Patricia Fox

The Importance of Globalization in Higher Education

Globalization is about the interconnectedness of people and businesses across the world that eventually leads to global cultural, political and economic integration. It is the ability to move and communicate easily with others all over the world in order to conduct business internationally. The word, globalization, is relatively new, coined in the late 1970’s. The airplane, the telephone, and the Internet are just three inventions, which are attributable to the spread of globalization. Due to the increased demand in the high tech industry around the world, business and industry have potential for huge profits working globally. So in today’s world, globalization is an important concept for students in higher education to understand and appreciate because of the demand in business and industry to hire people who can work with people of other nations and cultures and if need be can travel independently internationally to promote their business or industry. In addition, the world faces global challenges that will take interdisciplinary groups to solve these challenges; providing access to clean water for everyone on this planet and making clean renewable energy affordable just to name a few. These global challenges will need to be solved through the gathering and sharing of knowledge across disciplines, institutions, and other entities institutions on a global scale. Creating meaningful relationships that work globally is in itself challenging. In this chapter, we will look at global challenges, the makeup of model collaborative international teams; the importance of teaching globalization in higher education, how to best teach globalization, and discuss best practices in this area.

Sustainability and Education: The Need for New Degree Options

The need to possess knowledge, skills, and perspectives in sustainability has never been greater for sustainability has gained recognition and importance in businesses, industries, non-profits, government agencies, higher education, and in the general public’s consciousness. The goal of meeting today’s needs without harming future generations’ ability to realize their potential is the hallmark of sustainable practices, and there is widespread interest from many engineering disciplines and sectors in developing, enhancing, and integrating sustainability into aspects of products, services, and solutions. Sustainability can be taught in many engineering and technology disciplines, including, but not limited to: civil, aeronautical, electrical, mechanical, biomedical, manufacturing and architecture. This paper will look at integrating sustainability into existing curriculum as well as the possibility and attributes of new degree programs designed to address the new green economy. In addition, this paper will look at how sustainable knowledge affects a graduate’s ability to establish a green career and how the future green global workforce will address stakeholders’ needs and expectations of a greener and cleaner environment. Most importantly, this paper will look at the calls for changes in engineering education to prepare engineering students for global challenges with respect to climate change, sustainability, and other grand challenges that the world is facing. ASCE Subject Headings: Sustainable development

Career/Technical Education and Workforce Readiness: Perceptions, Implications, and Considerations

In the U.S., career/technical education (CTE) prepares high school students for the workplace, higher education, and civic involvement. In many instances, however, CTEs value to current and prospective students, parents, employers, and others is ambiguous or ill-informed. This paper outlines the evolution of CTE; identifies key changes and challenges to CTE in recent years; presents results of a recent study of the perceptions held by CTE graduates in engineering/science/technology and other related fields; and identifies the implications CTE has on lifelong learning, workforce readiness, and economic development activities. Considerations for college and university faculty and administrators, employers, and policymakers, among other stakeholders, will be discussed, and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research will be identified