EoE Riga 2015 Final Report by BESTorg

23rd - 31st July 2015 RIGA

EVENT ON EDUCATION “Let's Cement The Canyon! Removing The Gap Between University and Profession”

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 6 8 9 11 12 14 17 24 26 27

INTRODUCTION BEST SPEAKERS AND CONTRIBUTORS FACILITATORS PARTICIPANTS OF THE EVENT SCHEDULE

INTRODUCTION A BEST Academics and Companies Forum (BACo) is an event that gathers

students, academics and representatives from corporate world in round tables to discuss topics related to the nowadays challenges in European Engineering Education. The goal of the event is to bring together the three stakeholders in education and help them to exchange opinions, share experiences, offer suggestions and find solutions to common issues. From 23rd till 31st July 2015, BACo was organised by BEST in Riga, Latvia under the support of Riga Technical University. Event topics were: - Continuous professional development - Gap between teaching profile and professional skills - Skills and learning objectives.

WORKING METHODS DURING THE SESSIONS MAIN TOPICS TOPICS CONCLUSION THANK YOU AUTHORS OF THE DOCUMENT

Event on Education

BEST About

Board of European Students of Technology is a non-governmental, non-profit and

apolitical student organisation. BEST strives to help European students of technology to become more internationally minded, by reaching a better understanding of European cultures and developing capacities to work in an international environment. BEST perceives students as one of the major actors in the development of education. In this way BEST has been striving to bring the development of European Education closer to students. Today, BEST is present in 33 countries with a total of 95 active local BEST groups and a total of more than 3.300 vibrant and competent young engineering students who believe in technology and different ways of thinking. BEST believes that engineering is the future and wants to contribute to it. BEST is adding value to the environment we are part of - putting European universities on the map, connecting students with our partners and closing the gap between students, companies and universities. BEST understands that the world is changing and is taking the challenge to lead students through those changes by fulfilling its purpose. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, BEST is not standing idle but looking into what we can still do together. BEST Educational Involvement is a service that BEST offers to technical students all over Europe. It creates a platform for raising awareness of students on educational matters and to provide impartial input of students to the stakeholders of European engineering education. Events on Education were created as an attempt to raise awareness and involve students in the process of European engineering education improvement.

About

BEST

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SPEAKERS AND CONTRIBUTORS Giuliano Augusti - Email: giuliano.augusti@gmail.com - Institution: ENAEE - Position: Prof. Giuliano Augusti, President of ENAEE (2006-2012), former coordinator of the EUR-ACE and EUR-ACE IMPLEMENTATION Projects, now coordinator of EUR-ACE SPREAD (2008-2010) and member of the Management Committee of the Academic Network EUGENE (2009-2012) was a Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics in the Università “La Sapienza”, Roma. - Details: G. Augusti has acquired over the years a vast experience in the field of recognition and accreditation of engineering education at the national and European level, and has published and edited a number of papers and reports on the subject. He was a member of the SEFI Administrative Council for many years and President in 1987/88; since several years he sits also in the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Engineering Education (EJEE).

Ana Lucas - Email: ana.a.lucas@tecnico.ulisboa.pt - Institution: Instituto Superior Tecnico - Position: Gabinete de Apoio ao Tutorado and Conselho de Gestão Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa (IST) or in English: Data Analyst at Instituto Superior Técnico - Details: Graduated in Sociology (UNL-FSCH); post graduated in “Data Analysis in the Social Sciences” (ISCTE). Collaborated in the international project ATTRACT – Enhance the Attractiveness of Studies in Science and Technology (EU-LLP) and presented several papers on tutoring practices in national and international meetings. Collaborated in international BEST meetings in 2013 and 2014

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Kirill Linnik - Email: kirill.linnik@kuehne-nagel.com - Institution: Kühne Nagel IT Center - Position: Team Manager Tāllis Juhna - Email: talis.juhna@rtu.lv - Institution: Riga Technical University - Position: Vice-rector for Research at Riga Technical University Uldis Sukovskis - Email: uldis.sukovskis@rtu.lv - Institution: Riga Technical University - Position: Vice-rector for for Academic Affairs at Riga Technical University Andris Broks - Email: andris.broks@lu.lv - Institution: University of Latvia, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics (Physics) - Position: Aassociated professor Uģis Bertulsons - Email: ugis.bertulsons@fima.lv - Institution: FIMA - Position: Development Director Charles Bušmanis - Email: charles.busmanis@rtu.lv - Institution: Riga Technical University Design Factory - Position: Head of RTU Design Factory (Design & Education)

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facilitators Marija Stanojevic - Belgrade, Serbia (Event Coordinator)

Elina Garklava - Riga, Latvia

Irina Bour - Bucharest, Romania

Ou Yan Zhou - Milan, Italy

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PARTICIPANTS OF THE EVENT Nr.

Name

Surname

City

Country

Katarzyna

Andrzejewska

Kraków

Poland

Matilda

Axelson

Lund

Sweden

Bence

Bakó

Budapest

Hungary

Philipp

Boisits

Vienna

Austria

Cor

Bollemeijer

Delft

Netherlands

Valentina

Ciufo

Turin

Italy

Smara

Cosurba

Aalborg

Denmark

Ádám

Czikó

Vienna

Austria

Laura

Feller

Graz

Austria

Iúri

Figueiredo

Lisbon

Portugal

Tomáš

Kazda

Prague

Czech Republic

Anna

Koutsaki

Patras

Greece

Elena

Martin

Madrid

Spain

Ondrej

Meluzin

Brno

Czech Republic

Gabriela

Mosio

Kraków

Poland

Arturs

Neitals

Riga

Latvia

Mirko

Nespoli

Trento

Italy

Janis

Späth

Erlangen

Germany

Lasma

Stanka

Riga

Latvia

Natalia

Vittoratou

Athens

Greece

Milica

Vukadinovic

Belgrade

Serbia

Aikaterini

Zacharopoulou

Thessaloniki

Greece

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SCHEDULE

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WORKING METHODS DURING THE SESSIONS Discussion group A disscousion group is an interactive oral process wherein a group of people is given a topic or a situation and after thinking over it for a few minutes, they discuss their views with each other. The opinions and ideas are expressed in a systematic way. Learning cafe Learning Café methodology is a simple, effective, and flexible format for hosting large group dialogue. Participants are divided into groups, each starting from a different spot or table. Each table has a specific topic that is discussed there. Everything discussed will be recorded and after the allotted time, groups will change tables. After moving to the new table, group will familiarize themselves with was was discussed there before (either by reading the recording or having one person remaining behind to explain the previous discussion to new group). After learning about the previous discussion the group will add their ideas. This will be repeated until all the groups ahve been to all the tables or until neccessary. In the end the ideas from each table will be presented to everybody.

that may arise in dealing with the problem and can then explore alternative ways of addressing them. Sharing session A series of small workshops focussed on the various topics of the event set the background for creating a sharing atmosphere. Within the framework of the workshops, participants discussed and exchanged their universities’ local practices, and as a result gained a deeper understanding of different cultures and different educational systems. Having this information in hand, the participants exchanged information and deepened discussions through different methods that lead to an assembly of best practices and recommendations. Debate Debate is a formal discussion involving opposing viewpoints. Debate was used in the Adaption of IT systems in education processes session. Participants were divided into four groups and were asked to either give pro or con argument on the given topic. This method was used to make people think outside the box and consider arguments for both worldviews, even if it didn’t match their own.

Panel discussion The expert panel method is based on the idea of eliciting expert knowledge. The panels are formed by a small group of expert, around 5 individuals who are given some months to prepare a discussion that lasts 2 hours where a facilitator guides a discussion on the future of a given topic area, whether it be a technology, an application area, or an economic sector. The audience is given the possibility to participate in the discussion through questions and opinions. Role play Role-playing, or “learning through acting”, is a technique that requires participants to perform a task in a realistic situation simulating “real life”. This type of exercise is an effective means to take in and absorb the content and substance of new ideas. It facilitates an active understanding of the information and gives participants the opportunity to apply new skills and abilities. The simulation serves as a rehearsal on how to conduct future activities. By recreating models of real situations, which “play out” a problematic scenario, the participants are given the opportunity to see the situation from perspectives other than those they might be taking in reality. Both the participants and the facilitators have an opportunity to see “hidden obstacles” 12

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MAIN TOPICS

Gap between teaching profile and professional skills

Gap between teaching profile and professional skills is very broad topic which Continuous professional development

Continuing

professional development (CPD) or continuing professional education (CPE) is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives. It refers to the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience that is gained both formally and informally as you work, beyond any initial training. The CPD process helps in managing personal development on an ongoing basis. It’s function is to help in recording, reviewing and reflecting on what you learn. CPD obligations are common to most professions. Many professions define CPD as a structured approach to learning to help ensure competence to practice, taking in knowledge, skills and practical experience. CPD can involve any relevant learning activity, whether formal and structured or informal and self-directed. CPD is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth. The focus of CPD is firmly on results – the benefits that professional development can bring you in the real world. Perhaps the most important message is that one size doesn’t fit all. CPD isn’t a fixed process, although it does lay down certain basic processes. Fundamentally, it’s a question of setting yourself objectives for development and then charting your progress towards achieving them. It’s about where you want to be and how you plan to get there. Our approach is based on reflection that focuses on outcomes and results, rather than ‘time spent’ or ‘things done’. The benefits of CPD aren’t felt just when you’re going for promotion. Many employers now value ‘learning agility’ as a core competency. Other benefits you can get with CPD are: - Build confidence and credibility; you can see your progression by tracking your learning. - Earn more by showcasing your achievements. A handy tool for appraisals. - Achieve your career goals by focussing on your training and development. - Cope positively with change by constantly updating your skill set. - Be more productive and efficient by reflecting on your learning and highlighting gaps in your knowledge and experience

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includes many other subtopics inside and that is why it is main topic of this event. It has many layers and different approaches, so on this course we will consider Continuous professional development and Skills and learning objectives as parts of solution for this gap. Beside, many discussions will focus on the gap itself and reasons why it exists. There are few problems which has to be considered under this topic and which will be shortly present in next lines. With high level of unemployment of young people in Europe, it should be discussed what are the skills and knowledge students miss in order to be right choice for the companies. Questions is what is the relation between universities and industry and how this relation influences students employment after graduation. Another discussion topic is focused on skills that students gain as well as balance of skills and knowledge taught at university. Related with that, there is a question what is the level of practical knowledge which should be obtained during studies, what is the currently present level of practice and how to make appropriate balance between theoretical knowledge, practical work and skills during the university. Another important issue is brought by globalization and mobility of engineers. Engineers increasingly engage in international projects, including service on multinational teams at different points around the globe, collaborating on a common project through real time, electronic communication. Effective collaboration requires not only the ability of participants to communicate in a common language, but also the assurance of a common level of technical understanding. Such issues are not trivial, given the global diversity of systems for educating engineers, for different goals in skills, for quality control of their education, and for regulating their professional practice. From the engineering education perspective, the accreditation and assessment of academic programmes is vital in order to maintain the quality and the status of engineering graduates, and hence the technical workforce. Results of a survey of the relevant literature and observations indicate that various accreditation models have been developed regionally, as well as internationally but most of these models seem to be non-uniform, too complex, non-transparent and, moreover, difficult in their application. This leads to confusion and growing concerns about the mutual recognition and global mobility of the engineering profession. As a result, there is an urgent need for a systematic and shared global model of engineering accreditation that can be used to assess global professional skills and attributes of engineering graduates.

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On the other side globalization also brought opportunities for mobility of engineering students. Having in mind presented problems with different teaching systems and requirements among universities, question is how mobility influences students, their studies and their growth. To be able to discuss and solve any of above mentioned problems we have to think of capability of universities and professors to develop or at least implement and maintain quality of the solutions in order to make existing gap smaller. Therefore, at this event there will be discussions related to universities and professors roles in changing the situation and more importantly related to profile of exemplary professors able to implement and sustain ideal system. Skills and learning objectives A learning objective should describe what students should know or be able to do at the end of the course that they couldn’t do before. Learning objectives should be about student performance. Good learning objectives shouldn’t be too abstract (“the students will understand what good literature is”); too narrow (“the students will know what a ground is”); or be restricted to lower-level cognitive skills (“the students will be able to name the countries in Africa.”). Each individual learning objective should support the overarching goal of the course, that is, the thread that unites all the topics that will be covered and all the skills students should have mastered by the end of the semester. Writing Learning Objectives: In a web search you will find many different models for writing learning objectives. We’re going to keep it simple and focus on objectives that speak to the knowledge and skills students will learn. Skills: What students should be able to do by the time the course is completed. Knowledge: What students should know and understand by the time the course is completed. It is useful to identify the skills and knowledge the students should gain throughout the course. Deciding what students should learn is the first major step in instructional design. The goal is to come up with the skills and attitudes that we want the students to acquire. These skills and attitudes are called learning objectives. In order to create good learning objectives educators should be able to: - Distinguish between learning objectives and learning activities - Identify worthwhile objectives - Identify well-written objectives - Bloom’s Taxonomy Learning Objectives and Measurable Outcomes Methods of assessment of student learning can take many forms—brief in-class assessments, exams(written or oral), papers, oral presentations, team projects. Criteria for success (rubrics) should be developed so that students understand what is expected of them, and so that they can use feedback to see where they need to strengthen their performance. 16

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TOPICS Joint programs Introduction The session started with the presentation with prof. Uldis and it was about the existence of joint programs between two universities from different countries and programs between universities and companies. Methodology Presentation and learning cafe: participants have been splitting in 5 groups for the learning cafe. After 15 minutes groups changed their tables, so that on the end all groups have discussed all topics. Outcomes Joint programs from perspective of students *benefits and advantages* -Experience -Being abroad -Getting to know different teaching methods and apply them -You get 2 diplomas -Access to more specialised teaching staff and advanced facilities -The students can be more adaptive and open-minded, can improve Language skills and soft skills -They will have job opportunities in international companies and that means that the students will get better international connection and wider perspective -Students can get a better starting position when applying for a new job *disadvantages* -Expensive -The universities can have a lot of regulations and, also, the country can have complicated preparation (visa) -Overlapping content -Disliking new environment -Disconnection with your family -For some students can have a long time to adapt to a new climate, food, culture, language or ways of teaching. Because of this adapting process distracts them of their studies. Event on Education

Joint programs from perspective of companies

Problems in realization of joint programs

*benefits and advantages* -The companies will have wider perspective in choosing students for a job -Can influence on students -Having more efficient work -Employees have knowledge in problems solving from different perspectives -Opportunity to innovate

-Time and no financial support -Cultural differences (language, religion, time) -Different goals -Overlapping or not covered content -Employment issues -Lack of promotion -Administration process -Balance of the companies and unis -Different levels of education -Integration problems of students -Legal issues -Difficulty in finding the right partner -Distance between universities -Huge effort and risks for everybody

*disadvantages* -Not-synchronized programmes which means an inconsistent knowledge from students -Lack of loyalty to the CPY because of too much mobility -Very high demands (ex. salary) -Less experienced people -People become less settled and the consequence is that they will change job more often Joint programs from perspective of universities *benefits and advantages* -With the new students come new perspective which means creating innovative things -Networking and collaboration between different universities in published papers -More money for universities -International visibility and good reputation/recognition in the world -Experience for teaching staff with the special facilities, and between universities they can exchange teaching methods *disadvantages* -Big gaps between university ratings -A lot of preparation and expenses -Lack of language skills of the teaching professors -Staff mobility is time consuming -Management & support for students -One side exchange (for ex nobody will want to a country where the rating of the university is low or fi in that country are some big troubles- ex Ukraine) -If the university is achieving the goals this will cost them money

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Characteristics of good joint programs -Courses in all participating universities -Having internship -Financial program during the joint programme -Free language courses for the foreign students, but they are not motivated -Organised activities to get to know the countries that are participating in the joint programme -Diplomas should be internationally recognized -Have the selection for the professors that are going to be a part of the program -Cultural and geographical diversity -Joint programs should involve companies -Freedom of choice/more educational programmes -Good networking between students -Support for finding accommodation -Opportunity of work and study with the connections that the universities have with companies and also the universities can give references -Good promotion of the joint program.

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European network for the accreditation - EUR-ACE Introduction

European platform as solution to the gap Introduction

During this sesssion Prof. Guliano Augusti, previous president of ENAEE, presented EUR-ACE Framework Standards and Guidelines” (EAFSG) with an emphasis on the aspects of interest for future graduates. After that, discussion was held among participants on topics related to the presentation. Session was part of the main topic Continuous professional development, therefore focus of the discussion was influence of accreditation programs on contiouous development.

Session was designed in two parts: presentation by professor and debate among participants. Both with intent to talk about gap between what is taught in engineering schools and what is needed for engineers practice and quality of engineering education. After short presentation from Prof. Guiliano Augusti, previous president of ENAEE, participants were given time to bring their opinions and ideas to solve debate questions. Session was held as part of the main topic Gap between teaching profile and professional skills, and consequently the debate was focusing on it.

Methodology

Presentation and group discussion held among all participants.

Presentation and 2 debates with topics: “Accreditation can help in solving the gap between teaching profile and professional skillls.” and “Accreditation can bring better quality of studies.”

Outcomes Continuous development (CD) advantages: -Students can study specific subject and focus on it in CD -Students can take courses with different curriculum to broaden their knowledge -Students can study in different university (studying systems) and get different knowledge and skills -Students can study additional non-engineering fields, like economy, MBA,... -Continuous development brings better opportunities for job Continuous development disadvantages: -If we study in different university or format, it can be hard to adapt -Countries have different options for CD (while somewhere there are very few opportunities for CD, other countries offer lot of them). If your country don’t offer appropriate courses you have to spend money and learn languages to be able to go abroad for further development -Courses and programs for CD are not free -CD is time consuming Adding accreditation requirements to help better CD: -It would be easier for employers if accreditation system would be common in all Europe -Terms of CD are not clear. They can be regulated in accreditation system -That students should learn at least one foreign language -That students should get basic soft-skills during the bachelor studies -Internships should be obligatory and provided by universities

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Outcomes Accreditation can help solving the gap between teaching profile and professional skills Pros -Accreditation gives opportunities to specify common goals among all stakeholders -Global accreditation system gives more opportunities for mobility and therefore exchange of knowledge and good practices -Accreditation can as proof of students knowledge and quality Cons -Accreditation usually covers only what kind of knowledge students should have and students are mostly missing experience and practice -Accreditation rules are usually not strict enough, so they are implemented in different ways among universities, what makes exchanges and mobility harder -Usually, there is not evaluation of influence of accreditation on universities, students and the gap Accreditation can bring better quality of studies Pros -Accreditation ensures that goals in curriculum will be reached. It can also regulate quality of professors and quality of teaching -Accreditation increase collaboration between universities, exchanging ideas and gives more opportunities for mobility

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-Universities spend money and time to get accredited, so it shows their quality and devotion -Accredited programs attracts more and better students what influence better quality Cons -Some universities are just looking for a certificate and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have motivation to improve quality of studies -Accreditation canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t influence big difference between theory and practice. What is creating the gap in your Universities Introduction The participants, after a brief introduction on the topic, were divided into 3 groups and each group had to answer a different question about what, in their opinion, creates the gap between universities and companies from their own experience as students. Then they present their findings to the other group and had a brief discussion about the outcomes.

Possible ways to bridge the gap -It is not only up to universities but students as well should be proactive in bridging their gap personally, not only by participating to available seminars and workshops but also by organising them, in order to be better prepared to enter the workforce -Universities should make it easier to bridge the gap by giving the appropriate help to students such as a career center and logistic support -The university curriculum should be flexible in order for students to be better specialised for the job they are planning to do Extracurricular activities of employed graduate Introduction Participants worked on case study on topic: Profile and path of successful graduate with idea to discuss what extracurricular activities should be taken during the studies. Additionally, students had opportunity to emphasis what do they miss from extracurricular activities at their universities.

Methodology

Three discussion groups about the gap between universities and companies followed by a group discussion about the found outcomes.

Case study with given profiles of students from different European universities, with diverse financial and cultural background. Participants were divided in 5 groups and each group had to solve case study regarding one of the profiles.

Outcomes How universities are tackling the issue -All universities have some kind of cooperation with companies though there is a big difference from country to country and university to university -Most universities have career events such as job fairs and company presentations -Internships are usually available and optional for students, which are very important to get students in touch with the working reality Obstacles between universities and companies -In some countries companies cannot financially support universities as it could bias the creation of engineering programs to suit those specific companies -In some instances information is available to students to get in touch with companies but they do not know how this can benefit them. Support in this sense would be useful -Some countries have too many students for the amount of specialists they need in some specific fields, which can make cooperation less appealing and more difficult for companies

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Outcomes Fresh graduate student should: -Know at least 3 languages -Have professional experience for specific job -Have at least basic set of soft-skills: time management, communication, working in team -Experience different cultures -Be confident â&#x20AC;&#x201C; confident in skills, but not to be arrogant or have high expectations -Work on continuous development -Know how to focus on solutions (problem solving skills) -Be able to give/take feedback -Graduate from good university (helps in getting internship) -Have extensive engineering knowledge in the field -Be committed to what he/she does.

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Balance between science and industry Introduction Professor Talis Juhna presented solutions that Riga Technical University has for balancing between science and industry as well as main problems they were facing in this area. In the second part participants discussed problems universities are facing in this area Methodology Presentation and disscousion group Outcomes What skill-sets are trained in universities?

Group 1:

Group 2:

-technical skills -time management -project management -team working -spirit of competition

-theory -teamwork -presentation skills -management of the big amount of information and searching for valuable information -referencing -dealing with stress / time management -analytical skills -creativity -languages

What skills do you think are need to be trained in universities? Group 1:

Group 2:

-decision making -high level communication -time management -economics -entrepreneurship -problem solving skills -creativity -project management -technical skills -networking -foreign language -writing/scientiďŹ c working

-the participants decided that the theoretical skills should be trained in 2/3 and soft skills in 1/3.

Conclusion 2: For an engineer student is important to have the theoretical skills develop the most, then the second are the economics and enterprenaurship knowledge, and the last are soft skills. What skills do you want to be better trained in universities that are required by industry? -psychology -practice / internship -theory applied to practice at universities Conclusion 3: The groups decided that technical skills are more important than the soft skills. They deceided that they want to have more practical work during their studies (like internship, laboratories) and some phychology classes.

Conclusion 1: Both groups stated that techinical skills and theory are the most trained in universities across Europe. The soft skills (such as time managemant, team work, presentation skills) are not the most trained

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Exemplary university teacher profile

Table from a survey BEST, SPEED and IFEES did about the ideal professor according to different stakeholders

Introduction In two hours, we discussed what features the exemplary university teacher should have in order to teach and inspire his students. Four experts were panelists: Prof. Talis Juhna, Prof. Andris Broks, Ana Lucas and Kirill Linnik. Some references and data was used to facilitate the discussion. The discussion was divided into four main topics: characteristics of the ideal professor, the ideal professor according to different stakeholders, the ideal professor compared to the typical one and the need to be a researcher in order to be a good professor. Methodology This session was structured as a panel discussion. In two hours, the panelists discussed about what features the exemplary university teacher should have in order to teach and inspire his students. A short paragraph from a blog post used to discuss the characteristics of the ideal professor << [An ideal professor] inspires all her students, leading them to think critically and become lifelong learners. Her lectures are always so clear and interesting that students never fall asleep, read newspapers, surf the web or text their friends in class (except to comment on something class-related, of course). The perfect professorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students are never grade grubbers because she has inspired them to want to learn for learningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sake. She manages to convey how much she cares about her students without giving them the impression that she is a pushover. The perfect professor never gets emails from students complaining that her grading is unfair because her students never get confused about deadlines and/or they understand the exact repercussions of missed assignments. Her classes are challenging, but not impossible, in that way that even the B and C students feel like they are learning a lot. She makes her field of study seem so fascinating that her students all want to change their majors. >>

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Academia 1. Knowledge of engineering fundamentals, engineering practice and technically competent 2. Effective teacher 3. Strong sense of professional responsibility and ethics 4. Influential communicator 5. Mentor

Students 1. (tied) a. Engineering experience b. Up to date about research c. Multi-culture sensitive 2. (tied) a. Superior technical depth and savvy b. Networked and openminded, foster teamwork c. Superior communication skills, incl. non-engineering fields, especially business d. Nurture curiosity and innovative thinking

Industry 1. Inspiring 2. Prepare and knowledgeable, incl. real world experience 3. Committed to teaching and helping 4. (tied) a. Effective communicator b. Person of integrity

Table from a study from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology comparing the ideal professor and the typical one according to students Teaching characteristic Professor speaks clearly / not monotone Course and daily goals appear in the syllabus Students have a voice; input on course policies and procedures Professor talks informally with students sometimes Professor lectures Professor uses discussions Professor does in-class activities / demonstrations Uses humor often / occasionally Investigates cases of cheating and dishonesty Solicits anonymous, written, informal feedback on teaching Asks for student feedback two or more times per term

Ideal 93 83 40 43 78 58 57 97 58 68 72

Typical 80 52 7 15 93 37 21 75 64 17 30

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Paragraph from a paper about the general perception in academia of the ideal professor << Consider the universal vision of the professor of the 90’s. She does pioneering research in a critical area and brings in big bucks to support the research, including several six-figure NSF grants and 60% release time. She publishes 5-10 papers each year in the most prestigious journals in her field and is a shoo-in for the National Academy. She is a dedicated and stimulating instructor and wins teaching awards at her university and nationally. She does more than her fair share of the tedious but vital service chores that no one wants to do and does them excellently. >> Outcomes -The ideal professor does not exist in reality as it is not possible to have all characteristics a student wants. Also differences between universities and countries make an ideal professor different according to circumstances -Professors should interact more with students and give them feedback so they can improve themselves and not only impart technical knowledge -Professors should have a deep understanding of what they are teaching in order to be effective. If the professor does not have a clear understanding, he will never be able to explain concepts in a short and clear manner -Professors should be able to motivate and inspire students to study engineering. One way to do this is to not only teach them technical method and knowledge but also how this knowledge can be applied to the real world and what effects it has on it -While difficult to implement, it is preferred for professors to have working experience in companies and not only experience in research and studies -Professors should be researchers in order to deepen and develop their knowledge about science and engineering but they also need to manage their time in order to develop teaching skills and knowledge -Students should give feedback to their professors regularly so they can implement it and improve their teaching proficiency but a more effective method needs to be found as common methods such as surveys are not effective as needed as there is mistrust between students and professors on this topic -All stakeholders search for similar characteristics in professors, just with a slightly different priority

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University contribution to empowering teaching Introduction In this session Ana Lucas from Instituto Superior Tecnico presented the engineering school case study: Can teachers “Teach better”?. Her university have already measures that aim to improve and empower teaching and therefore she was able to present both methodology and results it gave. In the second part of the session, participants had opportunity to build their own methodologies using role play working method. Methodology Role play of different situations among students and professors was taking place. Participants had to discuss what is the purpose of a role play and how they see presented situation. Most importantly, if they found played situation unpleasing they needed to find methodology to improve that situation. Outcomes Bad teacher profile: -Doesn’t know how to pass the message to the class -Doesn’t communicate to students and doesn’t help -Is not enthusiastic about subject he teaches -Makes silly jokes -Is not kind or is arrogant -Unfair with students and can’t evaluate properly -Doesn’t respond on emails and doesn’t care about questions -Doesn’t want to teach -Is not prepared/not organised -Teaches wrong theories/don’t have appropriate knowledge Good teacher profile: -Good organisation of class -Nice personality -Good human relationship/communication skills -Passionate about lecturing and subject -Mentoring skills -Understanding and close to students -Experienced -Practical -Respectful and self-confident

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-Intelligent -Open-minded -Prepared for class and up-to-date with subject -Motivating and has good attitude -Good person in general -Has international experienced -Has good presentation and public speaking skills -Teaches you what is important -Has high standards and big knowledge/experience

Implementation of skills at University

First five skills of good teachers are evaluated as the most important once.

Methodology

How to improve teachers/teaching? -Students give feedback for professors to themselves/university stuff -Teachers are giving feedback to each other -Teachers are evaluating each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs (since sometimes there is big difference between what is taught and what is asked on tests) -Teachers are competing for students (ie. More teachers are giving the same class and students can choose where to go) -Teachers/university presents programs and give expectations to students before semester starts.

Case study on implementation of soft skills at University and at work place.

Introduction This session had intent to answer question: Can soft skills be the bridge between university and profession? First part is a presentation on relation between development of hard and soft skills with beginning of professional life, while the second part reserved for participants to develop their ideas in case study.

Outcomes How many soft-skills courses are offered at university? -One-two courses, mainly pressentation skills and academic writing. At some universities there are no soft-skills courses -Those curses are often badly organised, so student donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get anything out of it -Some universities offer feedback and preparation for interviews -Communication skills courseâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; real proffesionals came management is based at soft skills, so management students had many proffesional courses -Soft-skills courses are not integrated with other courses What are the most important soft-skills for your profession? -communication skills -presentation skills -teamworking -proactivity Which soft skills are missing? -languages -management -body language -communication -public speaking and presentation -emotional intelligence (part of respoonding well to every situation)

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Project based learning

Outcomes

Introduction

What mindset a newly graduated engineer should have? -Be exposed to different cultures and have an international mentality -Be confident in his own skills but not arrogant about it -Not a workaholic but still be passionate about his job and his technical field -Be an active citizen -Be an active learner and continue to develop himself also after studies -Solution oriented -Be able to give and receive feedback appropriately -Have a healthy lifestyle

Prof Charles delivered a presentation where the participants understud what is project based learning. Afterwards the participants were split in teams according with the their faculty. Each team answered the following question: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How would you create a program that is based in project based learning that is relevant with your studies?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Methodology Presentation and case-study: Participants were splited 5 groups, devided by their field of studies or similar faculties. Every group had to create a project that is suitable for their faculty. Outcomes How project based learning should work? -Group of seven students from different faculties (mechanics, ecologist, chemistry, production, engineering, environment) -They will meet four hours per week for one semester -Consulting professors for feedback periodically -Visiting factory to see how they work -Presenting ideas to the factory employees and professors. Mindset of newly graduated engineer Introduction The session tackled what kind of mindset a newly graduated engineer should have in order to successfully enter the workforce. There was first a presentation by Kirill Linnik on the topic explaining his personal experience as a recruiter in a company which was followed by discussion groups about this mindset and how universities and companies can help to develop it. Methodology Kirill Linnik opened the session with a 30 minutes presentation about his experience as a recruiter for a new division in Latvia for Kuehne+Nagel and how important was the mindset when he was hiring new engineers. Participants were then divided in 5 groups, first discussing how this mindset can be developed and how the universities support this development, followed by how companies can support it.

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How students can develop this mindset -Participation in internships, preferably abroad -Learn languages -Take e-courses to fill gaps in knowledge -Have a study period abroad -Be involved in politics How universities can develop this mindset in their students -Organise meetings with successful alumni of the university -Broaden the horizon of students through extracurricular activities such as sports, arts and volunteering -Giving personal feedback to students -Create a friendly but competitive environment inside universities -Teach useful soft skills such as time management and teamwork -Have more and better mobility programs -Present role models to students Have mentors for students How companies can develop this mindset in students -Have more diverse career events such as informal meetings with companies -Have more and better internships -Organise workshops and competitions between students -Present case studies and their solutions -Support students in writing interesting thesis -Sponsor soft skill courses -Send guest lecturers to universities -Provide coaches for students -Organise

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Exam Introduction Participants had to take a final examination at the end of the event in the form of a case study. The case study was to design what they deemed to be the perfect study program by using the knowledge and the opinions they formed during the event. A lot of freedom was given as each group could decide the home university, the study field of the program, if it was a bachelor or master and so forth. They had to design the curricula, followed by an objective analysis of the resources they needed to implement this program according to the environmental factors. They also needed to explain what problems their programs would be tackling and in which way it would be better than existing programs. At the end they needed to create the profile of a student who graduate from their program. Methodology Participants were divided in 5 groups, each with the same case study. They were given 2 hours and could to prepare a presentation of their programme, which could be in any form such as powerpoint, flipcharts or oral presentation, in English. After each presentation a question round followed in order to better evaluate the work done.

CONCLUSION From 23rd until 31st of July the BEST Academics and Companies Forum organised

in Riga, Latvia was inspiring both participants and speakers to discuss regarding the topics of - Continuous professional development - Gap between teaching profile and professional skills - Skills and learning objectives. During this event participants came with new ideas related to the topics which can help to improve the current European engineering education system.

The working methods used during the event were new for most of the participants. Students appreciated the innovative approach and the fact that methods were interactive. Everyone liked the methods, especially the parts where students were presenting their own outcomes, sharing their ideas and debating. Students also expressed satisfaction with the knowledge they gained and with the topics. During the 15 sessions and 29 working hours, participants discussed, debated and played roles of different stakeholders of European Heigher Educations. Topic appeared to be very important also for professors and company representatives. They were discussed with 8 experts from 6 different institutions, including universities, european organisations and companies. Adventages and disadvantages of joint programs as part of continuous education were discussed as well as problems in realization of them. Students had opportunity to describe features of prefect joint program. With ex-president of ENAEE, students discussed accredittion as a way to regulate continuous development and as one of the solutions to the gap between industry and teaching profile. Students see accreditation as important in both of these questions, but only if it is respected and implemented fully by all universities around Europe and if it is know to all stakeholders.

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Participants see succesful gratuate as someone who has taken a lot of extracurricular activities, including internship and studies abroad, during the studies which helped him to develop soft-skills, practical skills and to learn the languages. Students think that those are not offered at university enough and therefore students can’t achieve level which companies expect from fresh graduates. With Ana Lucas from Instituto Superio Tecnico, participants discussed professors profile and skills implementation at universities and gathered ideas how both can be improved. They think quality of studies and knowledge students gain can be increased a lot if professors will be more concerned about their teaching. Suggestion is that professor feedback each other programs and teaching methods in order to improve themselves. Additionally, students would like to hear goals and share expectations before each course. This event covered a many different important topics and seams that implementation of suggestions proposed through the discussion of professors and company representative with students can make the gap among teaching profile and industry smaller. Further discussion in some of the topics is adviced, but most important is to start implementing the results in universities around Europe.

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THANK YOU We would like to express our gratitude to the professors, experts, organisations,

institutions and volunteers that supported and made possible the event:

- Giuliano Augusti and ENAEE, European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education, for sharing his knowledge and ideas about the topic - Ana Agante Lucas and IST Lisbon for the energy and enthusiasm shown towards the event and it’s topic and for the ideas brought up to the discussion - Tālis Juhna, for supporting BEST as an organisation and this event with useful contacts, wise ideas and positive attitude - Kirill Linnik and Kühne Nagel IT Center for the interest in the topic and event itself, for the valuable involvement in the sessions and sharing the industry point of view - Andris Broks and University of Latvia for seeing the relevance of the project and the topic, for contributing and sharing his opinion in the matter - Uģis Bertulsons and FIMA for providing the input from the perspective of industry - Charles Bušmanis and Riga Technical University Design Factory for the creativity in the sessions - Jolanta Pockaja and her organisers core team for putting their energy, motivation, time and every part of their souls into making this event happen - Local BEST Group Riga and its members for the motivation to host this event and the desire to make a change - Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, for the patronage for the event and support - Riga Technical University for the academical and the logistical support and for the trust in BEST as an organisation - Participants, for the ideas, the creativity and the energy that they provided in order for this Event to bring new outcomes to light - Local entrepreneurs, ZS “Galiņi”, SIA “Ariols”, SIA “Cannelle Bakery”, SIA “Elpa”, SIA “Hanzas maiznīca”, AS “Rīgas dzirnavnieks” and “Herkuless”, AS “Dobeles dzirnavnieks” un AS “Balticovo”, “RedBull”, SIA “Skrīveru saldumi”, SIA “Rīgas piensaimnieks” un “Kārums”, SIA “Atasco” un “Zelta zaptes”, AB “Vilnius Pergale” and “Bowlero”, for their support providing food and goods.

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AUTHORS OF THE DOCUMENT Educational Committee of BEST Marija Stanojevic - Belgrade, Serbia (Event Coordinator) Ou Yan Zhou - Milan, Italy Elina Garklava - Riga, Latvia Irina Bour - Bucharest, Romania Monica Paraschiv - Bucharest, Romania (Designer)

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