115 research outputs found
Outreach initiatives operated by universities for increasing interest in science and technology
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Engineering Edutaion on 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03043797.2015.1121468Since the 1990s, the low number of students choosing to study science
and technology in higher education has been on the societal agenda
and many initiatives have been launched to promote awareness
regarding career options. The initiatives particularly focus on increasing
enrolment in the engineering programmes. This article describes and
compares eight European initiatives that have been established and
operated by universities (and in some cases through collaboration with
other actors in society). Each initiative is summarised in a short essay
that discusses motivation, organisation, pedagogical approach, and
activities. The initiatives are characterised by comparing the driving
forces behind their creation, how the initiative activities relate to the
activities at the university, size based on the number of participants and
cost per participant and pedagogical framework. There seem to be two
main tracks for building outreach activities, one where outreach
activities are based on the universityâs normal activities, and one where
outreach activities are designed specifically for the visiting students.Gumaelius, L.; Almqvistb, M.; Arnadottir, A.; Axelsson, A.; Conejero, JA.; GarcĂa Sabater, JP.; Klitgaard, L.... (2016). Outreach initiatives operated by universities for increasing interest in science and technology. European Journal of Engineering Education. 41(6):589-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2015.1121468S58962241
Automation, skill requirements and labour-use strategies: high-wage and low-wage approaches to high-tech manufacturing in the automotive industry
In light of debates about advanced manufacturing and concepts like Industrie 4.0, this article compares labourâuse strategies in highly automated automotive supplier plants in a highâwage country (Germany) and a lowâwage region (Central Eastern Europe). It shows considerable differences regarding skill requirements on the shop floor and the use of precarious employment contracts and examines three potential factors that explain them: national institutional frameworks, the power of employee representatives and the role of the plant within the companies and value chains. The analysis shows that the labourâuse strategies depend less on process technologies per se, but rather on the institutional framework and the role of the factory in the rollout and rampâup of new products and new process technologies. Such a role requires close cooperation between employees in the manufacturing areas and in product development, which in turn requires particularly high skills. The role of employee representatives in influencing labourâuse strategies proves less important. The article uses quantitative data from a survey of employee representatives, as well as qualitative data from inâdepth company case studies
- âŠ