Engineering education that instills global competence is not keeping pace with the complex and highly dynamic development process of globalization. Study programs are not sufficiently international and cross disciplinary, the mutual recognition of degrees or curriculum modules is still in its infancy, and a worldwide accreditation system is nowhere in sight. In addition, there are many government-imposed barriers that hinder an international and, at the same time, research-oriented study program. Furthermore there are still hardly any cooperative projects between companies and universities that go beyond a national framework. These are the key findings of the “Global Engineering Excellence” study, which was initiated by Continental.

Scientists from the renowned universities Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland; Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A.; Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University, China; Escola Politécnica Universidade da São Paulo, Brazil; and the University of Tokyo, Japan, conducted the study under the leader­ship of the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. They formulated four key statements and recommendations for the future education of engineers, based upon the findings of this unprecedented study, which was presented on Friday at the Eberbach Cloister near Frankfurt:

• Global competence needs to become a key qualification of engineering graduates.
• Transnational mobility for engineering students, researchers, and professionals needs to become a priority.
• Global engineering excellence depends critically on a mutual commitment to partner­ships, especially those that link engineering education to professional practice.
• Research on engineering in a global context is urgently needed.

As one of the leading international automotive suppliers, Continental has for many years promoted excellence in the education of engineers: "Technology is our passion. That is why we called the “Global Engineering Excellence" initiative to life last year to examine the pros­pects for engineers in the era of globalization, their social position and education, as well as their impact on the productivity of national economies, and to then draw conclusions from these findings," said Executive Board Chairman Manfred Wennemer.

"We encourage our eight partner universities to develop and set up their own and joint study courses for the degree of “Master of Global Engineering” within the framework of this project. In the future, this could be an elite title for top engineers with an excellent and, above all, internationally-oriented education," explained  Human Resources Director Thomas Sattelberger. "For the practical part of the education, we are not only opening up Continental’s worldwide network, we also want to win the collaboration of other partners from industry." He pointed out that Continental is currently expanding its existing network with universities.

further Links:

• Homepage Global Engineering Excellence - (Intenet)
• here you can download the press releases long / short
• here you can download the study