1 2014

Issue 11-12 2015

NewsSEFI

The European Engineering Education Information Bulletin

wwwsefibe

European Society for Engineering Education

Europaumlische Gesellschaft fuumlr Ingenieur-Ausbildung

Socieacuteteacute Europeacuteenne pour la Formation des Ingeacutenieurs

We wish you Merry Holidays

Recently published and shared on our facebook page

TUT ranked among the worldrsquos top 50 young universities

New European Data Portal

Commission invests euro33 million for quicker market access of 15 new innovative projects

The 50 Most Popular MOOCs of All Time Follow us on Facebook wwwfacebookcomSEFiaisbltimeline Follow us on Twitter sefi_HQ

2 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

Call for papers It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the 44th Annual conference of the European Society for Engineering Edu-cation (SEFI) organised by the Tampere University of Technology in Finland Proceedings of SEFI Annual Conferences are now indexed on Scopus SEFI Annual Conferences have been organised in different parts of Europe and represent a unique opportunity for the members of SEFI and all those interested by or involved in engineering education and research to exchange views and opinions to establish new contacts with peers and other HEE stakeholders The themes of the conferences reflect the objectives of the Society and the priorities identified by its members In 2015 the conference was held in Orleacuteans on the theme of ldquoDiversity in Engineering Education An Opportunity to Face new Trends in Engineering) and in 2017 it will be organised by ISEP (Porto) in the Azores Islands (19-21 September) on ldquoEducation Excellence for Sustainabilityrdquo This year we invite you to join us in Tampere to exchange on ldquoEngineering Education on Top of the World Industry-University Cooperationrdquo a theme that is aligned with the hosting city its strong industrial past its present start-up envi-ronment and future as a flagship in new technologies We look forward to contributions under the following sub-themes

University-Business cooperation

Engineering Skills

Sustainability and Engineering Education

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning

Open and Online Engineering Education

Ethics in Engineering Education

Curriculum Development

Attractiveness of Engineering Education

Physics and Engineering Education

Mathematics and Engineering Education

Students Cooperation

Engineering Education Research

Gender and Diversity

I feel brilliant

Engineering Education on Top of the World Industry University Cooperation

12-15 September 2016 Tampere Finland

Organised by the Tampere University of Technology

We also welcome student contributions and workshops For the first time several satellite events will be organised in the morning preceding the opening of the conference For details about these events please regularly consult the conference website The submission of extended abstracts is open from 14 December to 13 March 2016 More information as well as instructions for papers and workshop authors are available in wwwsefi2016com The conference language is English We are looking forward to welcome you in Tampere in September 2016 Prof M E Vigild Prof H-M Jaumlrvinen DTU Tampere University of Technology President of SEFI Chair of the Organising Committee SEFI2016

3 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

November has been very intense as far as SEFIrsquos activities are concerned Professor Kamel Hawwash immediate past Presi-dent of SEFI attended the 10th World Congress on Engineering Education at the invitation of the World Federation of Engi-neering Education (WFEO) in Beirut Lebanon from 29 to 30 October (see report later in this issue) We then began the month with a preparatory visit in Tampere in the context of the 44th SEFI Annual Conference (15-18 September 2016) The local organising team from the Tampere University of Technology has already done a tremendous work and at this stage I can only encourage you all to submit your extended abstract on wwwsefi2016eu as from mid De-cember Please also regularly visit the conference web site where a preliminary programme is already available in order for you to to organise your stay in Tampere as soon as possible This meeting was followed by our participation in the BEST Annual Presidents and Partners Meeting organised in Brussels on 5-6 November More details about this meeting can be found later in this issue The President of BEST Joao Clemente also visited our head Office on November 30 for a very fruitful discussion about the SEFIBEST cooperation as a continua-tion of the Memorandum of Understanding both organisations signed in Orleacuteans last summer Prof Vigild was invited as SEFI President to take part in a meeting of the Norwegian Council for Engineering Education held in Tromso (Norway) on 12-13 November On November the 16th we organised in Brussels in the premises of European SchoolNet - who we hereby would like to thank for their splendid hospitality - the first meeting of our Board of Directors (BOD) under the Presidency of Prof Martin E Vigild The Board of Directors also joined the citizens of Europe in a minute of silence in memoriam of the victims of the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris The meeting was extremely well attended with many newcomers and it was the occasion to intensively brainstorm about the BODrsquos role in our Society and the improvement of SEFIrsquos organisation to match as much as possible with the expectations of our members For the first time the directors in charge of specific lines of our Action Plan adopted in Orleacuteans last July were all invited to present flash reports about their respective achievements or plans for the coming months Several of the suggestions expressed on this occasion tackled by the Steering Committee members in their meetings to be held later in December or in January On 17 November I attended the Administrative Council of ENAEE and its Ordinary General Assembly The meetings were an excellent occasion to discuss the collaboration between ENAEE and SEFI - and FEANI - in the future and meetings of our respective Presidents and General Secretaries should be organised in 2016 as well I then had the honour to represent SEFI and to speak about engineering education in Europe in the context of the 2015 International Forum organised by the University of Tsinghua and the Chinese Academy of Engineering on 19 November in Beijing Further information about this successful forum can be found in this issue On 18 November the kick off meeting of the STELA project took place in Leuven STELA is a new EU project coordinated by KU Leuven from which SEFI is a partner and aiming to ensure a successful transition from secondary to higher education using learning analytics A short report about the project is published later in this issue Our next debate is also under preparation and it should be held in Brussels (dates to be confirmed) in early March on the theme of ldquoLabour Market Needs and Engineering Skillsrdquo It will then be followed on 14-15 April by our 8th European Con-vention for Engineering Deans (ECED) organised jointly with CESAER and the National Technical University of Athens in the wonderful premises of the new Acropolis Museum on the theme of ldquoSchools of Engineering at the Forefront of Meeting Development Challengesrdquo (14-15 April) I hereby would like to thank our colleagues from CESAER and NTUA for their great cooperation in this matter with a special thanks to NTUA Rector Ioannis Golias Let me finish with a message of thanks to all the SEFI members individuals corporates partner associations and of course our institutional members for continuing to believe in the objectives and aims of our Society and for their support to its activities financed thanks to their membership Please note that the SEFI HQ will be closed between December 22 and January 1st included and in the meantime I already would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful Year 2016

Franccediloise Cocircme

SEFI Secretary General

FROM SEFI AND ITS MEMBERS

4 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

8th European Convention of Engineering Deans ECED 2016

Schools of Engineering at the Forefront of Meeting Development Challenges

14-15 April 2016 Athens Greece Acropolis Museum of Athens

Discussing the future of Engineering Education in the original agora of our technological and democratic roots ECED is an annual event that brings together Deans of Engineering on current issues in engineering education and research

ECED 2016 is organised by NTUA CESAER and SEFI under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education Research and Religious Affairs and the Greek Ministry of Culture

It is hosted by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the Acropolis Museum of Athens More information on programme and registration will be circulated soon

A Dean is defined as a person in charge of an engineering college school faculty institution of higher education also focused on engineering or a deansrsquo councilorganization

ReadySTEMgo Erasmus + Project

The readySTEMgo project aims to identify the key competencies that are required to be successful in the first year of a

STEM study programme Based on a literature search and an extensive survey organized at the end of the academic year

2014-2015 we decided to focus on learning and study skills procrastination behavior and science epistemological beliefs

during the academic year 2015-2016 The first measurements are nearly finished in the six partner institutions (KU Leuven

Belgium University of Žilina Slovakia Budapest University of Technology and Economics Hungary Aalto University Fin-

land Technical University Hamburg Germany and Birmingham University UK) Over 3000 first year STEM students filled in

different questionnaires during the first weeks of the academic year Based on studentsrsquo individual IDrsquos the results of the

questionnaire will now be linked to their actual performance grades after the examinations in January 2016 in order to de-

termine their predictive value for student achievement Results are expected in the very near future

Maarten Pinxten Project Coordinator readySTEMgo KU Leuven amp Greet Langie Promotor readySTEMgo KU Leuven The readySTEMgo project is an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership 2014-1-BE02- KA200-000462

Granta Design Materials Education Symposia Speakers Announced

The Academic Advisory Committee already announces the confirmed presenters for both the North American and Interna-tional Materials Education Symposia The quality of submissions was exceptionally high and we would like to thank everyone who submitted an abstract Confirmed speakers at the 7th North American Materials Education Symposium (UC Berkeley USA) and the 8th Internatio-nal Materials Education Symposium (Cambridge UK) include

More information can be found on wwwmaterials-educationcom

bull Prof David Dornfeld (UC Berkeley) bull Dr Jennifer Dionne (Stanford) bull Prof James Shackelford (UC Davis) bull Dr Sunniva Collins (Case Western) bull Dr Cyrus Wadia (Nike)

bull Prof Harry Bhadeshia (Cambridge) bull Dr Maragethe Hofmann (Mat Search) bull Prof Sybrand Van Der Zwagg (TU Delft) bull Dr John Dunlop (Max Planck) bull Prof Mark Miodownik (UCL)

Submission is still open for poster abstracts with the first 25 submissions being guaranteed a one-minute oral presentation in a poster teaser session All Symposia attendees will receive access to our new Online Archive of presentations from all past Symposia events You can browse the archive at wwwarchivematerials-educationcom

5 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

FROM OUR PARTNERS

10th World Congress on Engineering Education of WFEO

Professor Kamel Hawwash immediate past President of SEFI attended the 10th World Congress on Enginee-ring Education at the invitation of the World Federation of Engineering Education (WFEO) in Beirut Lebanon from 29 to 30 October The title of the Congress was lsquoEngineering Education for Sustainable Developmentrsquo The Congress included a number of key note addresses related to the theme and included one delivered by Mr Dirk Bochar Vice President of ENAEE on lsquoEUR-ACEreg Framework Standards and Guidelinesrsquo Professor Hawwashrsquos keynote address was on lsquoDeveloping Engineering Skills An ongoing Debatersquo He took the opportunity of this international gathering to describe SEFIrsquos work on engineering skills and pre-

sented an outline of SEFIrsquos recent position paper on lsquoDeveloping Graduate Engineering Skillsrsquo which was published in Sep-tember 2015 The two other Keynote speakers were Dr Fadi Deek from New Jersey Institute of Technology for ASEE and JP Mohsen Vice Chair WFEO-CEIE from the University of Louisville KY - USA The Congress included a number of presentations by young researchers who eloquently described projects they are invol-ved in on sustainable development which included great interaction with the public Professor Hawwash took the opportunity of his presence in Beirut to visit Holy Spirit University of Kaslik SEFIrsquos first institu-tional member from Lebanon His visit to the impressive campus was hosted by Dr Pascal Damien the Dean of Engineering Proceeding of the event can be found on wwwwfeo-ceieorgproceedingsphp The presentation given by Prof Hawwash is available online on wwwsefibe

ENAEE

The 2015 General Assembly of ENAEE was the occasion for the launch of the EAFSG (EUR-ACE Framework Standards and Guidelines) and the ENAEE-IEA Best Practice documents Both documents are available on wwwenaeeeu and further information can also be obtained from Prof Jolly Chair of SEFI WG on Accreditation and Quality Assurance Prof Jolly was elected of two years as member of the ENAEE Administra-tive Council succeeding Mrs Franccediloise Cocircme (SEFI SG) whom mandate ends on 31st December 2015 Mrs Cocircme served as member of the ENAEE AC for three years and ENAEE Vice President for a period of two years

STELA Erasmus + Project

On November 18th was held the kick-off meeting of the European Project STELA in which SEFI is a partner During this meeting held in the premises of KU Leuven SEFI was represented by its Communication Officer Jacques Schibler STELA is undertaken under the Key Action 3 of the Erasmus + Programme ldquoSupport for policy reformrdquo The main goal of the project is to enhance a successful transition from secondary to higher education by means of learning analytics To this end the project will develop test and assess a learning analytics approach that focuses on providing form-ative and summative feedback to students in the transition On top of the development of a student dashboard the project will develop dashboards for the student counsellors and teachers hereby disclosing a vast amount of information that can be used to improve counselling and teaching practices To realize this ambitious goal the project gathers a multidisciplinary team of learning analytics researchers educational technology experts experts in the transition from secondary to higher education and practitioners Thanks to this multidisciplinary team the project will tackle all the different steps required for the application of learning analytics data collection data analysis data visualization dashboard design dashboard develop-ment and last but not least the actual implementation and thorough evaluation of the learning analytics approach The project leader is KU Leuven partnered to TU Delft Leiden University TU Graz Nottingham Trent University and SEFI The STELA project is an Erasmus+ Forward Looking Cooperation Project 562167-EPP-1-2015-BE-EPPKA3-PI-FORWARD

A Wu (National Taiwan University-Washington Accord) and D Mc Grath (Engineers of Ireland - ENAEE VP)

6 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

Tsinghua University and Chinese Academy of Engineering

To promote the international cooperation in the field of engineering education discuss the theory and practice of engineer-ing talents cultivation implement the UN Post 2015 Development Agenda and to help engineering education in developing countries the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the University of Tsinghua jointly hosted a one-day international forum on November 19 2015 Over 200 experts from China and abroad participated in the forum The programme consisted of three sessions on Develop-ment and Tendency of international engineering education on UNESCO and engineering education and on Engineering edu-cation in China Amongst the speakers were Profs Lin Huiqing (Vice Minister Ministry of Education) Raj Reddy (Carnegie Mellon University) Ed Crawley (President Skoltech University) Wu Qidi (Executive Director CAETsinchua CEE) Hans Hoyer (SG IFEESGEDC) Funso Fallade (President African EE Association) Tony Marjoram (Aalborg UNESCO Centre for PBL and formerly UNESCO) Lueny Morell (former President of IFEES) N Balakrishnan (Indian institute of science) Zha Jianzhing (UNESCO Chair) Qian Yi (Tsinghua University) Zhou Xuhong (President Chongqing University) Wang Xiaochu (Vice presi-dent of the Foreign Affairs Committee of NPC and former Minister of Human resource and social security) Gong Ke (President of Nankai University and VP WFEO) Rovani Sigamoney (UNESCO) I had the pleasure to speak about ldquoEngineering education towards 2020 A European Perspectiverdquo and I hereby would like to cordially thank all the organisers of the event for this splendid opportunity to present European developments and perspectives for the future and in particular Prof Zhou Ji President of CAE Prof Qiu Yong the President of Tsinghua University Prof Yu Shouwen Chairman of the Academic Committee - CAE-Tsinghua center for engineering education Special thanks also to Qiao Weifeng I sincerely hope that this event will mark the beginning of a new cooperation between the University of Tsinghua the Chinese Academy of Engineering Education and SEFI Franccediloise Cocircme

The speakers and organisers of the 2015 International Forum in Beijing

BEST

As a longtime partner of the Board of European Students in Technology has been invited to participate and address the 21st BEST Presidentsrsquo Meeting (PM) on the Inaugural and first day of this event held from the 5th to 11th of November 2015 in Flanders Belgium SEFI was represented by its Communication Officer Jacques Schibler during this event and gave a presentation of SEFI and the links our Society has with BEST both historically and on there priorities The Rector of KU Leu-ven Prof Rick Torfs gave a warm welcome to all participants The Opening Ceremony saw representatives from Belgian Universities KU Leuven and the University of Ghent but also companies taking part in the event such as DB or Avery The PM is the second biggest event BEST organises annually During this general meeting presidents of all 96 Local BEST Groups as well as the management of BEST delegates of the international teams and other guests meet to discuss strategic matters of the organisation This years edition is organised by the local groups form Ghent University and Leuven Universi-ty The event was divided into two parts The International Career Day which took place on the first day of the event in-volved selected technology students of the University of Ghent as well as the University of Leuven and BEST representa-tives During the International Career Day the students got to know BESTs company and university partners through presentations workshops and a job fair The second part was dedicated to internal BEST issues such as voting on regulatory adjustments and evaluation of international projects We would like to offer our thanks again to BEST and to its President in particular who invited SEFI to take part in this event Further information can also be found on wwwpresidentsmeeting2015eu and wwwbesteuorg

7 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

Reminder

SEFI Members Survey

Following the Working Group chairsrsquo meeting held in Orleacuteans it has been proposed to send out a survey among the members of SEFI in order to assess their interest into joining one of the standing working group of SEFI The survey is available on googlformsEAK3FzuSv4

2016 ASEE Engineering Research Council (ERC)

The ERC of ASEE supports and enhances research in engineering technology computing and applied science in educational organizations Engineering deans associate deans department chairs and faculty are encouraged to attend this years An-nual Conference to be held on 7-9 March 2016 in Silver Springs MD Registration and booking is now available The ASEErsquos Engineering Research Council Annual Conference is sponsored by the Engineering Research Council and its Executive Board More information on httpwwwaseeorgconferences-and-eventsconferenceserc2016

CALENDAR

JANUARY 2016 4-6 Los Angeles US 4th International Conference on Information and Education Technology - ICIET 2016 (link) 8 ndash 12 PuneIN 3rd International Conference on Transformations in Enginee-ring Education (link) 14 Brussels BE Impact of Research amp Innovation Investments Results of EARTO Economic Footprint Study event (link) 20-21 Delft NL 9th EUA-CDE Workshop Doctoral Supervision ndash practices and responsibilities hosted by TU Delft (link)

DECEMBER 2015

10 Brussel Be ACA Seminar on The international refugee crisis What role for European higher education (link)

SEFIs event or SEFI related event SEFIrsquos partners events

Please find the complete list of our upcoming events on wwwsefibe

9 Brussels BE Meeting of the Organising Committee of the SEFI 2016 Conference (teleconference)

11 Brussels BE SEFI Steering Committee Meeting (teleconference)

15 Athens GR Meeting of the ECED 2016 Organising Committee

8 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

INTERNATIONAL PRESS REVIEW

EU news

Erasmus+ Infoday 2015 Knowledge Alliances and Sector Skills Alliances The European Commission and the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency were supposed to organise an Info-day in Brussels on November 23rd 2015 Unfortunately due to security reasons in Brussels on that day the event was can-celled However information that should have been delivered during this event has been circulated and is available online 4 short videos on the content of all the PowerPoint presentations Information on how to prepare a good application ndash tips and experience sharing Information on financial aspects of the projects Knowledge Alliances ndash basic information on the action Sector Skills Alliances ndash basic information on the action The PowerPoint presentations prepared for the event can be found next to each point in the respective agenda For further questions please contact the functional mailboxes EACEA-KNOWLEDGE-ALLIANCESeceuropaeu for information concerning Knowledge Alliances EACEA-EPLUS-SSAeceuropaeu for information concerning Sector Skills Alliances The EACEA invites you also to regularly consult its webpage as further material may be made available More information on eaceaeceuropaeu

ERASMUS+ Guide for 2016 The Erasmus+ Programme Guide is an integral part of the 2016 Erasmus+ Call for Proposals and its corrigendum published on 22102015 Organisations and institutions seeking funding in the framework of this call must comply with the conditions for participa-tion and funding expressed in this Guide The document provides information on the priorities of the programme the actions supported the funding available for different actions detailed information on participation The Programme Guide is currently only available in English although other language versions will be published soon Organisations are invited to submit applications on-line to the National Agency in the relevant country or to the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency The 2016 on-line application forms and related documents are currently being prepared and will be available on websites of either the National Agencies or the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency depending on the actions con-cerned Individuals seeking to apply should contact their organisation institution or educational establishment The main changes include New opportunities in Vocational Education and Training Mobility (possibility for organisations to apply for mobility projects with and without a VET Charter) more targeted Strategic Partnerships (clearer distinction bet-ween projects supporting innovation and supporting exchange of best practices revised format of Sector Skills Alliances two strands supporting needs identification and design and delivery of VET new opportunities in sport Small Collaborative Partnerships Throughout the Guide a special focus is put on encouraging projects supporting social inclusion (notably of refugees and migrants) as well as preventing radicalisation Calls for proposal for 2016 are also available on eur-lexeuropaeulegal-contentEN More information on eceuropaeuprogrammeserasmus-plus

European Commission DG EAC Survey on ldquoA renewed Modernisation Agenda for Higher Education in the European Unionrdquo All stakeholders and individuals are welcome to contribute to this consultation Contributions are particularly sought from stakeholders interested in or affected by policies in the field of higher education including students higher education institution staff and researchers social partner organisations representing employers and workers governmental bodies relevant associations and umbrella organisations The European Union aims to support higher education institutions and national authorities responsible for higher education

9 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

EU Budget on education

EU 2016 budget deal overall positive outcome for universities

On Saturday 14 November 2015 the negotiators of the European Parliament and European Council agreed on the EU bud-get for next year This agreement comes before the end of the limited conciliation period when both institutions have to reach a compromise denoting that the 2016 budget will be implemented in time Considering the wider economic and poli-tical context and pressures on the overall EU budget the outcomes regarding Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ two EU funding programmes of major importance to European universities can be regarded positively While the overall budget is slightly lower than in 2015 (-45) Horizon 2020 funds are to remain stable next year with 954 billion Euros in commitments Throughout the negotiation process EUA has shared its views and arguments with the European Parliament helping it to keep up a strong position in favour of the programme which has allowed avoiding significant cuts Importantly the ldquosocietal challengesrdquo pillar of Horizon 2020 which promotes collaborative research across Europe is further strengthened compared to 2015 while this particular area of the programme had been targeted by previously proposed cuts The other pillars of Horizon 2020 record a slight decrease in comparison to 2015 bringing the overall programme funds to stability (in terms of commitments) When considering payments Horizon 2020 funds are set at 10 billion Euros which represents an increase of 116 in comparison to 2015 It should nevertheless be borne in mind that Horizon 2020 funds were projected to increase year-on-year for the period 2014-2020 as foreseen in the EUrsquos multiannual financial framework and that while cuts related to the establishment of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) have been avoided this year it remains a cause for concern Therefore EUA will continue to monitor the developments and inform its members on a regular basis In parallel the promised increase for the Erasmus+ programme has been confirmed with a further reinforcement of the lines regarding the promotion of excellence and cooperation in the European education and training area and its relevance to the labour market This means the programme funds are increased (in commitments) by about 78 compared to 2015 while payments are projected to increase by slightly over 30 In total 173 billion Euros in commitments and 18 bil-lion Euros in payments will be available for the programme co-funding mobility and cooperation in education training youth and sports More information on wwweuabe and europaeurapidpress-release_IP-15-6093_enhtm

to build highly effective higher education systems The EUs priorities in the area of higher education are currently set out in its Agenda for the modernisation of Europes higher education systems In a fast changing world it is important that the EUs priorities and activities reflect the real needs of higher education in Europe For this reason the European Commission is currently reviewing the existing agenda to ensure what it does is as useful as possible As part of this review the objective of the consultation is to collect the views of stakeholders about the current situation in Europes higher education systems as well as on priorities for change Specifically the consultation questionnaire focuses on 1 the current strengths and weaknesses of higher education in the EU 2 the priority areas where those in charge of higher education should focus their attention and 3 how you think the EU should support efforts to improve higher edu-cation Respondents should complete the consultation via the online questionnaire provided The EC will publish a summary of the results of the consultation 1 month after the consultation closes More information can be found on eceuropaeudgseducation_culturemore_infoconsultationsnew-modernisation-agenda_enhtm

Technology Transfer

Ten steps to success in tech transfer the case of KU Leuven A new Science|Business report analyses the principles and strategies that lie at the heart of one of the worldrsquos most produc-tive tech transfer offices Leuven Research and Development ldquoNow it is generally recognised that a university has not two missions but three education research and transfer of knowledgerdquo says Rik Torfs Rector of KU Leuven The leading research universities around the world are powerful engines of innovation The most successful build valuable royalty streams collaborating and consulting with industry to develop products registering and licensing patents and for-ming spin-offs Much of that income is channelled back to researchers creating a virtuous circle At the same time the universities that succeed at technology transfer contribute tangible benefits to society by stimulating innovation and economic growth

10 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

How to develop a good tech transfer office As universities come under increasing pressure to demonstrate the wider impact of their research Science|Business brings together some of Europersquos most experienced technology transfer offices to discuss the dos and donrsquots Universities are under pressure to maximise the impact of their research prompting an increasing focus on technology transfer The critical ingredient that a technology transfer office (TTO) needs to be successful is autonomy from the university be-lieves Paul Van Dun general manager of KU Leuven The reason is to ensure continuity as one rector succeeds another ldquoAs a TTO you do not want to depend on changing guidelines every four or five years You need to offer continuity to com-paniesrdquo Van Dun said ldquoIf you work with someone like GE and they come back three years later they donrsquot want to see everything changed They want stabilityrdquo One of the key tasks of a TTO is to make a judgement on whether research should be patented or otherwise protected From there it is a case of whether to license the discovery or try to spin it into a start-up Spawning a few big hits can go a long way But there is no annual target for spinouts at Manchester University which manages its technology transfer through a subsidiary UMI3 The university does quite well all the same with a recent ranking putting it fourth in Europe over a 10 year period It is also expecting a rush of business on the back of its Nobel Prize-winning graphene research which is seen as having significant commercial potential Rather than the number of companies Georghiou prefers to talk about how much outside money the university raised in a year or how much a spinout has fed into the economy UK universities are now obliged to demonstrate how they fare on such metrics as part of the Research Excellence Framework a recently introduced system for assessing the quality of research in the countryrsquos higher education institutions (hellip)Universities face the dilemma of having researchers with good ideas who do not make themselves known to their TTO Commercial potential is not always at the top of researchersrsquo preoccupations ldquoItrsquos been said donrsquot try to turn researchers into entrepreneurs itrsquoll be a failurerdquo said van Dun ldquoSometimes the best researchers will not pick up the phone You just need a constant interaction with everyone without being perceived as a policing or auditing entity you have to be a part-nerrdquo No TTO has the reach to find and develop every good idea Georghiou said Given this it is best to keep expectations in check ldquoWe probably reach around 10 per cent of the universityrdquo he said ldquoItrsquos always a challenge to reach more than thisrdquo There are many researchers who will not think to exploit their inventions but also serial entrepreneurs who might start three or four companies (hellip)Leuven has gone on to taste strong success between 2005 and 2014 industry contracts licensing and patents generated nearly euro14 billion in revenue for the university (hellip) KU Leuven has run one since 1997 ldquoIt was really crucial to set up There were not a lot of investors interested in small high-tech companies after the dotcom collapserdquo said van Dun It has become harder to access money since the financial crisis Georghiou confirmed ldquoFor many years we were fortunate to have a dedicated fund for seed investments Post financial crisis and itrsquos been difficult to replenish thisrdquo The university has now teamed up with two new investment firms More information on wwwsciencebusinessnet

Building a successful technology transfer operation however requires significant investment It also requires an apprecia-tion that it takes time to build expertise and relationships and for the benefits to flow Universities that rush to create technology transfer offices without the proper structures funding and long-term commitment will be disappointed KU Leuvenrsquos technology transfer office Leuven Research and Development founded in 1972 is one of Europersquos oldest Today it ranks among the worldrsquos most productive Between 2005 and 2014 industry contracts licensing and patents ge-nerated nearly euro14 billion in revenue for the university The university has nurtured and taken a stake in 105 spin-outs which have raised euro760 million in external capital over the past decade There have been seven initial public offerings Eigh-ty-seven spin-outs are still active employing some 4200 people This analysis of what makes Leuven Research and Development so successful was commissioned by the Medical University of Warsaw which aims to form its own technology transfer office The report builds on interviews with senior university officials and Leuven Research and Development management tech-nology transfer professionals and a medical technology entrepreneur to highlight the lessons learned by KU Leuven over more than four decades and set down guidelines for successfully launching a university technology transfer office today Access the full report here More information on wwwsciencebusinessnet

11 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

EUA presents first interactive map of university mergers Mergers and concentration processes are on the rise in the university sector Close to 100 cases over the past 15 years have been listed by the European University Association They now feature in EUArsquos University Merger Tool wwwuniversity-mergerseu the first interactive online map of the institutions borne out of these processes Whether mergersclusters are part of large-scale restructuring of the higher education and research landscape or a res-ponse to local challenges public authorities as well as university leaders and managers need to overcome similar issues The University Merger Tool intends to support them by helping to identify previous cases of interest and thus foster the ex-change of experiences and good practice across borders The tool includes not only a series of mergers but also some of the most significant strategic clustering processes where universities and other higher education institutions have joined together under an umbrella ldquocommunityrdquo or ldquoassociationrdquo As a pilot the website also allows users to give feedback and contribute to the development of a unique database The University Merger Tool is best used in conjunction with EUArsquos analysis of the phenomenon available in the recently released report Designing Strategies for Efficient Funding of Universities in Europe (DEFINE) Both tool and publication are outcomes of the joint work of EUA and its project partners with the guidance of an expert steering committee The Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES Portugal) carried out transversal research contributing to the overall ana-lysis and feeding into the academic discourse Aalto University (Finland) the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) and Copenhagen Business School (Denmark) shared their first-hand experience in the matter and helped to structure the analysis Finally the University of Oxford (UK) explored possible lessons from previous reforms in the healthcare sector The DEFINE project has received the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union (2012) More information on wwweuabe

University Mergers

European Council adopts Conclusions on Gender Equality and Research Integrity The EU Competitiveness Council adopted on 1 December 2015 Conclusions on Gender Equality and Research Integrity Both topics are considered to be top priorities in the research and innovation domain of the current Luxembourg Presidency of the Council that will end on 31 December 2015 As a dedicated member of the European Research Area (ERA) stakeholderrsquos platform EUA has welcomed the Councilrsquos com-mitment to enhance gender equality in the ERA Measures such as fostering cultural and institutional changes providing incentives to research funding and performing organisations calling for transparency in recruitment and career progression supporting family-friendly working conditions as well as setting up guiding targets for better gender balance in decision ma-king bodies to achieve gender equality are all laudable yet still challenging for the advancement of gender mainstreaming in academia The central principles of research integrity particularly honesty reliability objectivity and impartiality are indeed ldquothe foundation of high quality researchrdquo and ldquoa prerequisite for achieving excellence in research and innovationrdquo as the Council emphasised This is a first step in a very important discussion to be taken at the European national and institu-tional levels and EUA looks forward to taking these issues further in a continuous dialogue with its members and with all relevant stakeholders The Conclusions of the Council coincide with an extensive report by Science Europe on the same topic arguing how research integrity fosters trust within science and society increasing the quality and acceptance of research More information on wwweuabe

Gender and Diversity

Publications

Higher Education Reform Looking Back ndash Looking Forward The central focus of this monograph is the concept of higher education reform in the light of an international and global comparative perspective After decades of far-reaching reform higher education around the world has profoundly changed and now has to face the challenges of the present This volume takes a close look at these changes the drivers of change their effects and possible future scenarios In their contributions the authors discuss a variety of basic concepts learning and teaching in higher education financing and quality assurance governance change massification vs equity and equali-ty internationalization and mobility the implementation of lifelong structures in higher education More information on wwwpeterlangcom

12 11-12 2015 newsSEFI Page

ACA and DAAD ldquoUniversity Quality Indicators A Critical Assessmentrdquo joint study is out ACA is pleased to announce the publication of a new study titled University Quality Indicators A Critical Assessment written by ACA and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the European Parliament The study reviews the latest developments in two different approaches to higher education quality assessment quality assurance (QA) and global ran-kings and presents a comparative analysis of these approaches While both make judgments on quality these two instru-ments differ fundamentally in their purpose Most rankings are concerned with measuring excellence especially in research and identifying the best higher education institutions External QA on the other hand aims to ensure compliance with minimum standards and support quality improvement with a focus on teaching and learning Despite the many diffe-rences both QA and rankings display signs of learning from each other Some QA classifications now include a category for quality that exceeds requirements which indicates a move towards measuring excellence Some global rankings are also moving in the direction of U-Multirank encouraging users to produce rankings based on their own criteria More information on wwweuroparleuropaeuthinktanken The full study can be downloaded here

The Structure of the European Education Systems 201516 Schematic Diagrams This report provides an overview of the structure of education systems in Europe for 201516 In total 42 education systems are represented Information covers the 28 EU Member States as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina Switzerland Iceland Liechtenstein Montenegro the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo-nia Norway Serbia and Turkey For each country diagrams show how the national education system is organised at five education levels early childhood education and care primary and secondary education programmes post-secondary non-tertiary programmes and the main programmes offered at tertiary level The first section of the report sets out the main organisational models of pre-primary and compulsory education The second one provides a guide on how to read the diagrams while the third section shows the national diagrams including the corresponding levels of education as defined by the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011) More information on webgateeceuropaeu

The SEFI newsletter contains information about SEFIrsquos recent activities as well as a sum-mary of the latest stories in higher engineering education in Europe and worldwide Newssefi is sent for free to SEFI members All previous issues are available on wwwsefibe ldquomembers onlyrdquo All staff and students of an institution an association or a company member of SEFI are entitled to receive free copies of the newsletter So in case you know somebody that is interested in a free copy feel free to contact us

SEFI aisbl 39 rue des Deux Eglises 1000 Brussels Tel +32 2 502 36 09 Fax +32 2 502 96 11 infosefibe wwwsefibe Editor SEFI aisbl

SEFI is the largest network of higher engineering education institutions (HEIs) and educators in Europe

It is an international non-profit organisation created in 1973 to contribute to the develop-ment and improvement of HEE in Europe to reinforce the position of the engineering profes-sionals in society to promote information about HEE and improve communication between teachers researchers and students to reinforce the university-business cooperation and to encourage the European dimension in higher engineering education

Through its membership composed of HEIs academic staff students related associations and companies SEFI connects over 1 million students and 158000 academic staff members in 48 countries

To reach its goals SEFI implements diverse activities such as Annual Conferences Ad hoc seminarsworkshopscouncils organised by its thematic working groups and committees SEFI organises European Engineering Deans Conventions publishes a series of Scientific publica-tions (European Journal of Engineering Education) and Position Papers is involved in Europe-an projects cooperates with other major European and international associations and inter-national bodies (European Commission UNESCO Council of Europe OECD)

SEFI also participated in the creation of numerous international organisations such as ENAEE IFEES EuroPace IACEE IIDEA or EEDC

SEFI is governed by a Board of Directors composed of 21 elected members and membersrsquo representatives two Vice-Presidents and is presently chaired by President Prof Martin Vigild Dean and Senior Vice-President of the Technical University of Denmark

Please send your contributions for the next issue to infosefibe before 20 January 2015

SEFIrsquos corporate partners