Deepen your engineering and mathematical skills but also your entrepreneurial skills and your ability to communicate and work on global teams.
Hans J. Hoyer
Hans J. Hoyer, Mason Engineering’s new resident scholar in global engineering, travels the world working to improve engineering education.
Engineering students today should think broadly, honing their skills in communication, business, and global team building along with their math and technology expertise. They should search for industry internships early in their college years and plan on continuing to learn new skills throughout their careers.
That’s the advice of Hans J. Hoyer, Mason Engineering’s new resident scholar in global engineering.
Hoyer is making Mason his home as he travels the globe working to improve engineering education worldwide in his roles as Secretary General of the International Federation for Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and Executive Secretary of the Global Engineering Deans Council. Mason Engineering is hosting both groups.
Born in Berlin, Hoyer moved to the United States as a teenager with his family; he received his PhD in political science and cultural anthropology from American University. His first faculty position was at Mason where he taught for three years in the 1970s.
Hoyer, who calls himself “a citizen of the world,” has lived in 20 countries and speaks seven languages including English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. He thinks a lot about the future of engineering and offers these insights on:
His work with the International Federation for Engineering Education Societies. We bring together globally the institutions of engineering education. There are about 45 societies of engineering education in the world including in the United States, China, Brazil, Europe, Argentina, Columbia, Malaysia, and Africa. These professional associations are similar to the American Society of Engineering Education.
Our goal is to strengthen the academic quality of the institutions by helping people learn from one another. Engineering deans, faculty members, researchers, students, and companies attend our conferences to discuss engineering education opportunities, present research papers, and participate in workshops. We host an annual global conference as well as country and regional events.
The state of engineering education around the world. There’s a huge difference in the quality of engineering curricula and faculty around the world. For example, only 25 percent of engineering graduates in India meet industry’s requirements in their country. It’s a serious problem in many other countries as well. Some companies want to work in Africa, but the question is: Are the colleges of engineering adequately training the engineers these companies need?
Important steps for engineering students. Look for practical work experiences. Think about it early. Discuss with your advisor how you can connect with industry so you can get some real practical experience. Only one percent of engineering students in India have an internship. In Germany, it’s 100 percent. In the United States it depends on the institution, but on average, it’s more than 60 percent.
Deepen your engineering and mathematical skills but also your entrepreneurial skills and your ability to communicate and work on global teams. If possible, learn at least one other language, and spend time in another culture to develop sensitivity and empathy for other cultures.
The future of engineering. We don’t know what skills will be necessary to be an engineer 20 years down the road so engineering students today need to be open and willing to continue to learn. Computer and technology skills are changing radically so lifelong learning is important.
Dean Ken Ball says he's "delighted that IFEES has relocated its home to George Mason University, bringing its Secretary General Dr. Hans Hoyer to our Fairfax campus," he says. "I have worked with Hans for several years as a member of the Global Engineering Deans Council, and I am excited to have him bring his global perspective to Mason Engineering.”
Hoyer will be providing valuable guidance and support as Mason Engineering develops its global strategic plans, contributing to the university’s strategic goal of Global Engagement, Ball says. “This goal calls for us to expand opportunities for global learning by creating partnerships and programs to support student and faculty mobility and collaboration.”
"In the area of global engineering education, no one has a wider perspective than Hans,” he says. “This has been his passion for decades, and I hope that everyone at Mason will have a chance to meet Hans and explore how they can engage in the global engineering community.”
In the area of global engineering education, no one has a wider perspective than Hans.
Dean Ken Ball