MEMORANDUM

DATE: April 18, 2003 (amended May 2, 2003)

TO: The iNEER Community

FROM: iNEER Secretariat

SUBJECT: Invitation for Comments and Recommendations on ICEE and iNEER Conferences

Dear Colleagues:

We would like to seek your advice, recommendations and support concerning two matters of great importance for the future of international cooperation in engineering education and research. First, we would like to invite you to recommend new conference venues for ICEE (International Conference on Engineering Education). Secondly, we invite feedback from you concerning a new international conference series called the “iNEER Conferences”. Details are given below.

(A) ICEE Conference Venues for 2007 and Beyond

We will soon begin to consider ICEE conference venue for 2007 and beyond. The list of past and future ICEE Conferences is available at: http://www.ineer.org/AboutUs/LOCATIONSANDDATESOFICEE12-11-02.pdf. The venues listed were selected mostly based on institutions volunteering to become hosting institutions, but in recent years, conference venues were selected based on a competitive process. Details of the latter process are given in some of the links available at: http://www.ineer.org/iNEERInfo/Welcome.htm

A.1 As we look ahead, we would like to have your feedback as to these processes. If you prefer, you may also provide recommendations concerning specific venues for ICEE-2007 and beyond. Please include the names and addresses of the hosting institutions, together with the names and addresses of the top officials. Include a short paragraph explaining the reasons for your recommendation(s). We encourage you to first bring the matter up with the head of the institution before recommending it as a potential host, especially if you are recommending your own institution.

A.2 Another area we need your feedback concerns the current approach of organizing an ICEE through a hosting institution. There are many advantages to this approach and is one of the reasons that make the ICEE successful. There are, however, alternative approaches, such as franchising the conference directly to a professional conference organizer in each country. Yet another approach is for iNEER to organize it directly.

There are advantages and disadvantages in each of the possible approaches, and we would like to hear your views.

Based on your comments, the iNEER Board will decide how to proceed.

For details on ICEE-2002 that was held in Manchester, England last year, please visit: http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE2002Info/Welcome.htm

For details on the planning for ICEE-2003 to be held in Valencia, Spain in July, 2003, please visit:

http://www.upv.es/icee2003/ and http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE2002Info/Welcome.htm.

(B) iNEER Conferences

Recent world situation notwithstanding, that the number of prospective and actual attendees for the ICEE conferences has been increasing each year is a well documented fact; see, for instance, the figures on abstracts submitted to the upcoming and the recent ICEE as posted on the following web pages:

http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE2002Info/ICEE-2002AbstractCountsbyCountries.htm http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE2003Info/ICEE-2003AbstractCountbyCountries2-7-03.htm

The number of prospective attendees (over 1,200 for ICEE-2003, based on submitted abstracts) for each of these conferences, as represented by the number of abstracts submitted, has far exceeded the capacity of the conference site. This has led the organizing committee of ICEE-2003 to reject about 150 abstracts. With each abstract averaging 2 authors, there are then about 300 potential attendees who are turned away because of lack of space. Meanwhile, interest on international cooperation in engineering education is continuing to grow around the world.

For the immediate term, this trend may be temporarily interrupted owing to the current crisis with SARS, but the interest of the world engineering community in working together will continue to grow. The growing size of the iNEER community is another factor to consider, as well as the emerging complex global and regional issues in engineering education and research. The leaders of the world engineering community must help provide more flexibility and meaningful opportunities for the community at large to meet, to network and to develop linkages.

Consequently, the iNEER Secretariat is planning to seek approval from the iNEER Board to start, on an experimental basis, a new conference series. To be called “iNEER Conferences”, the new series will be run in parallel with the ICEE conferences and will be supported strongly by the iNEER Board and the iNEER Secretariat as they have done and will continue to do for the ICEE conferences. The iNEER By-Laws (see http://www.ineer.org/AboutUs/iNEERVisionandOperatingProcedure10-31-02.htm) will be amended to reflect the creation of this conference series and the iNEER-ISC.

As in the case for the ICEE conferences, the norm is for each iNEER Conference to be hosted by an academic institution, and led by its top official such as the president, rector, or chancellor. Whereas in the past an the host of an ICEE conference has tended to focus on welcoming new friends and potential partners from abroad, an iNEER Conference will have an equal focus on matters that are regional, both in thematic emphases and in community participation. A concerted effort will be made to encourage local regional participation. In some cases local attendees will be allowed to participate at minimal costs, so as to stimulate attendance by students and young educators and researchers.

To help make the new conferences successful, flexibility will be the key, and the iNEER Secretariat plans to take a nimble approach in quickly targeting regional opportunities that arise from time to time. Toward this end, the iNEER Board will form a new committee, called the iNEER International Steering Committee (iNEER-ISC). This Committee will have equal and parallel status with the ICEE-ISC under the jurisdiction of the iNEER Board, with members serving two-year terms by invitation which is renewable. It will be possible for some members to serve on both ICEE-ISC and iNEER-ISC; however, the iNEER-ISC will be responsible primarily for the iNEER Conferences.

Through its regional focus, each iNEER conference will reinforce the ideals and the cause of international cooperation in engineering education and research, thereby expanding the iNEER network around the world. The iNEER and ICEE conference series will be mutually reinforcing; hence, the ICEE-ISC and iNEER-ISC will seek a net positive outcome, that is, a net increase in attendance at the two engineering education and research conferences in the long term.

We seek your advice, comments, suggestions and support for the proposed iNEER Conference series. Specifically, we ask that you:

B.1 Nominate members to serve on the iNEER-ISC. For your nominations to be helpful, please be sure to include the full name, title, affiliation, regular and e-mail addresses of the nominee(s), along with a brief bio-sketch for each. Self-nominations will be welcome and appreciated. All nominations will be given serious consideration. Those nominations that are not accepted this year will be held for future consideration.

B.2 Recommend venues for future iNEER Conferences, starting with 2004. Please include the names and addresses of the hosting institutions, together with the names and addresses of the top officials. Include a short paragraph explaining the reasons for your recommendation(s). We encourage you to first bring the matter up with the head of the institution before recommending it as a potential host, especially if you are recommending your own institution.

Please be sure to send us at least your preliminary nominations and recommendations by May 15, 2003.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Vaclav Roubicek, Ph.D., Rector (1997-2003)
Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Chair, iNEER Board
e-mail: ineer@ineer.org

Win Aung, Ph.D., P.E., Dr.h.c.
iNEER Secretary-General
e-mail: ineer@ineer.org