CITIZEN TECH TECHNICAL PROGRAMS RESHAPING SOCIETY A B ET SY M P OSI U M B A LT I M O R E, M D A P R I L 2 0-2 1, 2 0 1 7
Submission deadline: November 4, 2016 at midnight, EDT The Symposium is our premiere event for accreditation, assessment and the global exchange of best practices in technical education. Build your network. Learn new strategies. And share ideas with like-minded individuals from all over the world. Symposium 2017 brings together passionate faculty from Los Angeles to Lisbon to Ho Chi Minh City to discuss all things ABET. CITIZEN TECH Technical Programs Reshaping Society For the first time in history, the number of people living in cities has surpassed the number of those living in rural areas. Lured by career prospects and opportunities for advancement, young professionals are flocking to cities across the planet. But if many cities are experiencing a renaissance and leveraging on this influx of talent and entrepreneurship, this comes with a cost and a new challenge: ensuring that they can provide appropriate living conditions for the overall population. And this means that the students in classrooms today will be those coming up with technologies and solutions to make life in cities safer, more sustainable and more comfortable. But many of these issues are not exclusive to cities. The United Nations has challenged the world to meet 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. A broad set of objectives, the SDGs were created to make a difference in ending poverty, combating climate change, ensuring inclusive and quality education and reducing inequality, among other important issues. As an educator leading a quality program, you play a pivotal role in shaping the technical professionals of tomorrow. We are confident that by making technical programs more diverse and inclusive and by opening new pipelines to groups that are still underrepresented across the STEM professions, we can transform our world. By bringing the Symposium to ABET s hometown of Baltimore, our city will serve as a backdrop to a lively exchange of ideas on how technical education can positively impact society, not only here, but in cities and communities all over the world. Propose Your Presentation Tell us what you are doing in your program to help educate the technical citizen of the 21st century. How are you adapting your program, transforming your course delivery, and reaching out to students who are the most at risk to stray from the path that leads to a career in the technical professions? We want to hear about your successes and challenges, about initiatives that worked but also about those that did not and what you have learned along the way. The one thing we know is that to educate the technical citizen of tomorrow, we need an education built for the modern world today. 2
CALL FOR PROPOSALS Submission deadline: November 4, 2016 at midnight, EDT Be a part of the 2017 Annual Symposium! We are looking for session proposals that showcase the best in technical education, informed by theory, research and practice. We invite proposals that: > > Unfold your stories and frameworks for technical education content, assessment and accreditation > > Stimulate and provoke discussion and audience engagement > > Share case studies of how technical education can positively impact cities and communities throughout the world > > Provide unique approaches for inspiring different stakeholders: students, faculty, staff, leadership, prospective students and parents, industry partners and alumni. Plan Your Submission Take some time to collect your thoughts before going to our online submission form. Session proposals require straightforward and brief titles, concise and persuasive descriptions, in addition to clearly defined learning objectives/ takeaways. > > Your title should capture, in 10 words or less, who should attend your session and the topic that you will cover. > > Your description should, in 1000 characters or less, build on your title, focus on takeaways, and be as persuasive and brief as possible. > > Your learning objective(s)/takeaway(s), in 100 characters or less, should put the emphasis on the specific skill(s) participants will acquire, rather than generally describing your topic. > > Your session design, in 500 characters or less, should describe the format and flow of your session, such as interactive or participatory components. > > Your biography, in 750 characters or less. 3
ABET Symposium Session Leader Responsibilities All ABET Symposium Session Leaders must: > > register at the special reduced rate of US $845* > > be responsible for their own travel costs (Host hotel is US $189 per night). > > meet all posted dates and deadlines. > > accept the terms and conditions of the ABET Symposium Session Leader Agreement. *If you are having a co-session Leader that will be presenting a product or service with your proposal, please note that on your response form. SUBMISSION PROCESS Submit your proposal by Monday, November 4, 2016 at midnight, EDT. Each submission will be reviewed by the 2017 ABET Symposium Program Committee, a cross-section of ABET adjunct directors and staff who will act as reviewers, anonymously rating proposals for selection. You will be notified in mid-december 2016 on the status of your submission. Notifications will be sent to the first author. Upon acceptance, ABET may modify the session title and description to fit our marketing style and format guidelines for the purpose of the brochure, website, and onsite program book. Over the last few years, the number of proposal submissions we have received has been increasing, making the process more selective and complex. As such, we value quality over quantity. We encourage you to submit your best proposals rather than every idea you might have, so send us just the ones you think would make the strongest sessions. Our goal is to have a well-rounded high-quality program with a diverse array of presenters and perspectives. > > While you may submit, or be a co-presenter in, multiple proposals, individual session leader s participation may be limited to two appearances. > > Priority may be given to proposals that include a new ABET Symposium Session Leader (continued) 4
> > Programs of all sizes and housed in all types of higher education institutions (liberal arts colleges, community-colleges, research institutions) inside or outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged to submit proposals to one or multiple Focus Areas. > > All institutional session leaders must present content that is educational in nature, unbiased and avoid direct or indirect promotion of any particular product or service. If you have a co-presenter in your session that is a product or service provider, their corporate affinity will be noted in the program. If your session will highlight a product or service, please indicate this in your proposal. NEW AND REVISED CRITERIA FOR 2017 The 2017 ABET Symposium Program Committee will ensure that program content is timely, relevant and optimally targeting our attendees needs and will use the following Review Criteria when evaluating the proposals. 1. Originality and Relevance At the ABET Symposium, our goal is to present unique and exciting sessions and case studies that reflect our dynamic and diverse technical education community. We are looking for session/workshops titles and descriptions that are aligned with our focus areas and will spark the interest of prospective attendees and clearly benefit the needs of the designated audience. 2. Session Design We are seeking sessions that incorporate good practices for technical education, with clear learning objectives that are measureable and achievable. 3. Expertise and Ability to Inspire Action We are seeking session leaders who will challenge, engage and inspire our audience to return to their own programs ready to implement what they learned at Symposium 2017. The program committee will select from the submissions received during the RFP and identify gaps, if any, which ABET staff will address through additional content development strategies. We are dedicated to ensuring that the learning programs at Symposium deliver outstanding content and meet the highest standards of excellence. 5
NOW GATHER YOUR THOUGHTS AND SUBMIT! We suggest that you first collect your thoughts for your proposal before going to the online form. Once you have your ideas together, click the link below to start your submission. Submit Your 2017 Session Proposal More Information If you have questions please contact Dr. Dianna Vass, Manager, Professional Programs, education@abet.org FOUR FOCUS AREAS FOR SYMPOSIUM 2017 SESSIONS: > > Accreditation: Telling Your Story > > Best Practices in Program Assessment: Sharing Your Framework > > Citizen Tech: Technical Programs Reshaping Society > > Building and Mentoring for Institutional and Program Leadership NEW! 6
FOCUS AREA 1: Accreditation: Telling Your Story Please tell the ABET community about your unique experience implementing our accreditation processes and procedures. Share productive tips and narrate your view of the key success factors and expected setbacks. Some examples of previously successful sessions addressed the following challenges: > > How to engage your entire faculty (including adjunct faculty) in Self- Study preparation > > How to prepare all stakeholders, engage current students, industry advisory board members, seasoned and new alumni in the simulation of an accreditation visit > > How to write a Self-Study Report when everyone on the team is new or are reengaging in the accreditation process after years of other responsibilities > > How to engage your industry constituents and subject matter experts to help establish Program Educational Objectives and set desired student outcomes > > How to demonstrate benefits of ABET accreditation to the program s various constituents and articulate the value of ABET accreditation to external stakeholders > > How to maintain accreditation in the face of retiring faculty and staff, with new program areas in a sea of institutional change > > How to begin an accreditation process for a brand new program, in a new academic department, or on a branch campus > > How to enable small programs to successfully achieve accreditation > > How to know if you and your program are ready for accreditation 7
FOCUS AREA 2: Best Practices in Program Assessment: Sharing your Framework A well-conceived and implemented assessment plan is necessary to inform educators about areas for continuous improvement and opportunities for innovation. Beyond serving as a means for accountability, program assessment enables faculty to use the resulting information to document, explain, and improve students educational experience and better prepare them for the global workforce. We invite you to submit proposals that highlight best practices in program assessment. In addition, given the increasing need for students to develop and deepen their social consciousness, we are particularly interested in presentations that highlight processes to assess civic responsibility, application of technical expertise to societal problems and community engagement. Topics may include but are not limited to: > > How to select appropriate tools for assessment and engage faculty in the process > > How to develop and assess student performance beyond the Student Outcomes identified in Criterion 3 > > How to assess affective learning (i.e., awareness, interest, concern, and responsibility) > > How to conduct student assessment outside the classroom > > How to involve community/industry partners in student assessment > > How to develop sustainable assessment and evaluation processes > > How to lead and frame the assessment process in your program/college 8
FOCUS AREA 3: Citizen Tech: Technical Programs Reshaping Society In 2015, the United Nations released 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a broad series of objectives aimed at having a universal impact on relevant issues such as poverty, climate change and education by 2030. At the 2017 Symposium, we are challenging ABET-accredited programs to consider how the education they provide students can play a part in bringing an end to the greatest problems facing the global community. Tell us what your program is doing to have a direct role in meeting any of the SDGs, or how you are equipping your students to solve these problems. We are looking for examples of programs that are already taking steps to tackle these issues within their local communities or elsewhere on the planet. Not every example needs to be a success story, as learning can also occur from wellintended program initiatives that have not realized their goals. Examples of interesting case studies and/or discussion themes can include: > > How to educate students to be conscious of the ethical and global implications of their work > > How to teach and empower students to apply their skills while building a better world through community outreach > > How to change technical programs to be more inclusive > > How to keep students in technical disciplines by establishing a road map for success > > How to build sustainability into your existing course structure 9
FOCUS AREA 4: Building and Mentoring for Institutional and Program Leadership NEW! In higher education, leadership is fluid, changeable and challenging. Deans, associate deans and department chairs steer an ever-expanding set of stakeholders in complex environments that require strategy and vision. Multiple objectives and immediate pressures require special attention and unique resolutions. On days when strategic planning should be on the calendar, do you find yourself reacting to events and immediate pressures? This focus area will center on issues that will help field, develop and implement conscious strategies for your institutional programs. Topics of sessions will address relevant questions, such as: > > How to develop your faculty s professional and leadership development abilities > > How to assist department chairs in developing balance within their many roles and mentor them to be strong program advocates in the community > > How to partner on projects with other institutions and corporations that benefit all stakeholders but also contribute vibrancy and mission focus to your program > > How to organize, build, lead, and redirect Industry Advisory Boards that create connectivity points to students, faculty and future institutional goals > > How to cultivate your own development style and skillset and fundraise like a chancellor or president 10