A three-day invitational workshop is being held to examine issues and charter a national agenda for the future of engineering technician education. The workshop involves key individuals from business and industry, engineering and engineering technology educators, top level administrators from two-year colleges, and government representatives. The workshop participants are involved in predicting, identifying, and rank ordering the changes that must occur in the engineering technology education process over the coming decade. In multiple breakout sessions the participants discuss many diverse issues; such as Future Demand for Technical Skills; Nature of Future Technical Employment; Industry Recognition of Associate Degree Engineering Technicians, Curriculum Changes for Educating Future Technicians; New Instructional Tools, Technologies and Techniques; Accreditation and Policy Issues; Strategies for Development and Implementation of Alternative and Innovative Programs; Effectiveness of Various National Movements (Tech-Prep, School-to-Work, etc.); Preparation of Future Community College Engineering Technology Faculty; Articulation with Four-year Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Other Science and Technology Programs; Assessment Process and Academic Standards; Role of Professional Societies and Professionalizing Technician Careers; and Varied Paths for Technicians. The workshop report will be disseminated to academic institutions, private sector, and selected government agencies. Planning and implementation of the workshop is a cooperative effort involving Sinclair Community College, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC of ABET), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
