Tuesday 19 May 2015

UCD President gives 2015 Annual Spring Lecture


We were honoured that UCD President Andrew Deeks agreed to give the 2015 EGA Annual Spring Lecture. In welcoming the President I remarked how genuinely pleased we were to see an internationally acclaimed academic take the reins in UCD.
 


EGA President PJ Rudden and President  Andrew Deeks before lecture


Taking as his theme 'Challenges for Engineering Education in the 21st Century' the President covered a large number of very topical areas which are continuing areas for debate in Irish engineering circles.
 
President Deeks presents lecture

Firstly, do we educate for 'breath or technical depth'? The choices are between the 'Bologna Process' of 4 years bachelors degree and 5 year masters with technical depth or the U.S. System which gives more diversity and flexability.

 

Secondly do we educate to provide theoretical foundations or for applied skills? Professor Deeks' experience is that the larger companies favour the former while the SMEs seek the latter with the need for minimum training.

 




 
What of the Educational Fads? He asks. There's for example Outcome Based Education (OBE), Problem Based Learning (PBL), Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)! He does not regard any of them as a 'silver bullet' especially distance learning.

 

The advances in technology in the 21st century have radically altered Engineering Education in terms of computerisation, communications, globalisation, mobility and rate of change. We are now in the age of "The Internet of Things" with all the analytical and computational skills which that brings.
 




 
Professor Deeks also dealt with the issue of 'emotional intelligence' - to recognise one own and other people's intelligence and use this a guide to thinking and behaviour. People with more emotional intelligence are said to perform better.

 
EGA's first President Dr Tom Hardiman among an attentative audience


Another factor is cultural difference defined by Hofstede (from IBM HR world wide survey of employees between 1967 and 1973) based on cultural values including 'power distance' i.e. acceptance or not of hierarchy - higher acceptance in Asia and Latin America and lower in Western Europe - US is somewhere in between.

 

He spoke of 'capstone experience' where students are encouraged to take time out in the community or internships in industry. He emphasised the importance of group projects and group learning as one approaches degree stage as it better mirrors real life experience. The top universities are research intensive and must adopt this model to grow their collaborative research capability.

 

On the issue of assessment, Professor Deeks talked of models that delay exams until later years of degree courses and concentrate on continuous assessment. He has seen the issue raised now in Ireland by secondary school teachers on the issue of Second Level Reform. He was not definitive on the way forward but I sense that he agrees with the current recommendation from the Minister of Education and Skills that the optimum approach is a combination of both continuous assessment and examinations at critical junctures.

 




 
A lively Question and Answer session followed with questions from representatives of Trinity College, UCD, DIT, Higher Education Authority and many other senior retired engineers.

 
Professor Gerry Byrne, Former Dean of Engineering UCD
 
 
Dr Liam Connellan, Former Director General Confederation of Irish Industry
and UCD EGA Distinguished Graduate Awardee.

 
Dr Gerry Farrell, DIT Director and Dean of Engineering with Dr Aisling Harkin UCD
 
 
Tim Conlon, Higher Education Authority

 
Murt Coleman, Executive Board of Engineers Ireland
 
 
In fact the questions ran on so long that we were forced to bring proceedings to a close as we were well over time when I thanked President Deeks and presented him with a framed and inscribed Dublin Crystal memento of the event.
 






I presented him with very sincere thanks from the EGA and from a very appreciative audience for a highly interesting and obviously provocative lecture on a subject where he has obvious international expertise and experience.  It's no wonder he won many awards as Professor of Civil and Resource Engineering in University of Western Australia for teaching.

UCD College of Engineering staff with President Andrew Deeks and Dean of Engineering, Professor David Fitzpatrick
(L to R) Katie O'Neill Marketing Manager, Dr Aisling Harkin  Careers Consultant and Fionnuala McGowan, EGA Administrator
 
A highly social gathering of attendees enjoyed a wine reception in the atrium of the Peter Sutherland School of Law after the lecture. It was the close of a highly historic and successful day for UCD EGA.
 
Incoming President of Engineers Ireland Bill Grimson, PJ Rudden and
Professor Jane Grimson, former Vice Provost TCD

 
Tom Fitzpatrick EU Commission, Conor Fingleton and Mary White both
Fingleton White and PJ Rudden
 
 
Head of Mechanical Engineering TCD Professor Darina Murray and
Professor Jane Grimson TCD, former President Engineers Ireland

 
Dr Greg Foley, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning DCU,
Mark Foley Managing Director Coillte Enterprise and PJ Rudden

 
UCD Lecturers Pat Connolly, Dr Aisling NĂ­ Annaidh, Dr Vincent Hargaden and PJ Rudden

 
Professor John Kelly, Rebecca Patterson Marketing Manager (International)
UCD College of Engineering & Architecture and PJ Rudden
 

 

 

 

 

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