[SystemSafety] UK University Fees

[Peter Bernard Ladkin]

On 2016-06-01 16:47 , paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk wrote:
>  How can you run a proper Engineering based course without Labs?

Beats me. My networks lab didn't (and doesn't) cost very much in terms of kit, but there is a
substantial (continuing) human investment in the software and its configuration. With embedded
systems that is increasingly so. Tools are becoming more sophisticated as well as numerous and you
need a SysAdmin to keep everything coherent and running. Gone are the days (if they were ever here)
when you could download freeware and go off and do it all on your laptop at home.

> .... Also, encouraging more 
> companies to offer apprentice placements will help to improve the whole
> experience for young minds seeking to become Engineers.

Some German universities have required some kind of apprenticeship for a long time. The people at
Braunschweig in rail engineering seem to have a revolving door with Siemens. People in Munich have
Airbus, Airbus helicopter, a car company and reams of suppliers to talk to. Those in Stuttgart have
a car company and the world's major Tier 1 supplier. And so on.

UK school-leavers haven't yet realised that they could go do a year in Berlin, a year in Paris, a
year in Brussels and a year in Delft, in English, and come out with an engineering degree from one
of Europe's top tech universities, for no fee. Or go spend £27,000 of their future earnings in sunny
<name your favorite Russell-Group uni>. As I said in the blog post, 18-year-olds can't do
cost-benefit analyses. If they ever do figure it out, with or without some help, the current British
tertiary-education model could be quickly down the drain.

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Faculty of Technology, University of Bielefeld, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany
Je suis Charlie
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de





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