ISEE2010 are delighted to present a highly distinguished selection of keynote speakers. Abstracts of their speeches follow each of their profiles below.

John Mullins, CEO, Bord Gáis

John Mullins was appointed Chief Executive of Bord Gáis in October 2007. John has worked in the international utility sector since graduating from UCC, starting his career with the ESB where he directed their largest international investment in Spain and then working as a senior consultant in Energy, Transport & Telecommunications with PWC in London. During his five years with NTR plc, John assisted Airtricity in its early development, was business development director during Greenstar’s rapid growth in the waste sector and established Bioverda where he held the position of Chief Executive.
John holds a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Engineering from UCC and an MBA from the Smurfit School of Business in UCD.
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A Time for Universities to Develop and Market Engineering
John Mullins, Chief Executive Officer, Bord Gáis Éireann

Abstract: This paper will address industry and society’s requirement for third level educators to consider the education required by future engineers for a sustainable future. It will address bridging the gap between the current engineering curriculum and that required to provide innovative and prepared engineers, on which much of our sustainable future depends. The paper will also argue that there is a pressing need for re-positioning Engineering as an important career choice among school leavers.  In order to do this, third level institutes must acknowledge and understand the priorities set by the broader economic context. Only then can they properly address re-modelling engineering education.

In order to promote engineering to its full potential, educators need to consider promoting engineering and recognising students with ‘engineering potential’ at a very young age.  From an industry perspective, we must learn lessons from the past and recognise that second level is in fact too late to begin marketing engineering. For students showing strength and passion for maths and the sciences, the fulfilment, reward and possibilities associated with a career in engineering needs to be discussed and encouraged at a very young age. Collaboration between primary, post-primary and third level is vital to progress engineering education that will nurture those required to deliver for future generations.

Adobe Presenter PDF of this presentation may be downloaded here.

Professor David Shallcross

Associate Professor David Shallcross is Head of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Melbourne.  David has won several national and international awards recognizing his excellence and leadership in chemical engineering education including the 2006 Frank Morton Medal of the IChemE.  He is the Founding Editor of the journal, Education for Chemical Engineers, and is a corresponding member of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering Working Party on Education. David was also recently appointed IChemE Vice-President.
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Sustainable Development in the Modern Engineering Curriculum
David C. Shallcross, Melbourne School of Engineering University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: For a hundred years engineering education has focused on understanding the technical principles and basic sciences of the engineering disciplines.  With the emergence of sustainable development as a topic that should be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum there is some debate as to how best to integrate this topic into programs.  Should this be done by a standalone subject, or should the issues be integrated throughout the curriculum?  The role of learned engineering societies in promoting education in sustainable development is discussed with the Institution of Chemical Engineers used as an example.  Finally the use of concept maps to assess student learning in sustainable development is discussed.

Adobe Presenter PDF of this presentation may be downloaded here.

Cheryl Desha

Cheryl is Deputy Director of The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), an ‘Engineering for Sustainable Development and Climate Change’ research group, based at Griffith University and the Australian National University, and lecturer in Griffith University’s School of Engineering. In 2005 Cheryl was selected as the Engineers Australia Young Professional Engineer of the Year, and TNEP received the Australian Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership, Education and Training. TNEP have developed a range of projects focused on engineering education for sustainable development and rapid curriculum renewal, working across universities, professional bodies, government agencies, and companies.
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Engineering Education & Sustainable Development: Rapid Curriculum Renewal
Cheryl Desha, The Natural Edge Project (hosted by the Urban Research Program) Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract: The issue of engineering education and how it can systemically embed sustainable development knowledge and skills is now a major consideration for engineering educators globally. In this plenary presentation Ms Desha will begin by highlighting the rapidly changing market and regulatory environment and the time lag dilemma facing higher education with regard to delivering professionals who can address societal needs. She will then briefly present a series of elements of curriculum renewal to support engineering educators who are grappling with how programs of study can be rapidly renewed to address such emerging 21st Century challenges. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the need for a strategic approach by higher education institutions, to ensure that the latest research and opportunities are communicated, while being sufficiently pragmatic and realistic with regard to the scale of the challenges, and existing inertia within the higher education system.

Adobe Presenter PDF of this presentation may be downloaded here.

Professor David Wood

David Wood is a chemical engineer and a Fellow of the IChemE, the IEAust and the RACI. He will be the President of the RACI later in 2010. He was a Vice President of the IChemE and Chair of the Australian Branch of the IChemE and in 2001 he chaired the 6th World Congress of Chemical Engineering in Melbourne, the first such congress to be held in the new style of world congresses. He was Head of Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne for 14 years and from 1997 to 2002 he was Dean of Engineering. Whilst he led an active research group in minerals processing at the University, since retiring he has concentrated on chemical engineering education including professional accreditation. He is an honorary professor at Tianjin University in North East China.
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Some Global Comparisons of Engineering Education “21st Century style!”
David Wood, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: In 2009 at the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering I suggested that our universities had made an outstanding contribution to society in terms of research and new knowledge. In the same talk I argued that with respect to undergraduate chemical engineering education the universities and the professors of chemical engineering had let the profession and society down. The World allows us to continue delivering undergraduate chemical engineering programs that are unsustainable.

Chemical Engineering education has been formally recognised for over 100 years with people calling themselves chemical engineers in 1910 following the formation of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. During this period university chemical engineering programs have drawn upon several paradigms which are well described by Hougen (1977) & Armstrong (2006).

The Decades of Undergraduate Programmes
(Hougen / Armstrong)

In general the content of our undergraduate programs has been informed by modern developments both from research and from Industry. However, do we structure this content appropriately and what of the overall degree program structure?
In recent years we have seen strong suggestions for reform for  both the curricular and the program structure  e.g. Armstrong (MIT- Frontiers of Education project) (program), Bologna Accord (structure), Melbourne Model (program & structure). Each of these innovations have been proposed and in some cases implemented with significant opposition from traditionalists. An example of this is in the UK where there appears to be a great reluctance to even discuss the Bologna Accord let alone replace the traditional MEng program with the two stage Bologna program.

In China which is a Country which produces more chemical engineering graduates than the entire rest of the World only now are some universities adopting both structure and content of a standard equal to that in the UK and the USA. If the UK and the USA are leaders in content & structure what hope is there for the rest of us when Cussler (2005) refers to this content being 30 years out of date and Armstrong(2006) suggests 40 years out of date is valid?

The paper will provide commentary on the content & structure of the World’s chemical engineering undergraduate programs and in particular will look at the Bologna program, the Melbourne Model and whether the Armstrong  Frontiers approach can work within these structural models as well as in the traditional 4 year USA style program. In addition the impact of the Education revolution in China with respect to Chemical Engineering Education will be outlined.

Adobe Presenter PDF of this presentation may be downloaded here.