Collaborative Efforts in Developing the PhD in Engineering Education Program in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Transcription

1 Collaborative Efforts in Developing the PhD in Engineering Education Program in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Khairiyah Mohd Yusof, Fatin Aliah Phang, Syed Ahmad Helmi and Rosealinda Alias Regional Centre for Engineering Education Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

2 Call for Research in Engineering Education

3 Need for Local Experts Regional Centre for Engineering Education The Malaysian Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) became provisional member of Washington Accord in 2005, full member in 2009 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is the premier university in engineering in Malaysia However, there is no local trained expert to research the best practices to bring changes in the curriculum, teaching & learning of engineering programs Need to produce competent researchers and practitioners in Engineering Education

4 Initial Efforts in 2007 Task Force Engineering & Education faculty members Set up program Gathered information from different sources Collaboration with Purdue School of Engineering Education Discussion with founding head, late Kamyar Haghighi Prof. Dr. Karl Smith visited UTM Getting students Initiatives for UTM academics to enroll in PhD Engineering Education program Road show in UTM

5 PhD in Engineering Education in UTM Officially started in 2008 A first in Asia Offered through School of Graduate Studies Multidisciplinary in nature Students First cohort consist of 20 UTM lecturers Not open to public Managed by RCEE in students completed up till now

6 Challenges No experts in the field Engineering experts do not understand educational research Education experts do not understand problems faced in educating engineers Who can best supervise and guide the students? How to ensure significance and rigor of research? Who should be appointed as examiners? Path to develop reliable reputation and quality

7 Strategy Regional Centre for Engineering Education Development Stage Initial implementation stage Quality establishment stage Expansion and dissemination stage program and operational structure benchmarking with other programs and incentives for UTM academics strengthen syllabus of courses offered visiting professors give workshops, feedback on program and research to develop experts in UTM LOI with Purdue University expand networking to learn from different parts of the world students present at internal & international conferences International experts as external examiners program open for admission to public starting 2011 MOU and joint PhD program with Aalborg University student and staff exchange with similar programs Journal publication and mass media

8 The Program Structure Regional Centre for Engineering Education Full research, minimum 3-year program Additional 12 credit courses on engineering education research One supervisor from engineering faculty and one supervisor from education faculty Visiting professors conduct workshops, courses, seminars and consultations for research Provide international exposure Develop confidence in conducting research

9 Visiting Professors Regional Centre for Engineering Education Prof. Dr. Karl Smith, Purdue University Prof. Dr. David Radcliffe, Purdue University Prof. Dr. Ruth Streveler, Purdue University Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elliot Douglas, University of Florida Prof. Dr. Anette Kolmos, Aalborg University Assoc. Prof. Dr. Johannes Strobel, Purdue University Assoc. Prof. Dr. Heidi Deifus-Dux, Purdue University Prof. Dr. Kurt Becker, Utah State University Prof. Duncan Fraser, University of Cape Town Dr. Tamara Moore, University of Minnesota

10 Activities with Visiting Professors

11 Flow of the PhD Program Set topic choose panel supervision Sem 1: 2 courses (Fundamenta l and Research Methods) Sem 2: 2 courses (Issues and Data Analysis) Sem 3: 1 course (seminar) and 1 st stage examination (proposal exam) Sem 4: 1 course (university compulsory course)

12 Regional Conference on Engineering Education (RCEE) Bi-annual conference Platform for PhD students to: Present their works Learn from other experts Build networks Experts who attend RCEE conduct workshops and seminars especially for the PhD students PhD students supported to present papers

13 Joint PhD in EE (UTM-AAU) Regional Centre for Engineering Education MOU was signed between UTM and Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark on 22 August 2011 The details of a Joint PhD in EE between UTM and AAU was finalized in February 2012 Some features of the joint program: Joint supervision Minimum credit hours of courses at at at UTM and AAU Joint assessment committee First intake in Fall 2012

14 The Way Forward Regional Centre for Engineering Education Lecturers with PhD in Engineering Education in UTM Supervisors for future students Lecturers to teach the courses related to EE Researchers to investigate the practice Consultants to improve engineering education at UTM and Malaysia Pursuit of quality & knowledge sharing Journal publications of research More stringent quality of intake Student and staff attachment at other institutions Long term research collaboration & funding to answer BIG questions

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