The Faculty of Engineering

Dean's Welcome Address

Undergraduate Students (2008/2009)

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

On behalf of all staff of the Faculty of Engineering of The University of the West Indies let me welcome all new and returning students to the 2008/2009 Academic Year.

For the Academic Year 2007/2008 the Faculty, as of June 2008, graduated 320 students: 38 of these were at the First Class level, 235 at the Second Class Level, 19 at the Third Class Level and 28 graduated with a Pass Degree. Unfortunately, five students failed the programme having exceeded the time limit required for programme completion. At the postgraduate level, the Faculty granted 16 Diplomas, 61 MSc degrees, 2 MPhil degrees and 2 PhD degrees.

I urge all students to read the regulations in this prospectus very carefully as they form part of a contract of sorts, one that automatically kicks in when you sign your registration forms.
Returning students are particularly encouraged to note the changes included in the regulations that take effect as of this academic year. In particular oral examinations or interviews are now a thing of the past. You will no longer have an extra opportunity to pass a course if you obtain an overall mark in the 30% range. The Faculty is confident that its students will successfully adapt their study habits to accommodate this change in scenario.

This change in regulations is but a part of the many initiatives taken by the Faculty to enhance the integrity and quality of its “product” i.e., in the main, its graduates and its programmes,
as mandated by the UWI Strategic Plan 2007-2012. We are, for example, expanding our facilities not just to accommodate the growing number of students and staff but also to create a richer environment to more effectively support learning and discovery. Changes are happening at the Departmental level as well in regard to curriculum review and the adaptation of new approaches to Teaching and Learning. Of particular note, is the move to adopt new curricula based on the assessment of well defined learning outcomes or LOs, thus providing students with a clear sense of what is to be achieved, the University with a very clear specification of what students have achieved, and employers with a guarantee of the skills and capabilities developed in the respective course modules. Efforts are also being made at reducing the total time students require to meet their academic commitments to more reasonable levels.

There are challenging times ahead as the Faculty seeks to reengineer itself and we acknowledge that we cannot successfully meet these challenges without the support of our student body. Through your Class Representatives and the Engineering Students’ Society you can make valuable contributions by way of comments and suggestions as to how the Faculty can enhance its service to you, our primary clients, and also to the people of this region, our sponsors and primary stakeholders. As is the case with the broader society, progress will not occur unless all involved make their contribution.

On that note I would like to suggest that, even if you do not make any form of contribution to the development of this Faculty, you can do so by just doing one thing i.e. by making the most of the opportunities available to you to prepare yourselves in becoming highly competent engineers. We are here to help you. However, you have to also help yourself.

The programmes that embody the paths you must walk towards the award of your engineering degree, the very first milestone on the journey to being a full-fledged engineer, is full of many challenges. Quite apart from the academic challenges, particularly in courses that have a strong mathematical base, there are challenges in working with teams, meeting course deadlines and handling the financial and social issues that will always arise in a University setting. Even as the Faculty and the UWI are working at reducing these challenges by building an environment that is more conducive to the development of your skills and cognitive abilities, you should realise that these very challenges are, in essence, not far removed from what you will experience as a practicing engineer. In this regard, your
training for the next stage in life extends beyond the classroom.
Make every effort to meet them and beat them.

Apart from the skills represented by your present qualifications, there are two key requirements for success in your respective programmes: you need a sense of motivation and you need a plan. By and large, students who have excelled in this programme and programmes elsewhere are those who were firm in their conviction that they needed an engineering degree – either for the sheer joy and reward of learning and/or because
they were pretty sure that they wanted to start their careers as engineers.

If you are one of the few students who are not really happy in your present programme it is strongly recommended that you apply for leave of absence and spend some time, a year or so, working in an engineering environment. While there, explore other areas of work – legal, administrative, human resources, laboratory work, sales etc. If after that time you are convinced that engineering is the career for you, then you can re-enter the programme, more likely than not with a higher level of motivation to succeed. If you choose otherwise, be mindful of the fact that many have very successfully switched paths either during or after a first degree. Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago now has a Chief Justice who has a first degree in engineering. As in his case, you will find that the time spent here will not be lost time but will serve you well in your future endeavours.

However, once you are motivated to steer the course you should make every effort to plan your work. THEN you must work your plan. Manage your time well – as a rough guide you should
spend the same time you spend in class or in the labs in self study. And be prepared to change your plan if it is not working. Moreover, use all the resources available to you – consult with lecturers and other course support staff. Resist the trap of allowing conflicts in personalities to block you from accessing the leaRning support that we have provided for you. Above all, take responsibility for your own learning. As Paul Robinson noted in his popular book, What smart students know: Maximum Grades. Optimum Learning. Minimum Time, “A” students are not so much those who have high IQs as those who place full responsibility for their academic success on themselves, not their teachers.

We wish you the greatest success for the 2008/2009 Academic Year.

Brian Copeland
BSc (Eng), MSc (Toronto ), PhD (USC)
Professor and Dean, Faculty of Enginering