Fourth European Convention of Engineering Deans

Aston Webb buildingeced-2012

4th European Convention of Engineering Deans
Organised by SEFI, CESAER and University of Birmingham
Hosted by the University of Birmingham
29-30 March 2012

Tomorrow’s engineers – for an attractive Europe:
Working Together to Build on Europe's Excellence in Engineering Education and Research

Background information

Target audience

For the purpose of the convention a 'dean' is defined as:

  1. a person in charge of an engineering college, school or faculty in a university in Europe
  2. a person in charge of a European institution of higher education that is primarily focused on engineering education and research
  3. a person in charge of an engineering deans (broader definition is applicable) council/organisation in a respective country/region

Aim of the convention

The aim of the convention is to bring together senior leaders of university engineering education and research to discuss issues of concern to both at strategic and operational level. The issues discussed will then inform the work of the various organisations involved, possibly through their working groups, which will then feed into future events including conferences. Reports on progress will then be tabled at the next convention.  It is anticipated that the outputs may feed into development of EU policy related to research and education as appropriate.

Sub themes

  • Deconstructing and reconstructing engineering at universities
  • Attracting and keeping talented staff and students
  • Integrating sustainable innovation, research and education across academia and industry 
  • Attractiveness of Engineering Education: HE STEM Programme, UK

Programme

Thursday, 29 March 2012

Time Activity
09:00-10:00 Registration and coffee
10:00-10:30 Welcome

Prof. Kamel Hawwash, Chair of the Organising Committee

Prof. Richard Williams, PVC and Head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham

Mr Xavier Fouger, Vice President of SEFI

Prof.  Mads Nygård Vice President of CESAER
10:30-13:00   SESSION 1
Deconstructing and reconstructing engineering at universities

Chair: Mads Nyg å rd, NTNU - the Norwegian University of   Science and Technology
10:30-10:50 Introduction
Ir. A. Kamp, Delft University of Technology  
10:50- 11:10 Presentation 1
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Becker, Chief Higher Education Officer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology  
11:10-11:30 Presentation 2
Prof. Katrina Nordström,
Aalto School of Chemical Technology
11:30-12:10 Discussion - break out session  
12:10–13:00   Reporting and discussion
13:00-14:00 Lunch and networking
14:00-16:30 SESSION 2
Attracting and keeping talent (staff and students)

Chair: Dr Mike Murphy, Director and Dean, College of Engineering & Built Environment, Dublin Institute of Technology
14:00-14:20 Presentation 1
Prof. Hervé Biausser, Director of Ecole Centrale Paris  
14:20-14:40 Presentation 2
Prof. Mervyn Jones, Imperial College  
14:40-15:00 Presentation 3
Professor Adam Tickell, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer, University of Birmingham
15:00-15:40 Discussion - break out session  
15:40-16:30 Reporting and discussion
16:30-17:00 Break
17:00-18:30 SESSION 3
Attractiveness of engineering education: HE STEM Programme, UK
Chair: Professor Kamel Hawwash, University of Birmingham and HE STEM Programme  
17:00-18:30 A series of presentations on outputs of the HE STEM Programme and collaboration with the Big Bang Fair 2012.

Mr Michael Grove, Director, HE STEM Programme
Ms Hazel Lewis
Ms Caitlin Watson
Mrs Annette Smart, HE STEM Programme and University of Birmingham
Mr Barry Lewis, Regional Director, STEMNET
Mr Jeremy Buckle, Event Director, The Big Bang
Mr Jon Chase
18:40-19:15 Reception
19:15-21:30 Dinner

Hosted by Prof. David Eastwood the Vice Chancellor of the University of Birmingham

Friday, 30 March 2012

09:00-11:30 SESSION 4
Integrating sustainable innovation, research and education across academia and industry 
Chair: Professor Ludo Froyen, KU Leuven
09:00-09:20 Introduction
Mr Peter Baur, European Commission, Directorate for Education and Culture, Directorate C, Deputy Head of Unit, Unit C2 - EIT and economic partnerships
09:20-09:40   Presentation 1
Professor Anne-Marie Hermansson,
Vice President of Strategic Research Areas of Advance, Chalmers University of Technology
09:40 -10:00     Presentation 2
Professor Jean-Luc Koning, Ph.D. Grenoble Institute of Technology
10:00-10:40 Discussion - break out session    
10:40-11:30 ­Reporting and discussion  
11:30-12:00 Break
12:00-13:00 SESSION 5
Roundtable discussion: Equipping Graduates with the Right Skills


Chair: Professor Richard Williams, Pro Vice Chancellor, Head of College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham

Professor Helen Atkinson President of the Engineering Professors’ Council and University of Leicester

Mr Xavier Fouger, Director - Dassault Systemes Global Learning and PLM Academy

Professor Alsion Hodge, Associate Dean, Professor of Engineering Leadership, Aston University

Mr David Waide, Director Chassis, Jaguar and Land Rover
13:00-13:15 Closing session

Session descriptions

Session 1

Deconstructing and reconstructing engineering at universities

The recently realized so-called „Bologna Process“ according to the development of EU policies related to research, education as well as innovation has also caused a lot of challenges and questions to the involved institutions within Europe. The ultimate goal has been to develop an attractive higher education system with common degrees and study programs enforcing student mobility and global work opportunities within new dimensions. Due to the world wide very heterogeneous education systems with a lot of diverse university profiles and job qualifying histories within the different countries, this very complex task could not easily been achieved. Thus, the academic community tried to analyse the current situation and deconstructed as well as reconstructed their study programs accordingly, e. g. at KIT, within natural sciences and especially within engineering topics. This resulted in a deep reconstruction and optimization of corresponding Bachelor/Master programs, whereas leading European  and research-driven universities tried to implement the principle of „Teaching follows Research“ especially in a sustainable way. Therefore, this session will present and discuss various actual best practice cases of prominent European research and teaching institutions in detail.

Session 2

Attracting and keeping talent (staff and students)

Universities thrive when talented people come together in a stimulating environment.  Therefore attracting and keeping talent represents a strategic challenge for European universities.  This is particularly the case regarding attracting talented academic staff and talented students.  In this session different approaches will be presented and discussed with the goal of having a sustainable impact at an engineering school level.   Themes to be explored include internationalization at the home university or the creation of a remote campus outside of Europe; and how sustainable positive results can be generated by creating the right international setting for students and staff.  

Session 3

Attractiveness of engineering education: HE STEM Programme, UK

Attracting and retaining an appropriate supply of graduates in science and engineering is vital if Europe is to continue to compete adequately in what are challenging global conditions.  Issues relating to attractiveness have been the subject of the work of the National HE STEM Programme which is a three year programme, which concludes its work in July 2012.  Speakers from projects funded by the Programme and a representative from a major science and engineering fair will provide examples of the outputs of the Programme.

Session 4

Integrating sustainable innovation, research and education across academia and industry  

Developing local, networked eco-systems that could implement in a practical and effective way the concept of "knowledge triangle" (i.e., research, education, innovation) is one of the priorities of the coming decade in Europe. Both national governments and the European Commission are investing significant resources to incentivise the establishment and consolidation of competence clusters, involving both academia and industry, in different regions; some relevant results have already been achieved. The speakers of this session will elaborate on the concept of integrating sustainable innovation with research and education. Instruments available to pursue this goal, as well as examples of good practices will be illustrated and discussed with the audience.

Session 5

Roundtable discussion: Equipping Graduates with the Right Skills

The challenge for Higher Education Institutions preparing engineering graduates for the future is to ensure a balance between educating them, which is at the heart of their missions, and the requirements of the work place. The roundtable discussion brings together representatives from industry and academia to explore the extent to which Higher Education Institutions are meeting these challenges at a time when there is an ever increasing emphasis on skills.

Invited speakers


Ir. A. Kamp, Director of Education Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology

Aldert Kamp is a graduate aerospace engineering of TU Delft (1979). Since 2007 he holds the position of Director of Education for the BSc and MSc Aerospace Engineering of TU Delft. More than 20 years of industrial experience in space systems engineering management for space instruments and spacecraft systems design have given him the insight in the knowledge, skills and attitudes the graduates of engineering programmes need to have to become successful all-round academic professionals. Since 2011 he has therefore been TU Delft's representative for the worldwide CDIO Initiative, the innovative education framework for producing the next generation of engineers.

Since 2005 he has been the initiator and project leader of the innovation of the BSc, MSc and Excellence programmes. His systems engineering experience and hands-on practice from the shop floor of space industries, his leadership in an academic environment of educational professionals, his didactic insight in factors that promote intrinsic motivation of students, in active tuition and assessments forms, have driven the curriculum design and development process from 2006 – 2010. The story of these curriculum changes is quite uncommon. They have resulted in curricula that are highly CDIO compatible and in which students enjoy the thrill of the profession of an aerospace engineer from the first day of their study. Aldert is frequently invited by partner universities to give presentations about changing engineering educational programmes.

Since 2002, Aldert has been involved in university education policy development, quality assurance in higher education, audits of Dutch and international academic engineering programmes. He has been teaching bachelor and master courses about Space Engineering & Technology and Space Instrumentation Engineering, and is guest lecturer in the Space Systems Course of the University of Southampton since 1992.

Professor Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Becker, Chief Higher Education Officer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Jürgen Becker is Full Professor for Embedded Electronic Systems in the department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Universität Karlsruhe (TH). His actual research is focused on industrial-driven System-on-Chip (SoC) integration with emphasis on adaptivity, e.g. dynamically reconfigurable hardware architecture development and application in automotive and communication systems. Prof. Becker is Head of the Institute for Information Processing (ITIV) and Department Director of Electronic Systems and Microsystems (ESM) at the Computer Science Research Center (FZI). From 2001- 2005 he has been Co-Director of the International Department at Universität Karlsruhe (TH), and from 2002 – 2008 Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Computers. He is author and co-author of more than 300 scientific papers, and active as general and technical program chairman of national / international conferences and workshops. He is executive board member of the german IEEE section, Board member of the GI/ITG Technical Committee of Architectures for VLSI Circuits, and Senior Member of the IEEE. Since October 2005 Prof. Becker is Board Member and Vice-President ("Prorektor") for Studies and Teaching at Universität Karlsruhe (TH), and since October 2009 Chief Higher Education Officer (CHEO) in the new Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – KIT – the unique merger of a large national research lab in the Helmholtz Society as well as of a prominent state university of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany.

Professor Katrina Nordström, professor
Aalto School of Chemical Technology

Katrina Nordström (born 1957), is a professor of Applied Microbiology at the Aalto University School of Chemical Technology, Finland. She received her B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Surrey, UK in 1979 and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of London, UK. 1983. During 1983-1988 she worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA. As of 1988 she has been a Docent of Microbial Chemistry of the University of Helsinki and during 1988-1994 she was a Senior Research Scientist of the Academy of Finland. She was appointed assistant professor of applied microbiology of the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK, now one of the schools of Aalto University) in 1994 and full professor in 1998. She has 23 years of experience in teaching engineering students (from 1st to 5th year) at the B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels and has extensive experience in supervising Ph.D. theses. Her biotechnology research focuses on regulatory science of cell based products in the EU, cell and tissue engineering, production and distribution of biological products and microbial risk management. She is also active in engineering education research and currently her main focus in teaching is on development of new teaching tools for scientific disciplines via new learning platforms such as Aalto Design Factory in Finland and in Shanghai. She is also active in development of teaching in virtual spaces, such as Second Life http://bit.ly/lablife. She has also completed 30 credits of university teacher’s pedagogical training. She is a member of the Administrative Council of SEFI and has served on numerous academic and scientific committees nationally and internationally.

Professor Hervé BIAUSSER, Director of Ecole Centrale Paris

Hervé BIAUSSER is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris (1973) and he holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Paris University.  He joined the Research Institute of the French Steel Industry where he developed research activities on steel processing and steel products, held several managerial positions and took the responsibility of the Mechanical Metallurgy Department.  In 1995, he joined Ecole Centrale Paris, where he was already adjunct professor, as a full-time professor. He took the responsibility of the Material Science Department in 1997 and of the Material Processing Laboratory in 1998 and was appointed Dean of Research and Doctoral Studies in 2001.  In 2003, he was appointed Director of Ecole Centrale Paris by the President of the French Republic following the proposal of the Board of Administration. At Ecole Centrale Paris, he has conducted major reforms such as the complete revamping of the engineering degree curiculum, the development of cooperation with Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan and Université ParisSud, the intensification of international relations including the establishment in 2005 of Ecole Centrale Beijing, and the development of relations with industry leading to the doubling of the School’s budget.  Hervé Biausser is the Vice-President of CGE (Conférence des Grandes Ecoles Françaises), the Vice-President of the Board of Ecole Centrale Beijing and the President of the Ecoles Centrales network (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes and Marseille). From 2007 till 2009, he was the President of the «Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research » (CESAER) and he is the current President of the TIME European network.  Hervé Biausser is Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, and received in 2005 the Grande Médaille of the French Society of Metallurgy and Materials.

Professor Mervyn Jones

Mervyn Jones is a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Optical and Semiconductor Devices Research Group, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London, where his interests are in nano devices and their fabrication. He has degrees in Physics, Materials Science and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, from Imperial College London and more than 30 years research experience in industry and universities on solid state devices and lithography. He is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, journal editor, technical referee and subject expert for the European Commission. In addition he has an active interest in engineering education issues and in September 2010 organised a 2-day discussion meeting at Imperial entitled Educating Engineering Leaders. Between 1991-2008 he was responsible the Continuing Professional Development Centre at Imperial College London, which provides specialised programmes for professionals in science, engineering, medicine and management. He has published widely on both technical and educational issues, presenting invited and contributed papers at international meetings. He is active in international engineering education forums including SEFI, IACEE and other bodies, He was President IACEE 2004 -2008 and was an Executive Committee member of IFEES, 2006-2008.

Professor Adam Tickell, Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Knowledge Transfer, University of Birmingham

Professor Adam Tickell is the University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer.  He is a human geographer who has worked on the politics of international finance and changes in the international political economy.  He is a member of the University Executive Board and leads for UEB on preparation for the Research Excellence Framework, research grant capture, and postgraduate and doctoral research.  He is a member of the Russell Group Industry Group.

Mr Michael Grove, Director, National HE STEM Programme, University of Birmingham

Michael is Director of the National HE STEM Programme at the University of Birmingham.  He has been involved in work to support the STEM subjects that were deemed strategically important and vulnerable by the Higher Education Funding Council for England since 2005, when he worked to develop the proposal for the More Maths Grads initiative and oversaw its subsequent implementation.   He was a member of the University of Birmingham team that developed the proposal for the National HE STEM Programme in 2008 and 2009.  In November 2009 Michael was appointed Director of the National HE STEM Programme, and is responsible for its overall strategic direction the interaction of the Programme at a national policy level.

Michael’s academic background is as a Physicist with a particular interest in the polarisation of the cosmic microwave background radiation.  He has previously worked on issues surrounding the learning and teaching of mathematics within higher education, and his interests continue to include supporting students at the transition to university where he remains a member of the successful mathcentre and mathtutor teams, the teaching of mechanics, enhancing modelling and problem solving skills within undergraduate STEM students, and supporting the professional development of new academic members of staff and part-time teachers.

Ms Hazel Lewis

Hazel Lewis works for the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) which is the UK's learned and professional society for mathematics and its applications.  The IMA has been contracted to deliver the maths strand of the National HE STEM Programme and it is this initiative which Hazel spends most of her time working on. The National HE STEM Programme supports Higher Education Institutions in the exploration of new approaches to recruiting students and delivering programmes of study within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Ms Caitlin Watson, Institute of Physics, UK

Caitlin Watson is Head of Public Engagement for the Institute of Physics, a role which involves developing and delivering a programme of activities that explore effective ways of engaging a broad range of audiences – from young people to politicians – with physics. The programme also provides training, support and funding for physicists who are, or would like to be, active in public engagement. Caitlin’s background is in physics and she has been active in the science communication community for over 15 years.

Mrs Annette Smart, HE STEM Programme

Annette Smart, HE STEM Programme, Regional Officer for Widening Participation and Outreach Midlands & East Anglia has responsibility for stimulating collaborative working between higher education institutions,  secondary schools,  professional bodies, careers professionals and others aimed at inspiring and encouraging greater take up of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at ‘A’ level and beyond.  Her extensive network, experience and understanding of the difficulties young people face when making subject and career choices ensures her projects deliver exemplary results.  One regional project is focussing on the development of dynamic, interactive areas within public venues such as UK Science & Discovery Centres, to inform and encourage young people particularly from disadvantaged groups, alongside their subject choice and career influencers, to consider the wider benefits and opportunities available to them that higher education can offer. 
Previously working for QinetiQ, the global defence and security organisation, and probably the largest STEM employer in Europe, Annette established an award winning outreach programme with 1:7 employees engaged as inspirational role models at all levels across all disciplines.  a.smart@bham.ac.uk  http://www.hestem.ac.uk

Mr Jeremy Buckle, Event Director, The Big Bang Fair

Jeremy Buckle is the Event Director for The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair. Prior to this Jeremy was a Producer at the WPP Group live event agency FitchLive, managing the largest technical event in Europe - Microsoft Tech.Ed. Jeremy has a developed a diverse skill set ranging from creative live event production, theatrical design and technical project management. With a creative background spanning 15 years and four continents Jeremy has launched theme parks, produced award winning feature films, theatre, television and live events working for a diverse range of organisations across education, government, science, technology and arts.

Mr Jon Chase

Jon Chase is a freelance science communicator with a background in aerospace engineering, science and science fiction.  Identified by The Guardian in 2008 as education’s ‘Next Big Thing’, Jon has engaged the public with science through a variety of outreach projects.  He has performed his science raps at the Science Museum and Royal Society as well as at many schools and libraries across the UK.
 
Jon's main passion is using rap music and other innovative methods to communicate science to a wider audience.  He has collaborated with many organizations including the Open University, Science Photo Library, BBC and NASA.


Mr Peter Baur, European Commission, Directorate for Education and Culture, Directorate C, Deputy Head of Unit, Unit C2 - EIT and economic partnerships.

He is Deputy Head of the unit "European Institute for Innovation and Technology, economic partnerships" in the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. He is currently  working on the development of policy in the area of higher education on EU level, with a particular focus on the development of university-business co-operation.

He joined the European Commission in 1994 and he worked for almost 7 years in the European research programmes in the area of information technologies. In 2001 he started to work in the Directorate General Education and Culture. He was closely involved in the elaboration of the Commission's proposal for the integrated lifelong learning programme and in the activities related to the Education and Training 2010 work programme. He worked during a number of years on the development of vocational training policy on EU level and was responsible for the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in Thessaloniki, Greece.

 Before joining the European Commission, he worked for 10 years in industry.

Professor Anne-Marie Hermansson,
Vice President of Strategic Research Areas of Advance, Chalmers University of Technology

(text taken from website; final version to be confirmed)

Anne-Marie Hermansson holds the position as Vice President of Strategic Research Areas of Advance at Chalmers and is Professor in Structured biomaterials. 

Her research is focused on microstructure design of soft materials to tailor properties such as mass transport and rheological behaviour.

She has previously been Director of the Structure and Material Design Unit at SIK and the Director of the Centre of Excellence: Supramolecular Biomaterials. She is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science as well as the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. She was educated in Gothenburg and Lund. She has a M.Sc. in chemical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology and a Ph.D. in Food Technology from Lund University. She had published around 200 papers and conference proceedings. Anne-Marie Hermansson is frequently invited to give lectures at international congresses and she is involved in a number of international projects. She is part of the editorial board of the following international journals; Food Hydrocolloids Journal of Texture Studies, Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies.

Professor Jean-Luc Koning, Ph.D. Vice President, International Affairs, Grenoble Institute of Technology

Jean-Luc Koning is Vice-President for International Affairs at the Grenoble Institute of Technology. He joined this institution in 1993 having conducted his PhD thesis in computer science at the national research center on aerospace (Onera) in Toulouse, France, in 1990. He then held a post-doctoral position at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA) in Computer Manufacturing Decision Systems. As a research scientist in computer science, Professor Koning published over 60 scientific papers in international journals and conferences, as well as book chapters, and contributed significantly to the field of engineering interaction protocols in distributed multi-agent systems. In 2001, he became the founding director of a research team on complex cooperative systems and served from 2003 till 2006 as Vice-Head of the Lcis research laboratory. In 2006, Prof. Koning got appointed Deputy Vice-President for academic affairs of the Grenoble Institute of Technology and in 2007 he was named Vice-President for International Affairs.

Maria Knutson Wedel

Vice President for Education at Chalmers University of Technology

Her current position is Vice president for undergraduate and master´s education at Chalmers University of Technology. Maria became professor in Engineering Materials 2008, received a PhD in Physics 1996 and an MSc in Engineering Physics 1988.

The research experiences are mainly based on electron microscopy regarding the correlation between manufacturing, microstructure and mechanical properties of ceramics, metals or intermetallics. A new addition is microwave pyrolysis for recycling of waste electronic equipment.

 Pedagogy and sustainability experiences include more than 10 years involvement in the engineering education reform CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate). It also include positions as Pedagogical development coordinator supporting the Dean of Engineering, Director of the Masters’ Programme Materials Engineering for 6 years and Chalmers director for UNITECH (an exchange programme focused on leadership). During 2011 she was Vice director at Gothenburg Centre for Environment and Sustainability.

Prof. Helen Atkinson, President of the  Engineering Prof.s’ Council and University of Leicester

Professor Atkinsonhas a first class degree from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from Imperial College. She is Professor of Metals Processing at the University of Leicester and Head of the Mechanics of Materials Research Group. She is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE). She has written and edited books on hot isostatic processing and semi-solid processing and nearly 200 international publications, many in the field of semi-solid processing.

In 2007, Professor Atkinson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the highest honour for an engineer in the UK. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liege in Belgium in 2010 in recognition of her international standing as a metallurgist and was also recognised with a UK national award as a ‘Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Science, Engineering and Technology’ for ‘leadership and inspiration to others’. She is a Visiting Professor at Arts et Métier ParisTech, one of the most highly regarded French universities for science and technology. Professor Atkinson received the Lee Hsun Lecture Award from the Institute for Metal Research and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang in 2011 for her international distinction in materials science and technology. Professor Atkinson is currently President of the UK Engineering Professors’ Council, the body which represents engineering in higher education throughout the UK. She is leading a project for the national HESTEM programme which aims to identify why some engineering graduates, nationally, do not obtain graduate level employment in engineering soon after graduation despite the strong demand from employers.

Professor Alison Hodge MBE, CPhys, FInstP, CEng, FIET, MInstKT

Trained as a research physicist at the University of Reading, Alison recently joined Aston University School of Engineering and Applied Science as Associate Dean. She is recognized nationally as a leading exponent of knowledge exploitation between businesses and universities. Her professional career has encompassed pioneering research, management of applied research and strategic direction of specific programmes. Her initial employment was in the UK Civil Service. As a Department Head, she transitioned teams in the former Ministry of Defence research laboratories into Agency status then profit driven commercial company. Her last role in QinetiQ was as University Partnerships Director. She is an enthusiastic ambassador for women in science and engineering, and the need for these STEM skills. Her MBE, awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2002, is for Services to the Institute of Physics.

Alison is highly networked; she has been an industry adviser to many university groups and is Visiting Fellow at the University of Bristol. She is External Examiner in Physics at Aberystwyth University and is a Panel Member for HEFCE REF Panel B13 (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials). She has been a member of Council of the Institute of Physics and is a member of the Council of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. She was Interim Chair of the EPSRC User Panel and Chaired the CBI Inter-Company Academic Relations Group. Alison Chaired the Review of the use of “Roberts money” for researchers skills development.

Mr David Waide, Director Chassis, Jaguar and Land Rover

Awarded a BSc (Hons 1st class) in Mechanical Engineering by the University of Manchester in 1978, David started working for BL Cars in Chassis Engineering and has remained with the same company while it metamorphosed to Jaguar Land Rover. David experienced all the different disciplines within Chassis becoming Chief Engineer for Small Cars in 1988. Whilst in this role David was a co-winner of the RAE MacRobert Award in 1991 for the Rover Metro and its innovative interconnected Hydragas suspension. David then moved into Programme Management becoming Chief Engineer firstly for Rover 600 and then for Large Cars within Rover Group. In this latter role he led the engineering creation of the Rover 75 from the earliest pre-concept phase through to production. On the Ford purchase of Land Rover in 2000 David moved back to head Land Rover Chassis Engineering, adding responsibility for Jaguar chassis in 2003. He has supported the University of Birmingham as an industrial advisor for 9 years including chairing the Industrial Advisory Committee for the School of Mechanical Engineering since 2006. David has made key technical and strategic inputs to numerous very successful cars, has extensive leadership experience of large teams and large projects, has guided new technologies through gestation to market (including Terrain Response which won a Queens Award for Innovation in 2008), and has extensive senior automotive engineering experience including working with Honda; BMW; Ford; Volvo and TATA Motors.

Mr Xavier Fouger, Senior Program Director, Global Academia

After graduation as industrial engineer at Ecole Centrale de Lille, Xavier Fouger started his career in 1986 as Attaché for Science and Technology at the French Embassy in Austria in charge of science and technology cooperation.

With Dassault Systemes since 1990, he spent several years in developing new digital processes to enhance collective innovation in the automotive industry. In this role, he acted as principal advisor to engineering and business leaders in various countries with a focus on Germany, Korea and Japan. In 2003, he created Dassault Systemes’ Academy, the corporate organization supporting skills, producing educational innovation and encouraging transformative learning initiatives related to the use of the company’s software.

In France he introduced and developed with the University of Versailles, a nationwide program – “Course en Cours”- which after five years of operation involves 11500 high school students, mentored by 500 engineering students in designing, building and racing electric model cars. Measurable impact on enrolment in science and technology was observed as a consequence of this ongoing initiative, endorsed by the Ministry of Education and awarded the national entrepreneurship prize within the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. These efforts to promote the engineering profession led him to implement various cutting edge educational activities for secondary and vocational education in the USA and Canada.

His focus is on facilitating multidisciplinary learning, industry cooperation and international activities. With the aim to build educators skills in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), he initiated competency centres in India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and South Africa and established in 2009 the Dassault Systemes’ chair for PLM at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He is leading a new joint research project in mechatronics and systems engineering with the Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”, Atlanta), and regularly provides advanced seminars in collaborative innovation in several institutions, including the French Ecole Polytechnique.

Working with policy makers, he has developed educational programs at country scale, in support of national priorities, particularly in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. A founding member of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies, active member of the Bureau of the European Society for Engineering Education, Xavier Fouger has taken an active part in the creation of the Global Engineering Deans Council. His international work also includes the promotion of Grand Challenges for Engineering in the global student’s community.

Xavier Fouger is driving corporate research on virtual labs, teaching co-creation in product innovation and crowd-based curriculum creation.

Michael Grove – Director, National HE STEM Programme, University of Birmingham

Michael is Director of the National HE STEM Programme at the University of Birmingham. He has been involved in work to support the STEM subjects that were deemed strategically important and vulnerable by the Higher Education Funding Council for England since 2005, when he worked to develop the proposal for the More Maths Grads initiative and oversaw its subsequent implementation. He was a member of the University of Birmingham team that developed the proposal for the National HE STEM Programme in 2008 and 2009. In November 2009 Michael was appointed Director of the National HE STEM Programme, and is responsible for its overall strategic direction the interaction of the Programme at a national policy level.

Michael’s academic background is as a Physicist with a particular interest in the polarisation of the cosmic microwave background radiation. He has previously worked on issues surrounding the learning and teaching of mathematics within higher education, and his interests continue to include supporting students at the transition to university where he remains a member of the successful mathcentre and mathtutor teams, the teaching of mechanics, enhancing modelling and problem solving skills within undergraduate STEM students, and supporting the professional development of new academic members of staff and part-time teachers.

Mr Barry Lewis

Regional Director – STEMNET West Midlands

Whilst working in the field of Education, Barry has had many roles and responsibilities beginning in schools as a classroom teacher of design and technology culminating as a Link and Subject Inspector in Warwickshire LA before joining the STEMNET team as a Regional Director in September 2005.  He is knowledgeable in all aspects of the school curriculum its content, assessment and delivery, the management and organisation of schools and the national priorities.  His has developed skills in facilitation, advice and support, coaching and skills development, leadership and management, monitoring and evaluation and using data to analyse performance and determine future strategies.  In 2005/06 Barry became the President of the National Association for Advisers and Inspectors in Design and Technology (NAAIDT) which culminated in a national conference in April 2006 in Warwickshire.  He remains a director of the NAAIDT and provides them with STEM updates.

As STEMNET Regional Director Barry works closely with regional partners to ensure that the STEM Enrichment & Enhancement support being provided to schools and colleges is fit for purpose and that good practice is identified and disseminated widely, in order to continuously improve the service available to teachers and young people and maximise returns from investment in STEM E&E.  He also ensures STEMNET delivers its strategic projects which increase opportunity for young people, regardless of background, to engage more effectively with STEM E&E, by co-ordinating regional delivery of appropriate projects managed by STEMNET on behalf of HMG and other funders.

Convention Organising Committee

University of Birmingham partners in the Organising Committee

Professor Kamel Hawwash (Chair of the Organising Committee)
Regional Director for the HE STEM Programme (Midlands & East Anglia)

Tel: +44 121 414 5068
Email: k.i.m.hawwash@bham.ac.uk

Professor Duc Pham
Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering

Tel: +44 121 414 7110
Email: d.t.pham@bham.ac.uk

CESAER partners in the Organising Committee

Prof. Dr.Techn. Mads Nygård
Dean of Engineering Education
NTNU - the Norwegian University of  Science and Technology

Tel: +47 73 59 34 70      
Email: mads.nygaard@idi.ntnu.no

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Juergen Becker
Chief Higher Education Officer 
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - KIT

Tel: +49 721 608 42502
Email: becker@kit.edu

Prof. Enrico Macii
Vice Rector Research, Technology Transfer and European Relations 
Politecnico di Torino

Tel: +39 011 564 70 74      
Email: enrico.macii@polito.it

SEFI partners in the Organising Committee

Mrs Frncoise Come
General Secretary of SEFI

Tel: +3225023609
Email: francoise.come@sefi.be

Professor Anette Kolmos
UNESCO Chair in Problem Based Learning

Tel: +45 99408307
Email: ak@plan.aau.dk

Dr Mike Murphy
Director and Dean, College of Engineering & Built Environment 
Dublin Institute of Technology

Tel: +353 1 402 3649
Email: mike.murphy@dit.ie

SEFI/CESAER partners in the Committee

Prof.dr.ir. Ludo Froyen
Dean
Faculty of Engineering, KU Leuven 

Tel: +32 16 32 13 52       
Email: decaan@eng.kuleuven.be 

 

 

Organised in conjunction with:

 

seficesaer

Supported by:

he-stemdassault-systems