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At the initiative of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences
(SATW) and the engineering group Engineers Shape our Future IngCH,
representatives of the Swiss political, economic, and
educational scenes have been meeting regularly for the past two and
a half years with the aim of encouraging the level of technical
understanding in general education. The host establishment for the
fourth such meeting was the Empa Academy, the center for knowledge
transfer of the Empa, the institution for materials research and
technology in the ETH domain. “The encouragement of new blood
in the technical fields, in the shape of young researchers, is a
core concern at the Empa” stated Prof. Louis Schlapbach,
Empa’s CEO, in his welcoming address.
Women greatly under-represented
Christine Beerli, former State Councilor and currently Director of
the School of Engineering and Information Technology at Berne
University of Applied Sciences, highlighted our divided attitude to
technology. “We get irritated when we find that there are
still areas of poor reception in the cell-phone network, and yet we
have no problem whatsoever reconciling this with our membership of
a committee opposing the construction of cell-net aerials in our
home area!” The reason for this contradictory attitude
is not technophobia, according to Rudolf Künzli, Head of the
Education Department, University of Applied Sciences Aargau, but in
our lack of understanding. High-tech devices today are complicated,
black boxes and no one but a specialist has any idea how they
function. “This creates a systematic discouragement to
curiosity, so that we no longer bother to ask how a thing
works.” In comparison to other European countries, Swiss
schoolchildren are hardly taught an understanding of basic
technology. On top of this, the number of university entrants in
technical subjects has remained constant for the past twenty years.
Edo Poglia, Rector of the Università della Svizzera
italiana, pointed out that it is the social science faculties which
have so far benefited from the increase in undergraduate numbers.
Looking abroad, it becomes clear that there is no biological reason
for this phenomenon – in Iran, for example, there are twice as
many women studying natural sciences as men. A comment frequently
heard at the meeting was that technical education in Switzerland
must be approached in a gender-specific manner. Chairwoman Marina
de Senarclens referred the audience to a report of the Swiss
Coordination Centre for Research in Education which analyses the
reasons why so few women enter the technical professions and also
provides concrete suggestions for countering this situation.
A society of laymen
Looking back over the past two centuries it is obvious how much
basic technical innovations have changed our society, from the
steam engine to the computer revolution. Globalization, for
example, has its roots in information and communication technology.
All the speakers were united in agreeing that technical innovation
is the motor of our economy. The need for general technical
education in Swiss schools is not only due to this particular
factor, however. According to Willi Roos, President of the SATW,
“We need consumers who are capable of making responsible
purchases.” Rudolf Künzli also emphasized the importance
of a general understanding of technology, mentioning the example
provided by the next national referendum on November 28th, when the
decision to allow stem cell research will be put to the vote in
Switzerland. This has given rise to a dilemma at whose core are
questions of technology. “Because of the extreme level of
specialization in science today, almost everyone is a layman in
practically every area of technology!”
Motivation and mobilization
”Young people find technology practical, it is true, but also
complicated and boring.” With this statement Professor of
Didactics André Giordan put his finger on the core problem
in teaching the basics of technology at school level. Educators
need to create links between technological products and the daily
lives of their pupils, with the entire life-cycle of a product
playing a central role. Teaching must be based on addressing
simple questions; “How does it work? How long will it last
for? Who uses it?” and so on. School children can be motivated
and mobilized by being involved in projects covering several
different subjects. “Learning and thinking about technology is
best encouraged by practical activities and experiences which
stimulate the children’s own senses,” continued Giordan.
The ability to fly can, for example, be looked at from both
physical and biological perspectives using the bat as an example.
Another possible approach is via the history of the aeroplane,
supported by model making in the craft workshop. That this approach
works even for children of pre-school age is shown by the success
of a book containing simple experiments for four to seven
year-olds.
KIDSinfo, a project launched by the Swiss Association of Women
Engineers, offers presentations to Swiss schools given by female
professionals from technical fields who, by their own example, show
the girls and boys that a future in the technical professions is
open to both genders.
An excellent introduction to the technical world is also given
by the Technology Weeks organized for Swiss grammar schools by the
IngCH. Three pupils from St. Fidelis School in Stans told the
seminar audience how the project week had helped them to overcome
their fears and prejudices towards technology. The young students,
who will soon be sitting their school-leaving exams, summarized
their experiences by saying “It was more help working together
with apprentices of our own age than listening to the experts’
lectures, which went right over our heads”.
Matthias
Kündig, Journalist BR
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