Engineering Competence Frameworks
Mechanical Engineering Competence Framework
The Tuning Test Item Bank team is developing a methodology for assessing the achievement of higher education learning outcomes in the field of mechanical engineering. The test items are being developed based on the following reference points.
1. Classification of Educational Contents in the Field of Mechanical Engineering
2. The Tuning Test Item Bank Competence Framework
Purpose
In the field of engineering, with the increasing movement of engineers across borders, there is a movement aimed at securing the competence required for engineers and the international synchronism of the quality of the engineer education that is the basis for it. It has become apparent since the late 1980s. For example, a cross-border mutual recognition agreement for qualitative equality in technical education, the so-called Washington Accord, is a technical education accreditation body representing the six countries of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. It was established in 1989 by the signing by and has been a member of the Japan Association for Accreditation of Engineer Education (JABEE) (established in 1999) since 2005. This has made it easier for students who have graduated from the JABEE accreditation program to have the same qualifications as graduates of accreditation programs in other partner countries, and to work as engineers in partner countries.
Similarly, in Europe, seven organizations certified by the European Network for Qualifications for Engineer Education (ENAEE) (accreditation organizations representing Germany, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, Romania and Italy) are eligible. The accredited EUR-ACE system was established in 2004 to guarantee the quality of engineering education programs in the European higher education area.
Based on these achievements in the field of engineering, the Study on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education (OECD-AHELO) Feasibility Study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development uses the tuning method by extracting the common points between the criteria of the two frameworks. At the same time, "Tuning-AHELO Engineering Competence Framework" was defined (see Table 1).
Table 1. Tuning-AHELO Competence framework in engineering field (relationship with existing framework)
The OECD-AHELO Feasibility Study conceptualizes the five competence areas of the competence framework in the Tuning-AHELO engineering field as shown below. In other words, the competence of the "engineering process", which consists of competences of "engineering analysis", "engineering design", and "engineering practice", is supported by the competences of "engineering basics/engineering specialty" and "engineering generic skill". It is assumed to be a "higher order" competency. We aim to measure learning outcomes of "engineering basics/engineering specialty" with multiple choice questions, and learning outcomes of "engineering process" and "engineering generic skills" with descriptive questions. Some of the OECD-AHELO Feasibility Study test questions have been published in the AHELO Feasibility Study Report (OECD, 2012). The Japanese university team with support from NIER has created an ASEAN hub and is working closely with universities in Indonesia (ITB, UGM).
Fig.2 Tuning-AHELO engineering competence