Since Germany’s innovative power is generated from the know-how and skills of our electrical and IT experts, the VDE rigorously works to promote a high level of education and spark interest in the engineering profession. And the need is obvious: around 50 percent of Germany’s technology companies fear there will soon be a shortage of experts. The task is to increase the prestige and attractiveness of modern engineering on a broad basis, while at the same time improving educational conditions in schools and universities for both students and teachers. The VDE is committed to seeing that curricula and training reflect the highest international expectations. We see the Bologna Process as an incentive to improve the quality of teaching, yet support maintaining the benefits of traditional applications- and research-oriented studies.

The VDE 2007 University Study revealed that Germany’s university teaching staff in the electrical and IT fields rank Germany among the top 3 of the most advanced countries. One of our country’s major advantages is the close networking of industry and universities. At the same time, universities and industry are increasingly competing for the best and brightest. Over half of the teachers see Germany at the forefront in implementing the Bologna Process. The vast majority of those polled wants to retain the title “Diplom-Ingenieur” and also welcomes the VDE’s efforts to combine the advantages of Germany’s engineering education with that of the British-American system of Bachelors and Masters.

The growing shortage of electrical and IT engineers not only threatens Germany, but other EU countries and the United States as well. At the international VDE/EEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) held in Munich in November, the two associations analyzed the causes of this shortage, worked out solution strategies, and initiated exchange projects.