Globalization: Comparing Chinese and U.S. Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Programs

Hui Zhong; Lin Zhao; Yuzhe Zhang

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: ECE Program Development
Tagged Division: Electrical and Computer
Page Count: 10
Page Numbers: 24.645.1 - 24.645.10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20536
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20536
Download Count: 525

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Paper Authors

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Hui Zhong Shandong University/Gannon University

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Born in P.R.China on September,1974, obtained B.Eng. M. Eng and Ph D degree rom Shandong University in 1996,1999 and 2009 respectively. She is a a lecturer with the School of Electrical Engineering, Shandong University and now she is a visiting scholar with Engineering and Business College, Gannon University Her teaching courses include Circuits, Electromagnetic Field, Electrical Machine and Electric Drives. Her research interests include permanent magnet machines, special electrical machines, where she has published more than 20 papers.

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biography

Lin Zhao Gannon University

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Lin Zhao received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada in 2006. She received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Shandong University, Jinan, China, in 1993 and 1996 respectively. From 1996 to 2002, she was a Faculty Member with the School of Control Science and Engineering and the School of Electrical Engineering, Shandong University. From 2002 to 2007, she was first a Research and Teaching Assistant and then a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Applied Electrostatic Research Center, the University of Western Ontario. Since 2007, she has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gannon University, Erie, PA, where she is currently an Assistant Professor. Her research interests include electrical machinery design, modeling and analysis of electric drives, and control of electric drives.

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Yuzhe Zhang

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Abstract

Globalization: Comparing Chinese and US Electrical Engineering Undergraduate ProgramAbstract: Globalization has become one of the important issues in electrical engineeringeducation. This paper explores this topic through first-hand experience as a visitingscholar from an engineering university from China. First, the detailed changinginformation of the specialties, content of major courses and teaching models aredescribed. And then, the curricular, teaching/learning method, semester arrangement,credit and degree systems are compared between Chinese and US electrical engineeringundergraduate programs. The emphasis on project design and working experience inindustry is stronger at Chinese universities comparing to that of US universities, but thetendency to teach as many courses as possible in the core subject has resulted in acomplete neglect of computer aid tool usage. These differences may have significantlong-term impacts on both professional development of electrical engineering studentsand the educational and technological progress of the countries concerned.Different from encompassing wild areas in US electrical engineering undergraduateprogram, Chinese program is focused on electrical power system including electricalenergy generation, transmission, distribution, electrical energy control and facilities. Thegoal is to train the students to launch a career position in the power industry right aftertheir graduation. The juniors or seniors would select their specialties after completingbasic/common major courses, as shown in Fig. 1 (a).Different specialties have differentcompulsories and elective courses as shown in Fig. 1(b) with the exceptional ofFoundation of Electrical Engineering and Electric Machine Design. With increasedutilization of renewable energy resources, many Chinese electrical engineeringundergraduate programs have developed a new specialty: smart grid and renewableenergy.This paper is trying to provide a different point of view from a high educationprofessional from outside USA. The authors hope to add fresh topics to the ongoingdiscussion of globalization of electrical engineering education and to the engineeringeducation as a whole from the conclusions drawn from the data, facts and comparisonpresented. (a) Specialties (b) Compulsories Figure1. Specialties and major courses of electrical engineering in China

Citation
Format

Zhong, H., & Zhao, L., & Zhang, Y. (2014, June), Globalization: Comparing Chinese and U.S. Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Programs Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20536

TY - CPAPER
AB - Globalization: Comparing Chinese and US Electrical Engineering Undergraduate ProgramAbstract: Globalization has become one of the important issues in electrical engineeringeducation. This paper explores this topic through first-hand experience as a visitingscholar from an engineering university from China. First, the detailed changinginformation of the specialties, content of major courses and teaching models aredescribed. And then, the curricular, teaching/learning method, semester arrangement,credit and degree systems are compared between Chinese and US electrical engineeringundergraduate programs. The emphasis on project design and working experience inindustry is stronger at Chinese universities comparing to that of US universities, but thetendency to teach as many courses as possible in the core subject has resulted in acomplete neglect of computer aid tool usage. These differences may have significantlong-term impacts on both professional development of electrical engineering studentsand the educational and technological progress of the countries concerned.Different from encompassing wild areas in US electrical engineering undergraduateprogram, Chinese program is focused on electrical power system including electricalenergy generation, transmission, distribution, electrical energy control and facilities. Thegoal is to train the students to launch a career position in the power industry right aftertheir graduation. The juniors or seniors would select their specialties after completingbasic/common major courses, as shown in Fig. 1 (a).Different specialties have differentcompulsories and elective courses as shown in Fig. 1(b) with the exceptional ofFoundation of Electrical Engineering and Electric Machine Design. With increasedutilization of renewable energy resources, many Chinese electrical engineeringundergraduate programs have developed a new specialty: smart grid and renewableenergy.This paper is trying to provide a different point of view from a high educationprofessional from outside USA. The authors hope to add fresh topics to the ongoingdiscussion of globalization of electrical engineering education and to the engineeringeducation as a whole from the conclusions drawn from the data, facts and comparisonpresented. (a) Specialties (b) Compulsories Figure1. Specialties and major courses of electrical engineering in China
AU - Hui Zhong
AU - Lin Zhao
AU - Yuzhe Zhang
CY - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA - 2014/06/15
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Globalization: Comparing Chinese and U.S. Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Programs
UR - https://peer.asee.org/20536
DO - 10.18260/1-2--20536
ER -