Base ~ How to do business in the 21st century ~ 16-17 March 2010
ProLogis
The role of further education in providing a modern class of technician
Session time slot
  • Session WE3 | Wednesday 17 March | 12:00-12:45
Synopsis
It might be considered premature to discuss rebirth after the wafer-thin recovery from recession which has recently been reported. But change comes when people make it happen, not by reading the headlines and hoping for the best. Rebirth is what the New Engineering Foundation are all about. In particular, the rebirth which will come from emerging technologies and the part they will play in the economy of the future.

Our mission is to ensure that a brighter future for UK plc, based upon emerging technology, is not just a fanciful vision of the future but an achievable ambition. A strategic goal which can realistically be delivered by a skilled workforce which gains the knowledge today that will enable it to respond to the demands of tomorrow.

In this discussion, I would like to raise the following questions about the ability of the education system to meet this challenge.

Are we creating a generation of experts in emerging technologies or are we instead creating a generation of experts in what may soon be yesterday’s knowledge?

Is the professional development and updating of those who teach placing them in a position to pass on skills and knowledge which are needed at the cutting edge of emerging technologies?

Have we got the right balance between the theory, in other words the underpinning knowledge, and the craft, in other words the ability to apply that knowledge in the real world?

Have we really convinced young people that, while traditional engineering may be in decline, new technology is a growth area – or is the reputation of the former damaging people’s perceptions about the latter?

And finally, are we confident that our educational provision is responsive. Responsive not just to employers’ current needs but to the needs which they will have as technology evolves?
Themes
  • Carbon management
  • Climate change
  • Education
  • Other
  • Sustainable business
Prof Sa'ad Medhat
Chief Executive
New Engineering Foundation
Biography
Professor Medhat is the Founder of the New Engineering Foundation with an established reputation for driving forward initiatives from policy through to implementation in partnership with Government departments and agencies. His foundation has provided grants to over 150 colleges positively impacting over 140,000 learners and 1000 teachers.

He is a Governor at Oxford and Cherwell College and a Patron of Walsall College. Professor Medhat sits on the Boards of a number of technology and venture capital companies and is a Visiting Professor to Bournemouth University and a member of the Parliamentary and Science Committee as well as a member the Business and Community Board of the Joint Academic Information Systems Committee (JISC).

The Foundation’s recent research report on Emerging Technologies- Emerging Markets, which was fully endorsed by both Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary and David Willetts that Shadow Secretary has examined the state of readiness of the FE system and what needs to be done to create the capability and capacity in the FE system.
Company activities
  • All
Company size
  • All
Job functions
  • All