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QUESTE-SI Quality System of Science and Technology Universities for Sustainable Industry

QUESTE-SI aims to develop a quality improvement system for engineering educatio

Published May 31, 2011

QUESTE-SI is a project funded under the Lifelong Learning Programme (ERASMUS) of the EU that will run for 30 months till January 2013. The aim of the project is to develop a quality improvement system for engineering education. This referential will take into account the guidelines for sustainable industry and actively promote its principles.

 

Rationale for the project
Cooperation is a key element, a catalyst in the triangle of Universities, Industry, and Knowledge. Industry is at a key-point regarding environmental issues and sustainable development within the EU and Russia. In business education, EFMD has developed a strong quality system for improving the quality of cooperation between business education and the corporate world. EFMD has a strong commitment on developing effective and socially responsible leaders and managers. In science-technology-engineering education, there have been efforts to assure quality mainly within the Bologna context. A quality charter has been adopted among universities and stakeholders and since 2006 the QUESTE quality system has been implemented in a number of European S&T universities.

The QUESTE-SI project will develop along three axes:
1. Share best practice between Business and S&T education

Using the example of EQUIS for improving the QUESTE quality system
Training for corporate responsibility and sustainability in industry
Exchanges with ENQA (the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education), quality assurance agencies in the EU, and ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, USA).

2. Set up referentials in S&T higher education for sustainable industry in:

Resources (human and material)
Energy
Information and Communication Technology

The development of referentials should take into account the main initiatives of EUA (European University Association), OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology).

3. Develop, implement, and evaluate a quality improvement system

Draft referentials
Incorporate revisions and circulate to key stakeholders
Finalize in online and print formats, and disseminate
Develop and implement online support activities

Objectives
The project seeks to:

  • Enhance the quality management culture of S&T institutions through progressive referentials, self-evaluation and external audit methodologies.
  • Initiate a parallel change of paradigm in science-technology-engineering education through awareness building of corporate responsibility for sustainability.
  • Enrich the referentials for basic quality assessment and criteria for excellence with societal concern, ethics and sustainability.
  • Enhance the confidence in universities held by stakeholders from industry and society and thus improve careers of engineers and researchers
  • Establish a platform for dialog between universities and stakeholders from industry and society with a focus on aspects of sustainability.
  • Measure the impact on employment and careers for engineering graduates.
  • Establish referentials to improve the preparation of engineering graduates and researchers for work in sustainable industry
Partners in QUESTE-SI
P1 EFMD European Foundation for Management Development www.efmd.org
P2 ENQHEEI European Network for Quality of Higher Engineering Education for Industry www.enqheei.org
P3 EFEED European Foundation for Engineering Education Development  
P4 EUROCADRES Conseil des cadres européens www.eurocadres.org
P5 IST- CLUSTER Instituto Superior Técnico, Consortium Linking Universities of Science and Technology for Education and Research www.ist.utl.pt
P6 TUW Technische Universität Wien www.cluster.org
P7 POLITO Politecnico di Torino www.tuwien.ac.at
P8 KIT Karlsruher Institut für Technologie www.polito.it
P9 UPC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTech www.kit.edu
P10 EPC Engineering Professors' Council www.upc.edu
P11 KTH Royal Institute of Technology www.kth.se
P12 CVUT Czech Technical University in Prague www.tue.nl/en/
P13 ULB Université libre de Bruxelles www.cvut.cz
P14 WTU Wroclaw University of Technology www.ulb.ac.be
P15 CEFI Comité d'études sur les formations d'ingénieurs www.pwr.wroc.pl
P16 MINES ParisTech Mines ParisTech www.cefi.org
P17 GE-TH Grandes Ecoles - Technische Hochschulen www.mines-paristech.fr
P18 CNL CNL - Internationale Personalberatung - Stuttgart g.e.t.h.free.fr
P19 RAEE Russian Association for Engineering Education www.aeer.ru
P20 EURM European University in Republic of Macedonia www.eurm.edu.mk
CLUSTER KULeuven Katholieke Universiteit Leuven http://www.kuleuven.be/
       
       

For more information about QUESTE-SI, please contact Julia Falkerby  or Ronald Wennersten

  QUESTE-SI website

Belongs to: Division of Industrial Ecology
Last changed: May 31, 2011
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