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ENGINEERING FOR THE AMERICAS (EftA): An Example from Today Abstract

The challenge of economic development is acute in Latin America. The EU, Asia, India, and others have emerged as economic powers, arriving swiftly and noticeably into the world marketplace and challenging longstanding principles including the balance of power. As a region, Latin America risks being left behind if governments, industry, and the people do not unite to create a sustainable, compelling offering in today's knowledge-based economy.

Engineering for the Americas is a broad collaboration of government, industry, academia, and civil society. Hosted by the Organization of American States, EftA is working to fulfill the Minister's mandate in the Lima Declaration of November 2004 wherein engineering was identified as a priority for countries to prepare a qualified, credentialed workforce for the new millennium. By working together, EftA has established both impact on the ground and political will in support of engineering and quality assurance as key levels of economic growth.

This talk will provide detail on the Engineering for the Americas initiative and the latest information on opportunities for you to get involved.

Overview

The belief that Engineering has a significant role to play in broadly enabling national, regional, hemispheric, and even global competitiveness is now an accepted premise of the vocation. The global market that now exists will continue to reward cultures that innovate, are open, and develop flexible policies, processes, and priorities. Today we see universities and others in higher education throughout the Americas actively seeking to understand the impacts of globalization and apply those understandings to classroom experiences and reform of curriculum.

The Engineering for the Americas initiative has emerged as a thought leader in this space over the past several years. The combination of faculty, collaborating with industry to integrate real- world needs and improve competitiveness of graduates, with Ministerial involvement, with the political mandate expressed in the Lima Declaration (2004)[1] and the Declaration of Mar del Plata (2005)[2], has produced a robust dialogue and comprehensive interaction.

Recently, Engineering for the Americas leadership adopted a three-pronged strategy going forward, designed to facilitate the entire engineering education ecosystem through collaborative projects and jointly seeking funding sources. This strategy calls for the following foci:

• Education enhancement and curriculum improvement – catalyzing interests around improving the classroom experience, integrating globalization topics and opportunities, and defining learning outcomes

• Quality Assurance and Accreditation – verifying the education process according to internationally recognized standards.

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Marcek, D. (2007, June), Engineering For The Americas: An Example From Today Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--1555