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Engineering education, economic development and global mobility
Published in Firoz Alam, Alexandra Kootsookos, Engineering Education, 2020
Firoz Alam, Alexandra Kootsookos
As a starting point, there appears to be general consensus, within developed economies, as to the three major types of engineering professionals: (a) “theoretical engineer”; (b) “applied engineer” (in some regions, these professionals are considered as “technologists and/or diploma engineers”) and (c) “engineering technician”. These three categories generally require different levels of qualification and are associated with different types of work activities. According to the guidelines of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA), the definitions of these three major types of engineering professionals are as follows: Engineering Technicians (lowest qualification level) use standard techniques to provide solutions to practical engineering problems.Incorporated Engineers (next level of qualification) apply current and new technology to engineering design and operations. These engineers may also be involved with management and are able to communicate effectively.Chartered Engineers (highest qualification level) are those practitioners who innovate and create new technologies to provide solutions to engineering problems.
Engineering and Technology Professions
Published in Quamrul H. Mazumder, Introduction to Engineering, 2018
Engineering technicians work with equipment, primarily assembling and testing component parts of devices or systems that have been designed by others, usually under direct supervision of an engineer or engineering technologist. In order to assemble, repair, or improve technical equipment, engineering technicians work by learning its characteristics, rather than by studying the scientific or engineering basis for its original design. They may carry out standard calculations, serve as technical sales people, make estimates of cost, assist in preparing service manuals, or perform design-drafting activities. As a group, they are important problem-solving individuals whose interests are directed more to the practical than to the theoretical aspect of a project. They are frequently employed in laboratories and/or manufacturing facilities where they may set up experiments, accumulate scientific or engineering data, and/or service or repair engineering or production equipment.
The role of the engineer
Published in Mike Tooley, Engineering A Level, 2006
The Engineering Council divides engineers into three specific categories: Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician. These categories are not used in all branches of engineering but the roles are generally well understood and serve as useful benchmarks with which to compare the roles of engineers working in a wide variety of engineering sectors. The roles can be summarised as follows: Chartered Engineers: Chartered engineers are characterised by their ability to develop appropriate solutions to engineering problems, using new or existing technologies. Engineers are variously engaged in technical and commercial leadership and possess effective interpersonal skills.Incorporated Engineers: Incorporated engineers maintain and manage applications of current and developing technology, and may undertake engineering design, development, manufacture, construction and operation. Incorporated Engineers are variously engaged in technical and commercial management and possess effective interpersonal skills.Engineering Technicians: Engineering technicians are involved in applying proven techniques and procedures to the solution of practical engineering problems. They carry supervisory or technical responsibility, and are competent to exercise creative aptitudes and skills within defined fields of technology. Engineering Technicians contribute to the design, development, manufacture, commissioning, operation or maintenance of products, equipment, processes or services.
Use of virtual labs to support demand-oriented engineering pedagogy in engineering technology and vocational education training programmes: a systematic review of the literature
Published in European Journal of Engineering Education, 2022
A systematic literature search was performed in February 2021. An appropriate set of databases was selected to ensure that the educational scope and ET/VET content was broadly covered: Academic Search Complete, Education Full Text, Education Research Complete, ERIC (the Educational Resources and Information Centre), Vocational and Career Collection, and Web of Science. The selected articles from these databases integrate findings from research reviews, empirical studies, and theoretical articles published in peer reviewed academic journals over the past 10 years (January 2010 – December 2020). However, given the dynamic nature of the development and improvement of virtual labs, articles published more recently were given higher priority. The scoping review resulted in 362 full source texts. It included a topic search on the following terms: (‘virtual lab’ OR ‘remote lab’ OR ‘virtual reality’ OR ‘augmented reality’ OR ‘artificial intelligence’) AND engineer* AND (‘community college’ OR ‘technical college’ OR ‘technical education’ OR ‘technological education’ OR ‘vocational’ OR ‘engineering technology’ OR ‘engineering technician’).
The Making of Engineering Technicians: Ontological Formation in Laboratory Practice
Published in Engineering Studies, 2021
The technicians were deeply involved in the students’ trajectories – from their orientation and induction into laboratory work, to assisting them with final year capstone projects. The technicians were extremely busy when student groups arrived – they circulated between workstations, correcting errors, demonstrating tasks, and offering encouragement. A part of the laboratory practical was always devoted to teaching abstract concepts. For example, I watched Bomikazi, a chemical engineering technician, teaching the concept of separation, drawing diagrams on the whiteboard, demonstrating a distillation process, and then engaging students in practical tasks, often referring back to the concept drawings on the whiteboard. Bongani, a civil engineering technician, taught students the mathematics underpinning the concepts of hydraulics and fluid flow. It seemed to me that the laboratory technicians facilitated students’ acquisition of engineering knowledge as much as they trained them in laboratory skills.
Editorial: Standing on Each Other’s Shoulders
Published in Engineering Studies, 2021
Yet contra Boyle and company, technicians matter – a lot. A few studies have already looked at the important roles technicians play in research laboratories and commercial settings.8 For her article, Winberg draws our attention to the work of technicians in educational settings, specifically engineering technician programs at two South African universities of technology. She explores a number of different practices technicians use to convey knowledge to students effectively: speaking their students’ language (literally – the South African setting is highly multilingual) and telling jokes and self-deprecating stories to put them at ease; projecting control of ‘their’ space and their own bodies to help students identify the technicians as the authoritative but also approachable voice within that space; configuring materials and experimental set-ups so that students see knowledge in application. As in Wilde and Guile’s article, technicians’ practices are ‘immaterial’ in the sense that their value is often not explicitly acknowledged in their employers’ budgets – the technicians in Winberg’s study are clearly stretching scarce resources in creative ways. Yet for the students who interact with them, the technicians’ practices are highly material because they are materialized – in laboratory spaces, in clothing, in experimental set-ups, etc.