Standards Education Challenges Moshe Kam, Steven Mills, Judy Gorman IEEE Standards Association IEEE Educational Activities Board The IEEE Perspective 22 February 2008 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND STRATEGIES FOR EDUCATION ABOUT STANDARDIZATION

2 The IEEE in a glance l IEEE is a professional association focused on scientific and technical goals l Established 1884 in preparation for a Franklin Institute Exhibition in Philadelphia l …directed toward the advancement of the theory and practice of electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering… computer science …and allied branches of engineering and arts and sciences l Since its inception, IEEE was engaged in standards and standardization l Originally – in power, telegraphy, telephony

3 IEEE Today l Largest technical professional association in the world l Over 365,000 members l More than 70,000 students l Sections in 150 countries l Revenue exceeds $270M/year l Headquarters in New York City l Six offices around the world l Largest – in Piscataway, NJ l Newest – in Beijing, China l Approximately 1000 Staff members 7

4 Development of Standards l The IEEE’s Standards Association develops and maintains standards in a broad-range of industries, including: l Power and Energy l Transportation l Biomedical and Healthcare l Nanotechnology l Information Technology l Information Assurance l About 200 standard ballots a year

5 IEEE’s key interests in Education about Standards l At the university level l Development of curricula l Accreditation criteria l Providing an “entry point” to the world of standards l At the post-university level (continuing education) l Familiarizing engineers with the standard development process l Education about specific standards (e.g., the IEEE 802 family)

6 Target Audiences l Undergraduate Students l Graduate students l Entry-level technology professionals l Candidates for licensure l Experienced technology professionals l Standards developer l Product developer l Standards manager l Marketing professionals l Business leaders l SSO/SDO l Committee leaders l Committee participants l Governance participants

7 Academic Disciplines l Undergraduate Students l Graduate students l Engineering l Computer Science l Information Technology

8 The General Objective l Objective: Define a role for standards in mainstream education of l Engineers l E.g., telecomm, biomedical, electrical l Computer scientists l IT professionals

9 Some of the hurdles… l Many academics and practitioners do not understand the centrality of standards in the discipline l Standards are seen as the opposite of creativity in design l In many curricula economic constraints, legal constraints, compliance and interoperability are considered secondary l..and sometimes absent l Techniques and devices based on standards are often taught with little or no regard to standards l …taught without referring to the standardization infrastructure l Many graduating students have never seen a standard, do not know how to tackle one or find one l Standards are often not used in “capstone” projects of Engineering programs

10 ABET Engineering Criterion 5 – Curriculum l Students must be prepared for engineering practice through a curriculum culminating in a major design experience l …based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints

11 ABET Engineering Technology l Aeronautical Engineering Technology l “Associate degree programs must demonstrate that graduates can apply the following principles…: “ l “Technical expertise in…industry standards, regulations and documentation” l Drafting/Design Engineering Technology l “Graduates of baccalaureate degree programs…must demonstrate…competency in the application of current codes and standards” l Similar statements in criteria for Nuclear and Surveying Engineering Technology

12 Computing: ABET Information Systems Program Criteria l “Curricula are consistent with widely recognized models and standards” l Information Technology l “An understanding of best practices and standards and their application”

13 Additional Hurdles… l Industry technical professionals often assume that standardization is performed by large corporations and the government l Professionals complain that information about standards updates never gets to them l It is often difficult to understand interrelationship between standards l Standards are viewed as not being user-friendly

14 How do we address the challenges: university curricula l Development of instructional material on key standards for use in the undergraduate engineering, computing, and engineering technology classroom l Material that can be used by the current teaching staff and can be integrated into existing topical classes

15 How do we address the challenges: accreditation of academic programs l Accrediting bodies need to clarify the degree to which understanding and use of standards are expected in engineering/computing/technology programs l In the US the current ABET accreditation criteria are often too vague and hence unenforceable l A clear accreditation requirement would translate into sections about standards in textbooks

16 How do we address the challenges: licensing l US: Several Principles and Practice Exams require familiarity with standards l National Electric Code for EE exams l Design Standards for Civil and Structural Engineering exams l The question of wider use of design- oriented standards deserves additional discussion l E.g., elements of IEEE b in a question about network design

17 How do we address the challenges: Continuing Education in Standards l Professional association organize workshops on… l The standardization process and the role of practitioners and corporations in the process l Specific standards l On-line (CEU bearing) courses on specific standards

18 Some of IEEE’s current activities l Development of Standards Curriculum for undergraduate students l A policy paper on the role of Standards in academic programs in Engineering, Technology and Computing l Workshops on IEEE standards l Continuing education modules on IEEE Standards (IEEE Expert Now)

19 Education about Standards l About 450 schools worldwide have full access to IEEE standards through the IEEE/IET Electronic Library l About 10 schools make use of this feature… University Level Education

20 The IEEE Standards Education Portal l A curriculum development effort funded in part by the US NSF l Aims to provide university educators and students with opportunities to learn how to read standards and understand them l A portal with State-of-the Art material on Standards Education University Level Education

21 IEEE Standards in Education University Level Education /setf/index.html

22 IEEE Standards in Education Portal l Topical Content l Supporting the incorporation of the teaching of standards in the undergraduate engineering and engineering technology programs l Content useful to the general public l Standards, their applications, and their impact on designing new products, processes, and services University Level Education

23 Main Sections of Portal l Tutorial Modules and Case Illustrations l Applications l Submitted by students and/or their faculty mentors l Glossary l Reference Guide l Alphabetical listing of standards development bodies and standards-related terminologies – soon to be categorized by technical domain l News and Features l Gateway to other learning opportunities University Level Education

24 Challenges l The portal is a pilot for which a transition plan and scaling are not yet ready l Currently it is operated as a pilot in three schools l In 2008 we will be working on l Look and feel l Dissemination plan l Second Phase development plan l IT issues, including hosting University Level Education

25 IEEE Position Paper on Standards in the Curriculum l Part of the work plan of the IEEE Standards Education Committee l Will state the desired role of technical standards in the academic curriculum l Programs in engineering and computer science l Will be used in model curriculum development and in discussions with accrediting bodies University Level Education

26 Standards Education for Practitioners l Expert Now modules on standards l Workshops on Standards l Recently, workshop on the 802 family of standards l Washington DC, November 2007 Continuing Education

27 IEEE Expert Now l IEEE’s main continuing education platform l A collection of 1-hour long on-line learning modules l Developed by leading experts l Usually on the basis of conference workshops l Professionally produced l Easy to use player-viewer, audio and video files, diagrams, animations, and automatic place marking l Provide CEUs Continuing Education

28 The First Expert Now Cluster: IEEE 802 standards for wireless technology l Introduction to IEEE l Introduction to IEEE l Introduction to IEEE l Introduction to IEEE Continuing Education

29 Workshops on Standards l Workshops on standards are demanded by the IEEE membership l The no. 1 area requested for continuing education l First workshop took place in Washington DC in November 2007 l Workshop covered elements of the IEEE 802 family of standards l Six speakers over a day and a half Continuing Education

30 “Attend this workshop to gain an understanding of...” l How to use IEEE WLAN Standards for Wi- Fi Solutions in your work today and in the future l What IEEE means in the marketplace today and why the development of its next generation has been initiated l How to use performance requirements and verification of IEEE 802 wireless technologies l The development of standards for unlicensed spectrum, primarily for WPAN applications

31 “Attend this workshop to gain an understanding of...” l The important role IEEE Standards play in manufacturing and production processes l How to use IEEE Standards in your everyday work l How to get involved in IEEE Standards development

32 Long term plans (workshops) l IEEE plans to make workshops on standards a regular institutionalized activity l We believe this would be a much needed service to our membership l and will create significant surpluses l Most of those will be offered in cooperation with the IEEE Power and Energy Society and the IEEE Communications Society Continuing Education

33 Final Thoughts l It may be useful to get the major players in standards education together in the same meeting for a working session l Deans l Industry Leaders l Accreditation Agencies l Governments/Departments of Education l Standards Organizations l Licensing Bodies l We need to think of an appropriate broker l Professional Associations, a Learned Body (e.g., NAE), a Government Agency (e.g., NIST)

34 Questions or Comments