Position Paper – Drivers for Lifelong Learning in Engineering
The paper underlines the crucial role of lifelong learning (LLL) in equipping engineers with the competences needed to respond to rapid societal, technological, and economic change. With Europe facing skills shortages that hinder the green and digital transition, the paper calls for universities, employers, and professional organisations to work together in providing meaningful opportunities for continuous development. Lifelong learning is presented as essential not only for engineers but also for educators and all stakeholders in engineering education.
This position paper reaffirms SEFI’s commitment to supporting responsible innovation, advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and strengthening engineering expertise across Europe.
The Knowledge Triangle – Re-Inventing the Future
The special interest group has collected best practices from leading European institutions in continuing engineering education and lifelong learning through the introduction books: “European Continuing Engineering Education – Conceptualizing the Lessons Learned” and “The Knowledge Triangle – Re-Inventing the Future”. The books will introduce you to CEE methodology, operators, experiments and quality assurance.
CEE Taxonomy – Having a shared language important for knowledge exchange in CEE
Members involved: Patricia Caratozzolo, Sonia Gomez, Hans-Ulrich Heiß, Matias Urenda Moris, Bente Norgaard, Chris Smith, Jani Hirvonen, Firoozeh Babayekhorasani
Read more:
- Caratozzolo P, Smith CJM, Gomez S, Moris MU, Nørgaard B, Heiß H-U and Azofeifa JD (2024) A novel taxonomy for facilitating in-depth comparison of continuing engineering education practices. Front. Educ. 9:1444595. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1444595
- Smith, C. J. M., Gomez Puente, S. M., Nizamis, K., Nørgaard, B., Urenda Moris, M., & Caratozzolo, P. (2024). A FRAMEWORK TO PREPARE ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY EDUCATORS TO DELIVER CONTINUING ENGINEERING EDUCATION. Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Conference of SEFI, Lausanne, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14256765
CEE Educator Framework – How do we support educators of CEE learners?
Members involved: Sonia Gomez, Matias Urenda Moris, Kostas Nizamis, Bente Norgaard, Chris Smith, Patricia Caratozzolo
Engineers – What do they want from LLL?
Do we know what practising engineers need and want, and which mode of delivery?
Members involved: Bente Norgaard, Nicolaj Clausen, Patricia Caratozzolo, Sonia Gomez, Hans-Ulrich Heiß, Anna Overgaard Markman, Katriina Schrey-Niemenmaa, Ellen Sjoer, Chris Smith, Louise O’Gorman
LLL Competencies – How do engineering educators and professionals individually conceptualise, develop, and engage in LLL competencies?
Cross-SIG collaboration with Engineering Skills & Capacity Building.
Members involved: Lynn Van den Broeck, Rani Dujardini, Neil Cooke, Chris Smith, Aniko Kalman, Jenny Griffiths, Madeline Polmear,, Firoozeh Babayekhorasani
CEE as a System – Can Systems Thinking provide a method to aid decision making in CEE landscape?
Members involved: Gary Linneusson, Matias Urenda Moris, Kostas Nizamis, Chris Smith, Darren Carthy, Amy Moore
Reflection and Lifelong Learning – Useful competence? How to develop?
- RQ1: To what extent do Engineering Technology students’ self-reflection levels improve from 2024 to 2025?
- RQ2: To what extent does the type of intervention in which the students participate affect their growth in self-reflection?
Members involved: S. Tuyaerts, T. De Laet, L. Van den Broek, G. Langie
CEE/LLL and Skills Intersection – What are the intersections of skills and CEE/LLL?
Members involved: Deolinda Dias Rasteino, Rob Lemmens, Mina Varheenmaa
Business models in CEE – What are the available / robust / flexible models for CEE?
Members involved: Hans-Ulrich Heiß, Chris Smith, Patricia Caratozzolo, Bente Norgaard, Sonia Gomez, Katriina Schrey, Jens Bennedsen
Read more:
- Gomez-Puente, S. M., Smith, C., Urenda Moris, M., Nørgaard, B., Heiß, H.-U., Caratozzolo, P., Schrey-Niemenmaa, K., Myllymäki, H.-R., & Hadzilacos, R. (2023). Towards Building A Framework For Continuing Engineering Education In Higher Education Institutions: A Comparative Study. European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). DOI: 10.21427/P43B-6Z03
State of the art in CEE/LLL in the nations – What is current state of the art in CEE/LLL in different countries?
Members involved: Solomon Bawa