SEFI 2024: Asian Engineering Education Forum

In order to further promote the establishment of a comprehensive global academic network in engineering education by the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) and to offer European engineering education scholars and students insights into the latest research developments and educational reform experiences in Asian engineering education, the Chinese Society of Engineering Education (CSEE) has proposed the workshop of the Asia Engineering Education at the 2024 SEFI Annual Conference, aligning with the thematic focus on “Fostering Responsible Engineers.” The workshop is planned to feature the preliminary theme “Exploration and Practice of Asian Engineering Education: Cultivating the Next Generation of Outstanding Engineers.” 

Participants will get the chance to gain further insights into the latest trends in cutting-edge Asian engineering education research and several case studies by participating in this forum. We will be inviting experts from prominent science and engineering universities in major Asian countries to share their experiences in engineering education reforms and outstanding engineering education practices. This will also provide Asian experts in engineering education with the opportunity to stay abreast of the latest developments in European research, facilitating in-depth communication and exchange between both regions.

The establishment of the sessions of the Asian Engineering Education Forum aims to act as a bridge between European and Asian engineering research, enabling academic dialogue and research outcome exchange. In order to make the forum more diverse and appealing, we plan to invite experts from China (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and Malaysia. The invited Chinese universities include Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and University of Macau. The estimated total number of participants in this forum is around 100 to 150.

To encourage extensive interaction, the forum will include presentations from six experts, with each expert allotted 15 minutes for their presentation. This will be followed by a Q&A session to facilitate through exchange between the participants. Leveraging the rich resources of universities and enterprises across Asia and China, CSEE will use this workshop as an opportunity for extensive publicity, ensuring that more scholars from the Asian engineering education field are aware of the latest developments at the conference and encouraging more Chinese scholars to participate in the forum in Switzerland, thereby fully realizing the connection and interaction between scholars from Europe and Asia.

The Asian Engineering Education Forum plans to conduct a call for conference papers under the theme “Exploration and Practice of Asian Engineering Education: Cultivating the Next Generation of Outstanding Engineers” from major Asian countries and universities. Outstanding papers will be selected for presentation at the conference, and a complete collection of conference papers will be compiled and widely promoted in Chinese universities after the conference.

The establishment of the Asian Engineering Education Forum not only brought Asian engineering education research into Europe but also enabled European engineering education research to enter Asia, signifying the significant importance of deep cooperation and positive communication between scholars from both regions.