The impact of the Bologna process on civil engineering in Europe

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EUCEET expansion
A letter from Moscow
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Within each THEME, 1 to 4 specific projects are
defined, which differ among them by duration, by
character, by objectives and means of execution.
There are 6 SPECIFIC PROJECTS of long duration (2
years).
These SPs cover broad and complex topics,
assigned to WORKING GROUPS with representatives
of an appropriate numbers of partners in the TN.
4 out of the 6 SPs in this category, the SPs
1,5,9 and 10 were launched in the 1st year, the
two others, SPs 3 and 12 will be launched in the
2nd year.
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There are 6 SPECIFIC PROJECTS of short duration
(1 year) SP(s) which will be assigned to TASK
FORCES composed of a limited number of
persons. The SPs 2 and 7 in this category were
launched in the 1st year, the four other, SPs 4,
6, 8 and 11, will be launched in the second year.
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Meetings in the first year (2002 - 2003) of
EUCEET II
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Meetings in the 2nd year (2003 - 2004) of EUCEET
II (between October 1st 2003 May 8th 2004)
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ECCE involvement in EUCEET
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ECCE partnership in EUCEET
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Representatives of ECCE members who attended the
2nd EUCEET General Assembly in Malta
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Second EUCEET General AssemblyMalta, 6 7 May
2004
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EUCEET II SP9 ENHANCING THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF
THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION Within the
EUCEET project, we have co-published a working
group (SP9) to consider how we can enhance the
attractiveness of the civil engineering
profession. As part of this we need to collect
data on the size of the Civil Engineering
industry of each country within EUCEET, defined
as turnover in Euros/Year, as a proportion of the
Gross Domestic Product and as an amount per
member of the total population. We have prepared
a short questionnaire asking you to compile
figures for your country, taken from the official
statistics of your Ministry of Education. Please
compile the table and return it, by e-mail,
Professor Iacint Manoliu and Mr Colin J Kerr at
the addresses below manoliu_at_mail.utcb.ro c.j.ke
rr_at_imperial.ac.uk Name of person completing the
return ___________________________ E-Mail
________________________________________ Country
_____________________________________
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EUCEET II SP9 ENHANCING THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF
THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION Within the
EUCEET project, we have co-published a working
group (SP9) to consider how we can enhance the
attractiveness of the civil engineering
profession. As part of this we need to collect
data on starting salaries. We have prepared a
short questionnaire asking you to compile figures
for your country, taken from the official
statistics of your Ministry of Education. Please
compile the table and return it, by e-mail,
Professor Iacint Manoliu and Mr Colin J Kerr at
the address below manoliu_at_mail.utcb.ro c.j.kerr
_at_imperial.ac.uk Name of person completing the
return _______________________________ E-Mail
____________________________________ Country
______________________________
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EUCEET EUROPEAN CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND
TRAINING SP9 ENHANCING THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF
THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION CURRENT VIEWS
ON THE STATUS OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION
IN THE UK This summary has been produced as part
of the EUCEET SP9 Working Group study on
Increasing the attractiveness of the Civil
Engineering Profession. Preliminary studies by
SP9 have indicated that the image of the
profession varies across Europe. In the UK for
example, the view is that the profession has a
poor image, and there have been a number of
studies and reports which have considered why
this should be so. In other countries, this is
not the case, because engineering, including
civil engineering, is considered as a high status
profession. SP9 wished to obtain a snapshot of
views in each EU country. This document sets out
the situation in the UK and contributors are
asked to prepare a similar report for their own
countries, using the same headings, and basing
it, as far as possible, on existing material.
CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE Engineering
is not taught in schools, and many young people
do not have a clear idea of what civil
engineering involves. It is not seen as an
obvious career choice. When asked, school pupils
often say that civil engineering is boring,
dirty, low status and male-dominated, and that
the mathematics and physical sciences with which
it is associated are difficult. There is also a
suggestion that civil engineering infrastructure
was put in place many years ago, and that
engineers are only concerned with maintenance,
not development. Other professions, including
engineering professions such as computing,
electronics, aeronautics, etc are considered much
more glamorous. There have been times when civil
engineering have been more popular, particularly
when important projects such as the Channel
Tunnel and the Thames Barrier were in the public
eye, and there is a view which says that good TV
programmes can influence young people in a much
more positive way. RECRUITMENT TO UNIVERSITY
COURSES Applications to degree courses halved in
the period 1995-2001, and fell by 5.3 since last
year. if current trends were extrapolated in a
linear fashion, there would be no applicants by
2007! The same downward trend applies to many
engineering and science courses, but civil
engineering and building courses have been more
badly hit that many. Applications to computing
science and creative arts courses have increased
during the same period, as have applications to
new and non-traditional courses, such as sports
science, tourism studies, etc.
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SKILLS SHORTAGES This is considered to be a
really serious problem. 40 of consulting
engineering firms have difficulty with
recruitment and retention of experienced
engineers and many graduate engineers are not
going into the profession, preferring instead to
go into others. We are training less technician
engineers, and employers are tending not to make
best use of these, preferring to employ
graduates, even thought they are difficult to
find. Shortage areas include transportation,
municipal engineering, design, building services
and structural engineering, and skills such as
business, communications, site experience etc are
in short supply. Poor pay is considered to be a
major contributory factor, and many engineers
feel that they are overworked, underpaid and
undervalued. SALARIES OF OTHER PROFESSIONS These
are generally considered to be much higher, for
example Chartered (mid career) civil
engineer 33.6K Doctor (General
Practitioner) 56.6K Manufacturing engineer
(mid career) 47.6K Finance Sector (perhaps not
even mid career) 120.0K POSSIBLE
SOLUTIONS? A number of points have arisen from a
number of studies and reports in the UK which
point to the nature of the problem and some
possible solutions. These include Higher
salaries, more in line with other similar
professions Much more activity in schools to
explain what civil engineering is all about.
This might involve much more activity by
companies, and opportunities for pupils to have
work experience Much more emphasis on mathematics
and physical sciences in schools, and better ways
of teaching science Less boring courses at
universities, and more industrial involvement by
means of placements, case studies, etc More
opportunity for creativity in degree courses, and
a better balance between creativity and
analysis Engineers should relate much better to
matters of public concern, such as pollution,
environmental damage, etc. Overcome the overtly
masculine image of the profession Better public
relations by all sectors of the profession
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ECCE members which provided input for the report
of the EUCEET Specific Project 9 "Enhancing the
attractiveness of civil engineering" (entry and
graduation statistics, size of the
industry, starting salaries, brief description of
the national situation)
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ECCE Education Task Force (ETF)Chairman Prof.
Iacint Manoliu (UAICR)

• Organizational matters
• ECCE members who nominated a representative in
  the ETF or sent him / her at the ETF meetings in
  2003 and 2004

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B. Action plan for 2004B.I ECCE - EUCEET
synergy1. Participation at the EUCEET SP.9
(Enhancing the attractiveness of civil
engineering profession)1.1 Provide data on the
SP.9 statistics and the short national report by
1st July 20041.2 Provide data for ETF
Questionnaire by 1st September 20042.
Participation at other EUCEET Specific Projects
launched in MaltaSp.3 Environmental and
sustainable development matters in civil
engineering educationSP.4 Non-technical subjects
in civil engineering educationSP.12 Lifelong
learning in civil engineeringThe participation
will be made at the request of the Chairmen of
respective Specific Projects. 3. Contribution to
the EUCEET-Tuning Task ForceCooperate with
universities participants in the EUCEET-Tuning
Task Force in the selection of employers to be
asked to respond to the Questionnaire for generic
competences.
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B.II ECCE and Bologna process Undertake by the
end of 2004 a survey among ECCE members on the
position of the respective organization with
respect to the changes occurring in the civil
engineering education as a result of the Bologna
process, with special emphasis on the
professional recognition of the new degree
courses.