Impact of Educational Reform on Engineering and Technology Education in Taiwan

教育改革對台灣工程與科學教育的沖擊

李豐明(Franklin Fong-Ming Lee)

《華岡工程學報》 13期 (1999/06) Pp. 1-12

https://doi.org/10.29987/CCUHKJE.199906.0001

摘要

近十年來台灣的教育改革以掀風播浪的氣勢衝擊了社會的各角落，雖然改革的效果只能以雷聲大而雨滴小來形容，工程和科技教育也終於悄悄地趕上了改革的列車。
其實，台灣的工程和科技教育的改革來自全球性科技的掃蕩式進步以及電子與太空時代(Cyberspace Age)的急速變化的沖擊比台灣的教育改革潮流更加激烈而直接。加上近年來大量的製造業出走中國大陸和東南亞的大般風趨勢更使工程和教育問題嚴重並複雜化。加強國內的研發提高科技的層次挽救台灣愈趨空洞化的工業乃是目前的共識與急務。年輕人擁向高科技行業追求高收入和高社會地位；中年人也不甘示弱地改變跑道甚至回流大學或研究所追求再教育。向來被認爲不太體面的「再教育」觀念，一夜之間變成社會風行甚至受工業界人力資源所肯定。爲因應這些新趨勢，台灣的教育部在近年也推出兩項重要政策－所謂「第二教育國道」和「開門政策」。其中也涵蓋在目前課程範圍內增設跨系和跨院的學程－因應工業界專業人才的需求。另外，本文也討論如何在快速成長的尖端科技，如資訊網路的進步和工程科技教育之間尋求有效而可行的平衡措施。其中比較隨時可以付諸於行的，乃是採用遠距教學的技術，疏通工業和大學之間的雙道教育的通道，使大學和工程界獲得雙贏的益處。

並列摘要

In the turmoil of thirst and cry for overall educational reform in Taiwan in recent years, the topic of engineering and technological education has finally followed suit.
The sweeping technological advances and changes of our Cyberspace Age seem to be the most obvious and direct factor which urges the reform and transformation of engineering and technology education. The export or exodus of manufacturing facilities to mainland China and southeast Asia has made the situation on Taiwan more critical and complicated. The need for more R&D and more high tech establishments in Taiwan to offset the manufacturing exodus have become a matter of fact in recent years. Young people are looking to high tech for high pay and high social esteem. Middle age workers are changing their jobs or returning to schools for reeducation. The concept of ”reeducation”-once a term with dark connotations --is now a fashion and trend received with positive affirmations for the job force in Taiwan. To cope with these new demands, the government on Taiwan through its Ministry of Education has implemented two major policies, namely the ”Second Educational Super-highway” and the ”Open Door” policies. Within the educational system itself, the development and promotion of interdisciplinary curricula to meet new industrial needs is also discussed. Furthermore, this article examines the tense and delicate balance between cutting edge (e.g., information) technologies and the technology/engineering educational system, and challenges the latter to take hold of the new technologies to its advantage. One such way is through the implementation of distant learning technology, which can provide two-way education between the university and industry.