Wish List For 2007

Here is my wish list for 2007. These are the things I think that would improve electronic technology education, help increase enrollments, and improve relevancy to industry.

1. A more responsive faculty.
I wish that faculty were more positive about change and willing to make the changes needed to update the curriculum and improve course coverage with the latest technology. Most faculty react rather than act on their own initiative. They tend to wait to see what is happening and what is needed but then do little or nothing. If faculty could be more motivated to make improvements on an on-going basis there would be less need to force such changes. In fact, changes should come from faculty, not the administration. But with a "what's in it for me" attitude, faculty just doesn't want to bother. I just wish faculty would be more willing to learn new things and to actually practice the engineering they learned in school.

2. Fund continuing education.
Most colleges require a specific amount of education for hiring and most accredit bodies ask that faculty to get continuing education. But despite the big emphasis on educational requirements, colleges are hypocritical and simply fail to fund continuing education whether it is a higher degree or even a conference or seminar. Education is expensive and faculty cannot be required to totally fund this themselves. In a field like electronics, it is critical to recognize how fast things change and how continuing education is not only fun but essential to maintaining faculty competence and curriculum currency. Such activities like conferences and seminars can provide at least some of the much needed incentive and motivation to faculty. This lack of continuing education funding is one of the major reasons for the condition of most electronics departments today. Wake up you administrators.

3. Up to date textbooks.
Publishers of technology texts do splendid work but the books they produce are all virtual clones of one another. If one author adds a feature, all the other publishers follow suit to stay competitive. All these books look alike. Competitiveness helps of course but the books are still dated. They omit so much of the latest circuitry and applications while perpetuating the old circuits and methods. Since most professors follow the text to implement their courses, no wonder the courses and curriculum are out of date. The problem can be traced to the professors who write the books. Their knowledge and experience are dated. Most authors are not in regular touch with industry, trends and the latest developments and practices. Publishers should vet authors better and add industry reviewers that know what's really going on and what's important to cover.

That's not too much to ask is it?