BoostEuroTeQ: Further education for experts to be customised

What should tailor-made continuing education programmes for experts, such as specialist engineers, look like? This is the question the team at the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning is currently addressing as part of the European joint project BoostEuroTeQ, which aims, among other things, to develop new structures between universities. The TUM team has conducted intensive research on the demands on future qualification offers and compiled results.

Complex global developments will increasingly place new demands on specialists and managers in the future. “It is becoming clear, for example, that the need for further training for specialist engineers will increase rapidly in the coming years due to technological progress. By expanding our portfolio in the area of Professional Education specifically for engineers, we and our international partners can offer real benefits,” explains Patrick Lenz. He is part of the team at the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning that has had many discussions with colleagues from the institutions involved in BoostEuroTeQ, as well as conducting its own research.

Developing different modules

The aim of this joint work: to create an overview of the offers for specialists and executives both from TUM, as well as its partners, as well as their focal points. In addition, it was necessary to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the programs as well as their opportunities and risks. A summary of the results of these status quo reports can be found here. Patrick Lenz highlights an important point from the results: “We have to meet the demand for more flexibility in both structure and length of continuing education.” A future portfolio of offers will therefore be more modular.

Building bridges to companies

So-called “Learning Professionals” play a central role within continuing education. These are teachers and knowledge mediators who build the bridge to companies. They prepare and package knowledge for the demands of skilled workers and managers and design how it can best be conveyed. Ecem Bilge Delicik (Ecole Polytechnique): “Learning Professionals are important at universities in areas where there is a lack of communication between companies and researchers. They are the experts who ensure that the most recent industry happenings can flow into the ecosystem quickly.” In order to adapt the continuing education program even more to the needs of the participants, the TUM team will next address the topic of “Future Skills” and develop concrete concepts for the further qualification of engineers and learning professionals.

Further information on the BoostEuroTeQ project is available on the website https://euroteq.eurotech-universities.eu/initiatives/scientific-output/boosteuroteq/.

Natascha Plankermann, 30 March 2022