Structural Transformations in Higher Engineering Education in Europe

Abstract

This chapter aims to analyze the driving forces at work which have resulted in structural transformations that have taken place in higher engineering education throughout Europe over the last four decades. After a brief discussion of the theoretical concept of academic drift, a comparative study of two higher engineering institutions in Europe is presented: the IUTs in France, nested in the French universities, and the Fachhochschulen in Germany, which were non university institutions. The study dwells on the initial missions and status of these institutions, and the academic drift processes they have been through in this globalizing time span, with regard to their autonomy, their curricula, their pedagogical methods, the recruitment of their students and staff, and their research opportunities Finally, the dynamics of these transformations will be analyzed in the light of national and international standards and requirements.