There is a great interest on the part of American scholars and decision-makers in engineering education in China. This interest is shared by the Chinese. For example, Chinese users represent 3.3% (third highest after the US and Canada) of the user of the IEEE website even though the product has only recently become available in Chinese.
The US-based Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) recently opened a branch office in Beijing and has under way currently efforts relative to engaging with Chinese high schools students in computing. It is possible that engineering could be an easy add-on to this and related efforts. Generally speaking, the highest tracks of the Chinese pre-college educational system do a very good job in science and technology courses.
The US-based Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has carried out some substantial equivalency evaluations at Chinese engineering education institutions in the past but this program has been terminated. ABET is now doing direct international accreditation and is continuing work on that program; there is none in China at this time. The Education Activities Board of IEEE has established a Working Group on Education in China with Professor Shensheng Zhang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University as the chair. There were planning meetings in Shanghai in August and November 2007 and with the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) in October 2007. The goal of this effort is to develop models and pilot studies for an accrediting program and to develop connections to decision-making bodies to advance the idea of new accreditation models.
There is considerable confusion regarding the number of "qualified" baccalaureate engineering degrees being awarded each year in China. Because of the broad geographical and political diversity of engineering education, it appears, at this time, impossible to get a verifiable count of "qualified" baccalaureate degrees. Some, including the National Academies of Sciences,[1] have quoted this number at approximately 500,000; some informal quotes speak of 800,000. On the other hand, researchers at Duke University[2] argue that the number reported by the Chinese Ministry of Education for 2004 of 351,000 is still inflated because many of these graduates do not meet the usual US-based standards for a baccalaureate degree. In addition, there is a feeling that Chinese engineering program do not sufficiently address practical/laboratory skills vis-à-vis theoretical training. There are, however, signs that this may be changing.
China is creating "new" universities by combining programs from different specialty schools. The relation of this imitative to NSF's cpaths program which looks for multi-disciplinary engagement is unclear. Some of the proposals to NSF were seeking to work with international programs in China.
A number of Chinese universities are entering into partnerships with US universities with the dual goals of improving graduate education in China as well as providing opportunities for Chinese students to get a quality graduate education with the goal of retaining them in China. One example of such a partnership is the one that exists between the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Under this partnership it is possible for Chinese students to receive degrees from both universities (either BS and or MS), have the opportunity to spend up to a year at the University of Michigan taking courses and engaged in research and take courses taught by UM faculty in China. SJTU is using this program to upgrade their curriculum and improve the teaching abilities of their faculty. UM students are also afforded the opportunity to spend one or more semesters in China while continuing to make progress towards their degree.
Distance education has some very great opportunities for China. China is struggling with how to provide high-quality education to a larger and larger number of students in a variety of locations. One of the large roadblocks for a direct sharing of courses is the time difference that would cause a difficult situation for synchronous classes. Another issue is the level of English comprehension by the Chinese students.
One example of a successful distance learning engagement is between Beihang University and the University of Washington with an algorithms course. The pedagogical model for this course was active learning using technology to enhance student to student and student to teacher interactions. The technology involved was the ConferenceXP collaborative platform, Classroom Presenter software and tablet pc hardware. Three sections of the course were taught at Beihang, facilitated by three Beihang graduate students. The same homework assignments, exams and projects were given.
Based on conversations with the Beihang students, they said that they liked the course because it improved their English listening skills significantly. They also indicated that they understood about 60% of the video lecture and would replay to understand more. The classroom discussions and activities were conducted in Chinese and lead by the teaching assistants. There are currently several papers being written on various aspects of this experiment.
Several US industrial corporations maintain research and development organizations in China. These organizations have, in many cases developed partnerships and programs with Chinese universities similar to the ones that they have with US universities. The following material describes the programs of Microsoft Research (MSR) which are believed to be matched by other organizations.
The University Relations (UR) Group at MSR Asia is committed to building strong partnerships and collaborative relationships with the academic community and governments across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as exploring new areas of research that can accelerate computer science or transform other disciplines through integrated computing. Programs and events include: theme-based research projects, joint labs, international conferences, faculty summits, visiting researcher programs, internship, fellowship, and lectures and courses.
To meet the demand of the academic community and to help evolve the higher education in computing, Microsoft encourages the advancement of curriculums in computer science, electronic engineering and related disciplines. The UR group at MSR Asia works with educators to improve teaching content and explore innovative teaching methodologies. MSR Asia regularly holds faculty trainings and workshops on Microsoft technologies across the region to help develop local teaching experts for higher education. For the past six years, over 1000 teachers have participated in and benefited from these events.
MSR Asia organizes experienced professors and engineers to develop teaching materials to meet the demand of higher education, covering Windows OS, WinCE, SQL Server and .NET. The contents are provided online and users can freely browse, search, and download them for their individual needs. MSR Asia also offers courses in selected universities. MSR Asia researchers teach courses on some of the hottest subjects (e.g. search technology) at universities, which bring to students not only the new technology but also the experience from one of the best IT companies in the world.
The MSR Internship Program nurtures young research talent for both MRS Asia and the world's research community by fostering outstanding Ph.D., master, or bachelor candidates from computer science and electrical engineering studies. Students interested in the program are required to submit an application, a supervisor's recommendation, and pass rigorous Microsoft Research Asia interviews to gain entry into this program. Successful applicants normally take an internship at the Microsoft Research Asia Beijing lab for three months or more under the supervision of senior researchers in related research fields.
The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. It is involved in a variety of policy issues related to engineering, and has members representative of the leading engineers and technologists in China. Election to the CAE is a great honor, as is election to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). [See the CAS Policy Brief on this site]. Other non-university Chinese government institutions heavily involved with engineering include the CAS and the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC). Among Chinese engineering universities Tsinghua is usually ranked number one. Shanghai Jiao Tong and Zhejiang follow close behind.
Many of the current issues facing engineering education at all levels in China were addressed in the "Bilateral Seminar on Engineering for a Global Economy" held in Shanghai and Beijing, October 20-24, 2002. Supported by the CAE, the US National Science Foundation and the NSFC, the 436 page Proceedings are posted on this website. Topics included "accreditation and Mobility of Engineers in the global Marketplace," "Internationalization of Engineering Education," and "Entrepreneurship Education for Engineering Students." Most of the burning policy issues being addressed at that time are still current.
Principal Editor for this Policy Brief:
James L. Melsa
Dean of Engineering Emeritus
Iowa State University
[1] Rising Above the Gathering Strom, National Academies Press, 2007
[2] Framing the Engineering Outsourcing Debate: Placing the United States on a Level Playing Field with China and India, Gereffi and Wadhwa, Duke University, 2005