Preparing for the 46th SEFI Annual Conference in Copenhagen 17-21 September 2018

Preparing for the 46^th SEFI Annual Conference in Copenhagen 17-21 September 2018

Preparations for the annual conference are moving fast. On Monday 18^th of June Professor Hannu-Matti Järvinen of Tampere University of Technology came to visit this year’s host at DTU – the Technical University of Denmark – to make the final decisions on the reviewing process and session planning together with the Local Organizing Committee at DTU and the Conference Chairman Martin E. Vigild.

Hannu-Matti Järvinen, the “master of the white board” and distinguished Conference Chairman for the SEFI 2016 AC in Tampere, Finland.	Hannu-Matti with LOC chairman Peter Hussmann to the right, conference project manager Linda Citterio to the left, and flanked by LOC members Peter Kjeldsen and Henrik.

Acton in the conference “war room”. Minds and fingers are put to the ultimate test!

The conference them this year is:

“Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Engineering Education Excellence”

Obviously, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship must be part of any engineering educational program. These three items are pillars of the engineering identity. However, we argue that they are much more than just pillars, they also present the perfect context for excellent engineering education. Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship offer a perfect pedagogical framework and an authentic envelope to teach all aspects of engineering with a holistic systems approach.

This conference philosophy is expressed by the slogan:

“You do not have to be an engineer to become one –
but to become one, you have to be like one.”

Engineering programmes and courses where students work with real life challenges create a strong environment for learning. Students acquire core disciplinary knowledge through focusing on heavy scientific and technical subjects as well as methods of synthesis. Scientific and technical knowledge integrates with the learning of personal, interpersonal, professional and innovative skills. Students face problem solving, critical thinking, team-work, management, collaboration and communication skills.

This is why creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are not just parts of engineering education curriculum – but rather the powerful means to engineering education excellence in itself.

We will be exploring the conference theme through keynote sessions and our conference tracks. This year we have two new developments in the conference programme:

On the first day of the conference, we will have a plenary interactive community dialogue with the title “Shapes of Innovations”, where Dr. Ruth Graham will explore how innovation and entrepreneurship materialize in engineering education around the world. The session will feature SEFI institutional members as well as interesting initiatives form over-seas.

All submission to the conference are accepted on the basis of a full paper submission. This also includes submissions, which have been accepted as posters. We regard all submission as of equal scientific value. This is why we have boosted the poster exhibition sessions this year by adding a poster teaser session. This is a plenary event, where each poster is given the opportunity to present one slide for 30 seconds to the plenary assembly. Also, the exhibiton sessions themselves are plenary sessions without any parallel activity in the programme.

SEFI and DTU looks forward to seeing everyone at the SEFI Annual Conference in wonderful Copenhagen. The conference takes place at the DTU Campus in Lyngby just north of Copenhagen. We have mowed the lawn, fed the gold fish and there is a spot in the sun for everybody.

Looking forward to spending some valuable time together with you in September!

The green courtyard at DTU. Conference activities will take place in the adjacent buildings.	Students go amok at DTU during freshman welcoming ceremony. Self-constructed paper planes are launched simultaneously as part of ice-breaking event.