1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 7 Academic Disciplines l Undergraduate Students l Graduate students l Engineering l Computer Science l Information Technology

8. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 802.11b in a question about network design

17. 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. 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. 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. 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. 21 IEEE Standards in Education University Level Education http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_iportals/iportals/education /setf/index.html

22. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 28 The First Expert Now Cluster: IEEE 802 standards for wireless technology l Introduction to IEEE 802 http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802/index.html http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802/index.html l Introduction to IEEE 802.11 http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-11/index.html http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-11/index.html l Introduction to IEEE 802.15 http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-15/index.html http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-15/index.html l Introduction to IEEE 802.16 http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-16/index.html http://www.ieee.org/educourses/802-16/index.html Continuing Education

29. 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. 30 “Attend this workshop to gain an understanding of...” l How to use IEEE 802.11 WLAN Standards for Wi- Fi Solutions in your work today and in the future l What IEEE 802.16 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. 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. 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. 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. 34 Questions or Comments