Departments to Domains
Dear Friends and Students
Today I had an opportunity to listen to the Message of Ford CEO on Alvin Foo's Twitter Handle (twitter.com/alvinfoo/status/1680019471254315008).
I recommend you should listen to this 1.5-minute perspective. Though he is talking about Ford Vehicle Automation Scenario, I am seeing this from an Engineering Education Impact perspective.
Foo Tweet says, “Ford CEO explains why legacy car manufacturers cannot compete with Tesla in software (or make good software). This is the same reason why many of them will eventually go out of business, the disruption is real and they are simply unable to transform fast enough vs Tesla and the new Chinese EV makers.”.
Ford CEO says, their car module consists of 150+ modules developed by tens of software companies. As it is legacy code, these car companies have to take permission from these vendors to modify and make it an interoperable module. However, Tesla or any other EV vehicle is developing their own brand-new software for the Car and gaining a competitive advantage!
If we decode this problem deep into various other domains and corresponding education changes, it is going to be an eye-opener. A day is going to be near that what we teach in the classroom (e.g., Internal Combustion Engines) is no more relevant! For e.g., as you are all aware, Norway is the trailblazer in ending the reign of ICE vehicles, with only zero-emission new vehicles either battery electric or hydrogen to be sold from 2025. I am sure Norway's Mechanical Engineering departments might have to phase out their syllabus and change their curriculum completely. Eventually, the same case with all Mechanical Engineering departments across the world.
If 3D printing becomes the norm, that means that there will be even more demand for chemical engineering, however, there would be new materials and fabrication techniques being developed. Again, there would be an impact on the Curriculum. It becomes software/automation-enabled Chemical Engineering.
Engineering Automation companies like Siemens, ABB, Emerson, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Honeywell, Mitsubishi, Yokogawa Electric, Omron Automation, Danaher Industrial Ltd, etc approach towards automation is mind-blowing. Their JDs are already demanding 50% domain expertise, and 50% software expertise to automate their engineering processes.
Dear Friends, from In Engineering Software Perspective, control engineering to automation to computer science are slowly merging (Industry 4.0), resulting in Trans-Disciplinary Engineering Education!
The boom for software continues however in my view, Engineering Education is not going to be based on Departments (CSE, ECE, EEE, CHEM, MECH, CIVIL) in the future! It would be called Energy, Automobile, Control & Safety Systems, Design & Operations Software, Industrial Robots, Industrial Automation and Test and Measurement Solutions, Life science, environmental, etc. Each of these Domains needs to teach specific domain knowledge, electrical, electronics, software specific to that process, and automation process as part of the curriculum.
I am sure, It demands the overhaul of the entire process change right from the policy definition, regulatory approvals, restructuring of the department, faculty recruitment/re-training of the existing, infrastructure in the institutions (industry and institutions together operate the course), Labs delivery (more labs, less theory, more internships, more field works), examination grading (no traditional assessment, more assignment driven), recruitment (internships based), entrance examinations (domain interest-based general awareness questions and aptitude), etc
If these predictions are right, I am sure this change would take place in less than 5 years!
As Ford's CEO mentioned for Vehicles, similarly the traditional mindset-driven colleges are extinct. Progressive colleges would survive.
My Past Personal Experience
Back in 2010, I quit Wipro to start campaigning for the Centre for Innovation in Schools and Colleges. People laughed at me for the decision and concept in Schools and Engineering Colleges/Universities. Back in 2010, hardly there were any colleges with the Centre for Innovation.
I sent proposals to all stakeholders including right from the President of India, the PMO, every CM, Secretaries, all colleges and schools Principals, DEOs, etc. That time the response was weak. Today as we are talking on July 2023, we have a Centre for Innovation and Incubation in every University/Institution, we have IIC clubs in every college, and Atal Tinkering Labs in the majority of the schools. With the same time operated conviction, I am confident that Departments would change to Domains in the future Colleges!
Time to Think!
Ravi Saripalle
Note: Opinions expressed by authors are their own.
Pic credits: Pixabay
Dr. Ravi Saripalle
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