The University of Pretoria is co-hosting a world engineering education conference in Cape Town from 28 November to 1 December, as well as the Global Engineering Deans Council meeting.

These events are related to what engineering students at universities worldwide should be taught and how to be taught, in line with the global digital disruption and equipping graduate for the Future World of Work.

The themes of the 2022 World Engineering Education Forum Forum and the Global Engineering Deans Council (WEEF&GEDC) will look at the following:

• How have we adapted to global disruption?
• How do we create stable sustainable environments that are less vulnerable, more resilient to global disruption?
• How do we meet this challenge of global disruption that is bound to be the status quo for the foreseeable future?

General Conference Chair, Prof Sunil Maharaj who is Vice-Principal: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Education at UP and General Conference Chair, said, “If universities approach these challenges in an integrative (multidisciplinary, interinstitutional, cross-cultural, inclusive, diverse, trusting and ethical) manner, they  will create holistic learning and engineering environments (that meet the cognitive, affective and systemic needs of society, students, academia and industry) which will create sustainable (safer, peaceful and cohesive planet) solutions for our future.”

The event will be attended by global, African and national leaders from corporates, education, government and various stakeholder organisations to develop the engineering leaders, experts and innovators of the future.

Some of the panel discussions will be held on:

• Engineering for good: peace and humanitarian engineering
• Innovative Engineering Education Curricula
• “Rising to the Top” – A Conversation with women engineering leaders and the authors of the book series on their professional and personal journeys
• Micro-credentials: Challenges, Opportunities and the Path Forward

Keynote topics centre on Learning Ecosystems at the edge of the Metaverse by Xavier Fouger (Dassault Systemes), who established Dassault Systemes’ Learning Lab for educational research with universities; and The Future of Engineering Education: Building on from the lessons of emergency online teaching by Dr Ruth Graham. Dr Graham, a mechanical engineer by training is a global expert where her work is focused on fostering change in higher education across the world, helping to improve teaching and learning worldwide.

More information may be found at: https://weefgedc2022.org/