July 1998
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A Case for Constructive Interference
By Dr. Guna Selvaduray, San Jose State University
One of the problems that newly emerging and constantly evolving industries always face is the ability to recruit new employees with an appropriate background. The microelectronic packaging industry is a good example of this, where the technology has developed in leaps and bounds, and product lifetimes have a two-year duration.
This industry is also inherently multi-disciplinary. The design and production of an acceptable package requires not only the knowledge of different fields, but also an engineering staff that is sensitive to "non-engineering" issues such as standardization, environmental problems and cultural sensitivity, among others.
Engineering Disciplines
Academic institutions still tend to be divided into "traditional" engineering disciplines where students receive training in one area but very little in others. In recent times, some universities have begun to make concerted efforts towards developing multi-disciplinary curricula, but this practice is still relatively limited.As a result, many industries spend significant resources in providing training to their engineering staff after they are hired. If industries are expecting to employ university graduates with training that is appropriate to their needs, then it becomes imperative for industry personnel to become more actively involved in academic issues-especially those that pertain to curriculum development, laboratory development and implementation.
Industry involvement is essential not only to bring about a transformation of curricular contents, but also a reconsideration of fundamental issues such as, "What constitutes an engineering curriculum?" This is extremely important as we get ready to enter the 21st Century, and to meet the challenges and developments that we expect to face in the new millennium. Some of the fundamental issues that need to be revisited are described below:
Design
The traditional view of design in engineering disciplines has tended to be viewed in a strict engineering sense, where the parameters considered are restricted to issues such as strength, manufacturability, cost, etc. The concept of "envisioning a final product or process in its entirety" is still not an integral part of the training students receive in design.Another problem with engineering design today is the lack of input from non-engineers towards developing a product. Given a consumer-oriented economy, products have to be manufactured in a manner that is of service to the consumer, including acceptable aesthetics if necessary.
In some cases, consideration of the environmental consequences of the manufacturing process, or the ultimate fate of the product, also need to be taken into account. It is only industry involvement in academia that will catalyze the transformation of the design training process to one that includes both the global and the detail-oriented issues. An expansion of the concept of "inter-disciplinary" to include not only other engineering fields, but also non-engineering fields is also necessary.
Globalization
The expression "global economy" is not only used frequently these days, but has also become a reality. It is not unusual for a company to have manufacturing facilities in several different countries.Engineers are also expected to interact with employees and customers in different countries, and sometimes have to travel to several different nations within a short span of two weeks or so. Yet, a traditional engineering curriculum today does not include components that prepare young engineers to function in a global economy.
Industries, especially those with global manufacturing facilities, have the opportunity to provide the leadership in establishing a "global engineering program." One example of how industry can do this is to provide internship opportunities at overseas facilities to engineering students, thus better preparing them to face the challenges of globalization.
Ethics
Training in ethical issues related to engineering design and practice is another topic that is missing in most engineering curricula. Here, too, in recent times, several universities have realized the importance of providing training in engineering ethics, but this practice is by no means widespread, nor has it become an essential part of all engineering curricula.Within a university setting, students and faculty seldom, if ever, face ethical issues related to engineering. However, in the real world, the practicing engineer faces a myriad of ethical issues, yet has no training in how to cope with such issues.
Most university personnel recognize the need for changes in the engineering curricula that exist today.
Industry can catalyze and accelerate implementation of these changes, thus helping keep university curricula current and sensitive to industry needs. While there are a myriad of issues pertinent to this topic, I have intentionally raised a few non-technical issues which are important in the training of engineers, since these will enable them to function more effectively in the real world.
Dr. Selvaduray, a Chip Scale Review Editorial Advisor, is Professor of Materials at San Jose State University. He worked in industry for 12 years before joining academia in 1984. His current research activities span a variety of areas including materials issues in microelectronic packaging, corrosion of magnetic media, engineering ceramics, design for the environment and earthquake safety. Readers may contact Dr. Selvaduray at gunas@email.sjsu.edu or by phone at 408.924.4050.Readers who would like to share their views about a topic of interest to the engineering and chip-scale electronics communities are invited to contact the editor at chipreview@aol.com.