to the coordination team in Florence
as well as to the EU and the EAC for their support
Another project in which SEFI has been
very active was the Techno TN Forum
2012 (STECET - Science and Technnology
European Cooperation in Education and
Training 2012) held in Antwerp on 4 - 5 May 2012 and that was a
real success with more than 60 attendants from all across Europe
sharing interests and expertise on common issues.
The Forum was funded by the European Commission gathering
the coordinators of Thematic Networks in the area of Science and
Engineering, together with senior members of their networks, to
discuss matters of common interest. The project is coordinated by
the STEPS TWO project leader (University of Antwerp), represented
by Prof. Naudts, and is composed of 12 partners (amongst who
is SEFI) that are networks or umbrella organisations of networks
active in the eld of science and technology.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013
Throughout the discussions the topics communication and
communication strategy were suggested to become the theme
of a next Forum, in order to offer tools for stakeholders in the
development of political and societal impacts. Taking in account
the success of Techno TN 2012, all the attending stakeholders were
keen for a next fruitful edition of the Forum.
In September 2012 was also the nal conference of the EU-Drivers
(European Drivers for a Regional Innovation Platform) project
coordinated by ESMU 5, from which SEFI has been a main partner,
having organised a workshop in spring earlier that year in Leuven
on the theme of Partnership Communication. The project developed
itself around the need for regional innovation platforms supported
by Universities, business and local authorities.
Since November, we are engaged in QUEECA Quality of Engineering
Education in Central Asia - a TEMPUS project coordinated by the
University of Florence. The goal of this project is related to the
development of EUR-ACE labelled curricula in Central Asia through
enhancement of Engineering Education.
In 2012-2013, SEFI was also deeply
engaged in the activities of the ECDEAST
project, a TEMPUS project coordinated by
the University of Applied Sciences in Wismar, and aiming to design
engineering curricula for master degree programme in Russia
(Tomsk, Moscow and St Petersburg). A detailed presentation of this
project can be found in SEFI Annual Report 2012 (G. Heitmann,
p.14 )

Cooperation
Several exchanges and reciprocal participation in mutual annual
conferences were organised with partners and sister organisations
such as ASEE 6, IGIP 7, EUA 8...
2012-2013 has seen the development
of side activities of SEFI with the strong
development of IIDEA - International
Institute for the Development of Engineering Academics -, with
workshop organised in Tsinghua University as well as in Thessaloniki
during the SEFI Annual Conference and in later in Buenos Aires
during the World Engineering Education Forum that was held on
12-18 October 2012. Plans for the rest of 2013 are the organisation
of workshops again in Tsinghua (July 2013), Nigeria, Leuven and
Cartagena (September) and Mexico (October). The leadership of
IIDEA has also been modied by the stepping down of the two
founding co-directors, Mrs Lueny Morell (formerly HP) and Prof.
Anette Kolmos (University of Aalborg, SEFI Past President) and the
appointment of Dr. Jennifer Deboer (MIT) and Prof. Claudio Borri
(U. Florence) followed by Prof. Erik de Graaff (University of Aalborg)
since May 2013. The IIDEA institute is a joint project of SEFI and
IFEES and it is run by their respective Head Ofce, in Brussels and
in Milwaukee.
5
6
7
8

The cooperation with IFEES was excellent as always and

in summer 2012 SEFI HQ was in charge of developing a
new web site for IFEES. There were a lot of exchanges
between both Head Ofces, and in October 2012,
former SEFI Vice-President, JC Quadrado (Rector ISEL)
became IFEES President. SEFI was represented at the IFEES Summit
(WEEF 2012) held in Buenos Aires.
SEFIs involvement in ENAEE (European Network
for Accreditation of Engineering Education) with
the election of Franoise Cme, in the ENAEE
Administrative Council, and later her appointment as
Vice-President, alongside with Dirk Bochar (FEANI)
under the presidency of Dr. Iring Wasser (ASIIN). In September 2013,
Following the successful 2012 ENAEE Conference held in Porto in
November, SEFI will welcome the 2nd ENAEE Annual Conference in
Leuven, in conjunction of the SEFI Annual Conference.
But the end of 2012 was also marked
by a very sad news, the sudden
loss of our Treasurer and former
President, our beloved friend and
colleague, Prof. Francesco Mafoli
(Politecnico di Milano). Francesco
has been one of our most active and
dedicated members. We are missing
his presence among us dearly.
We would like to thank all the members of our Society for
their support and commitment. We would like to invite them to
contribute to the various SEFI media tools such as our Facebook
page, our LinkedIn groups, without forgetting our website our
monthly newsletter, News@SEFI. All these tools are at their
disposal to promote their institution/organisation/company, and
we encourage them to make use of them as much as possible.
Dear Members, the raison dtre of SEFI is also to promote your
work and activities. Therefore, do not hesitate to use the channels
we are offering you.
SEFI is a dynamic organisation, and in spite of the increasing
administrative and nancial constraints we have to face, we are
convinced that only through your dedicated work, are we able, as
a network, to full our mission and objectives for the benet of
Engineering Education.
Franoise Cme and Jacques Schibler

European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities

American Association for Engineering Education
Internationale Gezellschaft fr Ingenieurausbildung
European University Association

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013 Special Focus

Annual conference

The 40th Annual Conference of SEFI was held in Thessaloniki on

23-26 September. It was organised by the Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki (Faculty of Civil Engineering) with the assistance
of ARTION. 285 participants from 32 countries met in Greece
during four days to discuss and share views and experiences on
Engineering Education 2020: Meet the Future.
The conference, organised in cooperation with BEST, also welcomed
numerous students from Greece and the whole Europe. The
Conference welcomed a series of remarkable invited keynote
presentations given by M. Markkula, Aalto University, and
member of EU Committee of the Regions on European engineering
universities as key factors in regional and global innovation
ecosystems, D. Evangelou, Purdue University on Homo Fabiens
Redux: EE in the 21st Century, A. Tarchini, Mathworks, on Fostering
education to accelerate the pace of engineering, L. Abraham,
National Instruments on Nowadays challenges in EE: The point of
view of the industry, A. Jamison, Aalborg University on Turning
Engineering Green: Sustainable Development and EE, L. Ulriksen,
University of Copenhagen on Attracting student and making them
stay and X. Fouger, Dassault Systemes, on The XXIst Century Da
Vinci: A Systems Engineer?. A lecture made by Prof Seiradakis,
Faculty of science-School of Physics of the Auth, on The Antikythera
Mechanism was given to all the participants in the Science Center
and Technology Museum Noesis.
A SEFI Corporate partners Plenary Round Table was held too,
as well as a series of preconference workshops organised by

our Working groups on Curriculum Development, Educational

Technologies Engineering Education Research, Ethics in EE, Gender
and Diversity in EE, and Sustainability. Meetings were organised by
the WG on Attractiveness and Quality Assurance and Accreditation.
The IIDEA (www.iideaiinstitute.org) organised a workshop on
Strategies for Facilitating Online Learning in Engineering Courses
(Jennifer Deboer, MIT, USA) that was pretty well attended.
The SEFI Annual Conference 2012 was remarkable for many
different aspects: the very high level of the invited presentations,
the interesting papers presented by colleagues from all over the
globe , the active collaboration of the students from BEST, the
social events such as the Awards dinner organised in the splendid
Byzantine Museum, the Conference Banquet at the Grand Hyatt
- but also the fantastic seaside location, in the Conference and
Cultural Centre, designed by the famous Japanese architect Arata
Isozaki (the centre considered as one of his notable works).
Following the tradition, a welcome meeting for the new comers
(45 attendees) as well as several SEFI internal meetings such
as Administrative Council meetings, the meeting with the WGs
Chairs and national Correspondents and General Assembly were
also organised during the four days of the conference. We were
particularly honored to welcome colleagues representing partner/
sister organisations, such as ASIBEI, IFEES, LACCEI, IGIP, BEST, ACOFI,
who all met together with our international corporate partners on
the occasion of a special business lunch sponsored by ASEE.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013 Special Focus

at the end of the
mandate of the latter on
1st October 2013.

SEFI awards
The 2012 SEFI Fellowships Ceremony awarded this
year Prof. Boev (Former SEFI AC member, member
of the RAEE, Tomsk Polytechnic University), Dr.
Korhonen-Yrjnheikki (Former Vice-President
of SEFI, Director Education and Employment at
TEK), Prof. Steinbach (Former President of SEFI, President of TU
Berlin) and Prof. Zandvoort (Former Chair of the SEFI WG on
Ethics, TU Delft) in recognition of their meritorious services towards
engineering education over the last years.

General assembly

Seven new members

of the Administrative
Council were elected for
a three-year mandate:
Profs. Owren Brynjulf
(NTNU, N), Erik de
Graaff (EJEE Chief Editor,
NL), Michael Hoffmann
(University of Ulm/4
Ing,
D),
Antonia
Moropoulou
(NTUA,
GR), Eskild Holm Nielsen
(Aalborg University, DK),
Luis Manuel Sanchez Ruiz (UP Valencia, E) and Alexander Surigyn
(St Petersburg Polytechnical University, RU).

The
Assembly
took
place
on
Wednesday
26
September 2012 and was attended by approx. 80
members. It was notably the occasion for electing the
SEFI Vice-President 2012-2013/ President 2013-2015, in the
person of Prof. Kamel Hawwash, School of Civil Engineering,
Regional Director, HE STEM Midlands and East Anglia, College of
Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Prof. Hawwash will succeed Prof. Wim Van Petegem as SEFI President

We still thank our outgoing Administrative Council members,

namely Jos Carlos Quadrado (SEFI Immediate Past Vice-President,
Rector of ISEL and Incoming IFEES President), Aris Avdelas (Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki) , Urbano Dominguez (Universidad
de Valladolid), Daiva Dumciuviene (Kaunas University), Oliver
Moravcik (Slovak Technical University in Bratislava) and Anne Borg
(Norwegian University of Science and Technology), who have all
served SEFI with a very high dedication and for many years.

This year, SEFI also awarded an Honorary Membership to Dr. Tony

Marjoram for his long lasting dedication to Engineering Education at
the UNESCO, and his very close work with SEFI during his active years.

Engineering Education Fast Forward:

1973>2013>>
We celebrate a lifetime of SEFI working on a bright future.
A glimpse at what is to come. Engineers are men and women of foresight.
They design our grandchildrens world technology has been and will be an essential tool
both in daily life and in education.
From the birth of SEFI in 1973 until now,
engineering and education have developed in a
revolutionary way.
During the SEFI conference 2013 we look back in order
to turn the strengths and weaknesses of engineering
education into opportunities.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

SEFI in 2012-2013 Special Focus

Leonardo da Vinci medal

The SEFI Leonardo da Vinci is the highest
distinction bestowed by the Society. It is
awarded to living persons who have made
an outstanding contribution of international
signicance to engineering education.
The SEFI 2012 Leonardo da Vinci Medal Ceremony was held on 25th
September. The medal was awarded to A.M. Turing Awardee, Professor
at the EPF Lausanne, namely Professor Joseph SIFAKIS (GR/F)
(The speech of Prof. Sifakis is reproduced below).
Prof. Sifakis (right) receiving the Medal from SEFI President, Prof. Van Petegem

.
Out of all things, the best is the praise from peers. As an engineer, I
am particularly sensitive to this recognition from SEFI, such a highly
representative and prestigious society of engineering education
institutions. With a dual background in both Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, in my work I have constantly combined scienticc
research and engineering in a recurrent pattern: a problem is rst
studied from an abstract foundational point of view, which leads
to methods and techniques for its solution, which, in tum, leads to
an effective implementation that is successfully used in multiple
industrial applications. Science and engineering are two inseparable
forces driving knowledge and progress. Science is mainly motivated
by the need for understanding the physical world. It privileges the
analytic approach by connecting the physical phenomena through
abstractions to the world of concepts and mathematics. By contrast,
Engineering is predominantly synthetic. It is motivated by the need to
master and adapt the physical world. It transforms scienticc results
into concrete, trustworthy and optimized artifacts and deals with
our ability to mold our environment in order to satisfy material and
spiritual needs. Cross-fertilization between Science and Engineering
is key for the progress of knowledge. Greek mathematics propelled
the progress of technology at an unprecedented speed, continuing
up to and including the Roman period. Renaissance engineering
spawned the scienticc revolution that followed in the 16th and
17th centuries. A great deal of the foundations of physics and
mathematics has been laid by engineers. Today, more than ever,
Science and Engineering are involved in an accelerating virtuous
cycle of mutual advancement. The advent of Information Sciences
and Technologies has opened new avenues. Computer Aided
Design has a tremendous impact on modern engineering. Toolsupported Design methodologies relieve engineers from tedious
and error-prone tasks, by clearly distinguishing points where human
intervention and ingenuity are needed to resolve design choices
through requirements analysis and confrontation to experimental
results. Information Sciences and Technologies also open the way
for making traditional systems self-adaptive and intelligent. The
convergence between digital technologies and traditional systems
engineering marks the new era of cyber- physical systems.
The state of almost everything can be measured, sensed and
monitored. People and objects can communicate and interact
with each other in entirely new ways. Systems are ubiquitous and
intelligent for enhanced predictability and optimal use of resources.

10

Examples of the many cyber-physical systems application areas

include smart electric grids, smart transportation, smart buildings,
smart medical technologies, next-generation air trafc management,
and advanced manufacturing. Cyber-physical systems are expected to
have paramount technical, economic and societal impacts in the near
future. Since the beginning of this century, we are engaged in a world
that is connected multi-dimensionally. Engineering is called upon to
face global challenges for optimal use of resources, and to support
global services for further economic development and social welfare.
Future engineers should be equipped to cope with a rapid escalation
of systems- level diversity and complexity. We should prepare them
to deal with constant change induced by technology and applications.
Future engineers should have a strong theoretical and multidisciplinary background so that they could continuously renew and
update their knowledge with theory developments and adapt their
skills to the progress of technology. They should learn principles rather
than facts. They should learn to think in terms of systems, cultivate
their talent for creativity and their critical thinking for understanding
and mastering the world. At this moment, my thoughts go out to all
those who have marked my career since my early youth until today.
Of course my family, those who are no longer of this world as well
as those who are present and have provided their infallible support in
critical moments of my life. My thoughts also go out to my homeland,
the country where I acquired a solid initial scienticc background,
as well as the invaluable cultural and spiritual values that guided
my steps throughout my whole life. Greece still has a very good
education system and high-quality scienticc potential both within
and outside the country. I believe that leveraging on these forces could
be instrumental for overcoming the current crisis and opening avenues
for economic development. We live in an extraordinary era. More than
ever, engineering and technology mold the conditions of our existence
and have a tremendous impact on our lives. At the same time, the
world is going through a deep crisis and is intellectually disoriented
and powerless. This challenges our responsibility as engineers and
system builders. More than ever, Hippocrates aphorism is relevant and
truthful: Life is short, the Art long, opportunity eeting, experiment
treacherous, judgment difcult. Solid engineering education is key
for mastering the global knowledge-based economy and taking up
topical explosive technological and ethical challenges. I wish SEFI a
lot of success in its noble mission and express again my thanks and
appreciation for granting me such a prestigious distinction. Thanks to
all of you for having honoured me with your presence this evening.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

From our Corporate Partners

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From our Corporate Partners

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From our Corporate Partners

Granta in 2012

March 29-30: CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, CA

April 12-13: Murray Edwards College, Cambridge University

In Spring 2012, over 200 representatives from 30 countries gathered at two key events for materials educators. They came together as a
community passionate about materials education, from universities and colleges where they teach undergraduates about materials within
engineering, design, architecture, sustainability, and other science subjects. Two days of talks, workshops, discussion sessions, networking,
poster sessions, and a social program provided plenty of opportunities to meet people and exchange ideas as they discussed the trends
and ideas impacting materials teaching.

Above all, the Symposia were good fun, with lively engagement among all the participants,
reinforcing the sense of community that past Symposia have helped to develop.
Prof. Mike Ashby, Advisory Committee Chair
Now in their 5th year, the Materials Education Symposia are established as, in the words of one attendee, the main forum for discussion
of education issues in Engineering Materials. Visit www.materials-education.com to download the report of the 2012 events, and nd out
about next years events.
The Academic Advisory Committee encourages those interested in sharing their materials education experiences to keep an eye on the
Symposium website and consider submitting an abstract for a talk or poster... or both!

March 20-21, 2014 University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

April 10-11, 2014 University of Cambridge
December 11-12, 2014 National University of Singapore

There is an exceptional interactive spirit in this community

and the community is growing.
A participant

The Advisory Committee are particularly grateful to CalPoly San Luis Obispo and to Cambridge University for providing such convivial venues
for this years events, and to the following organizations for their support: American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Materials
Division; ASM International (the Materials Information Society); European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI); Federation of European
Materials Societies (FEMS); Granta Design, University of Cambridge (Departments of Engineering and Materials Science & Metallurgy).

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

13

From our Corporate Partners

Flipping everything

Nomad Labs

Recent advances in digital learning innovation

The emergence of MOOCs 9 and the increasing practice of

ip learning10 have in common that they require new levels
of learners engagement during their computer based learning
activities. This requirement calls for providing enhanced digital
learning experiences. While virtual lectures often rely on videos
as a media, laboratory activity, which characterizes science and
engineering learning more than any other discipline, require a much
higher level of interactivity. Tele-operated labs represent one way
to provide such interactivity however they require as many accesses
to the actual equipment as there as distant learners. Relying upon
unied computer models of systems, integrating both the physical
and the behavioral representations of lab equipment, Dassault
Systemes has implemented methods and tools to indenitely
expand the reach of such labs through realistic, 3D, multi-physics
models. The use by students of such labs avatars has proven
a rich complement to resident sessions as they are designed as a
nomad virtual copy of actual equipment which can be reconnected
any time with the physical device. This characteristic has shown
multiple learning advantages:

Any modern industrial product is designed using computer

representations of several of its facets. This is why most
engineering students are exposed at some point of their curriculum
to modeling software, usually through a CAD course. The last
decades however have seen the relevance of CAD reaching a
new magnitude as a platform to enable practices which become
essential in numerous engineering situations. For example, Digital
mockups are not anymore just a computer version of prototypes but
they are structuring collective innovation and becoming central to
several business critical working methods. Recognizing this role in
education requires to develop competences beyond mastering the
computer pencils which is getting secondary to the ability to work
as a team in a process structured around a commonly shared 3D
representation of ideas and objects enabling increasingly dispersed
teams to devise a product that does not yet exist. Not only are the
deep methodological and behavioral consequences of these new
roles of digital practices not reected in traditional CAD courses,
their value as educators instruments for teaching science and
technology is only emerging in pioneering situations.
As a leading provider of digital innovation software, Dassault
Systemes has been operating for several years a laboratory of
practices exploring with educators and students how recent
evolutions in industry driven digital technologies contribute to a
new learning experience. Here are selected examples.

Understanding the value of fully featured computer models: an

essential attribute of engineers right rst time approach
Understanding the connections between real and virtual devices
while maintaining the physical hands-on experience

9 MOOC : Massive Open Online Course

10 Flip learning : a way to organize educational sequences by placing homework
before residential activities.

The realistic functional avatar of Qansers Two Degrees of Freedom Helicopter provides a nomad experience for practicing dynamic studies, controls, off line programming and
geometrical validation in an integrated manner.

14

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

From our Corporate Partners

Understanding the extend and limits of model idealizations,

Extending opportunities to learn the disciplinary purpose of
the equipment and using the same virtual equipment to study
multiple-disciplines involved in its behavior.

Flipped capstone: experience before

explanation
Providing students with an end-to-end engineering project experience is
traditionally expected from terminal capstone activities, an opportunity
to combine various types of acquired knowledge into a multidisciplinary, integrative problem solving exercise. Such projects often
constitute the rst opportunity in a students live to actively experience
the purpose of the various, sometimes difcult, specialized courses
taken so far. The limit of traditional capstone projects however is that
their motivational effects take place after several years of opportunities
for drop off caused by discouraging arduous disciplinary studies. It is the
objective of early integrative projects to provide students with a real
live experience of the purpose of several disciplines which they will
learn in the course of their studies. When the time then comes for indepth disciplinary conceptualization, the purpose of the learning effort
is already internalized through the early contextualized application
of various disciplines. Among universities having successfully applied
early projects is Purdue University-West Lafayette with their First Year
Engineering Experience program which inspired Dassault Systemes
Freshmen Engineering Experience (FREE). FREE is a package
of teaching material, software models and course plans, recently
enriched in an intensive collaborative effort with the Georgia Institute
of Technology. Relying upon the use of Lego Mindstorms, FREE is a

multi-scale customizable learning format articulated around several

key characteristics:

Unlike usual usages of LEGO, it requires students to model their

assemblies before building them, promoting thinking-beforedoing attitudes,
One obvious reason for going rst through a modeling stage,
besides providing a modeling experience, is that the experience
can be exercised collaboratively, in team composed of distant
students, thus reproducing the conditions of real life collaborative
innovation,
A second activity in FREE makes the digitization work purposeful:
computer models are used to control manufacturing devices (3D
printers) to realize unique, non standard components, not available
in the commercial brick set and that can be integrated in the
nal Lego assembly to complete its performance against initial
requirements,
FREE includes various optional activities: assembly design, designin-context of custom parts, Fab Lab connection for producing
these parts, nite element simulation to spot their weak areas,
programming of the software to be imbedded in the assemblies,
discovery of systems engineering principles and integrated
simulation and optimization of the virtual assembly and its control
program before uploading.

The FREE format has been successfully tested in a downsized version

for high school students during the worlds rst collaborative summer
camp in July 2012. 60 high school students were involved on two
distant sites, Georgia Tech in Atlanta and the University of Detroit
Mercy in Detroit. FREE is currently being expended and packaged for
scalability from a week long intensive activity to a yearlong program.

More breakthrough ahead

Flipping Lab sessions or capstone style activities are two out of a series of educational innovations developed at Dassault
Systemes. Case-based systems engineering courses, international collaborative projects, use of social media are a few other
dimension of our work. Educators willing to explore them, for instance by applying for joint research grants are welcome to
engage a dialog.

Educating Engineers for Global Competitiveness.

SEFI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2014
17-19 September 2014, Birmingham
The SEFI 2014 Annual Conference in Birmingham will also host the UK Biennial Engineering Education Conference.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

15

From our Corporate Partners

Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs Investing in our future

According to the European Commission, the shortage of ICT workers in Europe is expected to rise to
900,000 by 2015. This skill gap is already affecting HP, our customers and partners. We have received
consistent feedback that partners and customers are nding it difcult to source and retain talent with
the technical and business skills necessary to deploy and manage emerging technologies such as cloud
and big data.
As a committed partner to Industry, Academia and the European Commission, Hewlett Packard pledged
to develop a million students and professionals with entrepreneurial and technology skills at the launch
of the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs. One of the key pillars supporting our pledge is the HP Institute, a
partnership with Academia.
With the active support of SEFI and its members we will increase the ICT skill level of young people across
Europe by
ensuring the ICT skills required by industry are taught by academia
promoting STEM education as a career path with long-term economic rewards
help match ICT talent with jobs and internships via HPs vast ecosystem of customers and partners
Currently, over 26,000 million Europeans are unemployed. The time is now to develop and boost the
skilled technology workforce to ll these job openings. HPs academic partnership program, HP Institute
is designed to provide students with the business-ready IT skills that are in decit within the industry.
Want to know more? For more information on the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, please visit the Grand
Coalition website
View the full HP pledge here
Get more information about the HP institute here
Become an HP Institute, e-mail hpinstituteprogram@hp.com or visit our website http://www.certiport.
com/hp or visit our stand at SEFI conference in Leuven September 17-19th to learn more.

16

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

From our Corporate Partners

UK Students Call for Educational

Reform, School Responds
Danielle George, PhD, Senior Lecturer, The University of Manchester,
United Kingdom
The cry for reform was deafening. Students gave the School of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) at The University of
Manchester alarmingly low marks on teaching and learning in the
2009 UK National Student Survey (NSS). With overall satisfaction at
67 percent, the School ranked 34th out of 36 schools in the survey
that year.

All Year 1 Courses Using NI Tools

NSS Ranking Maintained at 1 of 36

90
0 Courses Using NI Tools
NSS Ranking 34 of 36

80

Learning Resources

Teaching of Course

Overall Satisfaction

Learning Resources

Teaching of Course

70
60
50
4

30
2009

2010

2011

George added new lab tools that worked alongside existing

equipment while exposing students to technologies they will use in
their careers. She revised exercises so that equations from textbooks
translated directly into computer simulations. In turn, students used
those simulations to more deftly experiment on the equipment. They
began to see that by grasping the theory, their experiments were
better and their ideas actually came to life.

Figure 2. UK National Student Survey Results 2009-2011

With the rst laboratory course revised, the school began to notice
a change.I was frequently told by Dr. Georges students that the
once cryptic concepts were now making sense. They seemed more
condent in their abilities because they were actually using that
knowledge to solve real problems, Gibson said.

National Instruments tools for teaching scale from the fundamentals

of education all the way to cancer research and rocket science. Start
the ripple effect by downloading the free starter kit at ni.com/
educators-guidebook.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

100

For us, it was more than just numbers, George said. Motivation and
understanding go hand in hand for students, and seeing those results
pushes us to operate with a constant sense of urgency. When it comes
to educating our future innovators, there are some big problems out
there that we need them to solve, and we cant wait any longer.

17

Percent of Students Satised

5 Courses Using NI Tools

NSS Ranking Rises to 1 of 36

Overall Satisfaction

The impact needed to be immediate, George said. But the changes

had to be palatable. We couldnt just scrap everything. We had to use
the same things in new ways. A small change had to create a ripple
effect through the rest of the curriculum.

After just one year, the students ratied the reforms impact on the
next NSS. Satisfaction with teaching and learning lifted, and overall
satisfaction rose dramatically to 98 percent. The school rank rose to
rst of 36.

Learning Resources

The need for change wasnt news to us. It wasnt that we were
ignoring it, but a complete curriculum overhaul always seemed
impossible, Gibson said. The survey gave us no choice but to start
taking some risks to improve the situation. The school enlisted Senior
Lecturer Danielle George, PhD, to improve the laboratory experience
for students and add real-world relevance to the theory-heavy
curriculum. The challenge was implementing her strategies within
time and budget constraints.

The Tide Turns

Teaching of Course

Designing a Ripple Effect

Based on the momentum of this success and student demand for the
changes in other courses, George and her colleagues continued the
reform across the entire curriculum. Because she had chosen tools
that could scale into other labs quickly and affordably, they remained
within time and budget constraints.

Overall Satisfaction

The situation was precarious. Discontent was only going to build if

we didnt change our curriculum quickly, said Head of School Andrew
Gibson. Moreover, there were murmurings of tuition fee increases
across the UK, and since students vote with their feet, we were in
danger of losing them not just to other universities, but to other
countries as well.

Figure 1. George demonstrates the relevance of theoretical concepts

through hands-on projects to undergraduate students.

School leadership knew exactly where the dissatisfaction was coming

from. The course material was all theory and featured very little
application. Students couldnt understand the relevance of what they
were learning, and they had grown tired of taking it on faith that they
would one day use those concepts.

Administrators and Ofcers 2012 2013

Administrative Council
President

Vice-President

Prof. W. Van Petegem KU Leuven

Mr X. Fouger Dassault Systmes

Vice-President / President-elect

Past President

Prof. Kamel Hawwash University of Birmingham

Prof. Anette Kolmos Aalborg University

Elected Administrators
Prof. E. de Graaff Aalborg University
A. Bursuc Board of European Students of Technology
Prof. Z. Dursunkaya Middle East Technical University
Prof. K. Esdstrm Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
N. Kiiskinen Student at Tampere University of Technology
Prof. L. Musilek Czech Technical University in Prague
Prof. J. Rutkowski Silesian University of Technology
Prof. J. Uhomoibhi University of Ulster
Prof. J.-U. Wolff VIA University College
Prof. A. Varadi University of Miskolc
Prof. A.-M. Jolly PolytechOrlans

Dr. M. Murphy Dublin Institue of Technology

Prof K. Norstrm Aalto University
Prof E. Caporali Universit degli Studi di Firenze
Prof. L. Froyen KU Leuven
Prof. Michael Hoffmann 4ING / Universtt Ulm
Prof. Eskild Holm Nielsen Aalborg University
Prof. Antonia Moropoulou NTUA
Prof. Brynjulf Owren NTNU
Prof. Alexander Surygin St. Petersburg Polytechnic University
Prof. Luis Manuel Sanchez UP Valencia

Working Groups
Attractiveness of Engineering Education

Physics and Engineering Education

Prof. K. Hawwash University of Birmingham

Prof. G. Langie KU Leuven

Curriculum Development

Ethics and Engineerning Education

Prof. U. Dominguez University of Valladolid

Dr. E. Alpay Imperial College London

Continuing Engineering Education

New Educational Technologies

Mrs. K. Miettinen Aalto University

Prof. Pieter de Vries Delft University of Technology

Gender and Diversity

Sustainability in Engineering Education

Prof. S. Ihsen TU Mnchen

Prof. Anne-Marie Jolly PolytechOrleans

Engineering Education Research

Quality Assurance and Acreditation

Prof. Robin Clark Aston University

A. Varadi University of Miskolc

Mathematics and Engineering Education

Prof. B. Alpers University of Applied Science Aalen

Task Forces

Standing Committees

Cooperation with Africa

University-Business Cooperation

Dr. Uhomoibhi University of Ulster

X. Fouger Dassault Systmes

Cooperation with the students

Leonardo da Vinci medal Committee
SEFI Head Ofce
Mrs. F. Cme Secretary General
Prof. A. Varadi Acting Treasurer
Mr. J. Schibler Communication Ofcer
Ms. M.Schiel Information Assistant

18

SEFI President Prof. W. Van Petegem KU Leuven

Web Committee
F. Cme (SEFI Secretary General)

European Journal of Engineering Education Editorial

Committee
Chief Editor: E. de Graaff Aalborg

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

Celebrations of SEFI 40th Anniversary

SEFI Special 40th Anniversary Publication
In the context of the 40th Anniversary of SEFI, its Administrative Council decided that a commemorative book will be produced to highlight
the achievements of our Society and its contribution to the development of Higher Engineering Education.
It is also a forward looking book which presents some views on actions to be taken in the future taking into consideration new developments
and new factors impacting higher education in general and the education of the engineers in particular.
A copy of this book will be offered to all participants of the 2013 Annual Conference in Leuven.
Further copies will be available at the SEFI HQ after the annual conference. A PDF version will also be available on www.se.be. For more
information please contact info@se.be

SEFI PhD Thesis Competition 2013

The European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) launches a competition for theses at PhD level.
The aim of the competition is to stimulate and reward initiatives that lead to improvements in Engineering Education.
For this rst competition, the theses have been ofcially accepted or approved by the applicants teaching establishment, member of SEFI,
during the 2010/2011, 2011/2012 or 2012/2013 academic years.
The winner will receive his/her prize at the Awards celebration of the SEFI Annual Conference to be held in Leuven, Belgium on 19th
September 2013.
Each winner will receive a cheque of 500 euro. Winners will have the opportunity to publish their work in the European Journal of
Engineering Education. Winners will also be entitled to free registration to the SEFI 2013 Conference in Leuven.

SEFI Annual Report 2012-2013

19

SEFI is the largest network of higher engineering education institutions (HEIs) and educators in Europe. It is an
international non prot organisation created in 1973 to contribute to the development and improvement of HEE in
Europe, to reinforce the position of the engineering professionals in society, to promote information about HEE and
improve communication between teachers, researchers and students, to reinforce the university-business cooperation
and to encourage the European dimension in higher engineering education. Through its membership composed
of HEIs, academic staff, students, related associations and companies, SEFI connects over 1 million students and
158000 academic staff members in 47 countries. To reach its goals, SEFI implements diverse activities such as Annual
Conferences, Ad hoc seminars/workshops organised by its thematic working groups and task forces, organises
the European Engineering Deans Conventions, publishes a series of Scientic publications (European Journal of
Engineering Education) and Position Papers, is involved in European projects, cooperates with other major European
and international associations and international bodies (European Commission, UNESCO, Council of Europe, OECD).
SEFI also participated in the creation of ENAEE, IFEES, EuroPace, IACEE and of the Institute for the development of
Engineering Academics, IIDEA, and of the European Engineering Deans Council, EEDC.

Annual Report 2012-2013

This publication is the ofcial annual report of the European Society for Engineering Education.
Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. The invited contributions only reect the opinion of
their author. SEFI cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is also available on www.se.be.

Published by SEFI aisbl

Responsible Editors/ Concept and lay out:
Franoise Cme, Secretary General
Jacques Schibler, Communication Ofcer
Graphic design and printing: www.inextremis.be
ISSN 1024-7920

For further information:

SEFI aisbl, 119 rue de Stassart
B-1050 Brussels
Tel : + 32 2 5023609
info@se.be
www.se.be

MP4597

SEFI s Corporate partners