Cired 2003 Academic Village Round Table More power engineers into distribution

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Cired 2003 Academic Village - Round TableMore
power engineers into distribution ?

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Schröppel

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?

• Decrease of the number of engineering, especially
  power engineering students in the recent decade

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?
2. Reasons for the decrease

• The engineering study is seen by the freshmen
  students as hard and difficult
• The reputation of an engineer is relatively
  low. For example much less than that of
  a doctor
• Leading management positions are taken up the
  administratively, financially or legally
  educated people
• Young people use the technology intensively
  but do not want to produce it. ( It
  should be created and produced by others)
• Special reasons for power engineers
• Power engineering is seen as an old
  technology
• It is not trendy
• It is assumed to be not modern and not future
  oriented

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?
3. The Industry role

• Longer term thinking economy cycles must not
  be the recruiting cycles
• Reward performance, attract and promote the
  best
• Cooperate with the universities
• Offer the engineering students career
  perspectives up to the highest ranks by
  showing examples
• Offer internship to the students
• Offer international, possibly overseas
  practical training for the student

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?
4. The university role

• Make the EE studies at the university more
  attractive, means more modern
• Clean up the curriculum, through out the old
  stuff
• Give the curriculum course a modern outfit,
  use the latest technology in the course
  as teaching aids
• Make advertising for EE already at the
  school
• Organize excursions to factories and industry
  laboratories
• Cooperate actively with industry in research,
  involve already students in that work
• Carry out practical research work at the
  university - only a minority of the
  students are attracted by theoretical work

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?
5. Needed activities by both industry and
university

• Teach the basics of economics and financials
  as basic course at university and as
  continuous education in the companies
• Offer practical language training
• Set up committees of industry experts and
  university teachers with the continuous
  task to define and revise when needed the
  curriculum
• Set up advertising campaigns for power
  engineering students involving high
  ranking people from industry and universities.
  (People attract people)

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How to fill the gap between industrial and
academic worlds ?
6. Summary

• Although the electrical and electronic
  industry generates a big part of the
  national gross products the industry has huge
  problems to attract students
• We have to set up a joint initiative between
  industry an universities to overcome
  this problem
• set up joint advertising in the public, esp.
  in the media
• set up joint activities in schools
• offer attractive career chances and prove by
  examples
• give the studies at the universities a modern
  look and feel
• We need a longer-term program to give the
  electrical engineering, especially the
  power engineering technology the attraction
  back it had in the 50ies and 60ies.