AECEF NEWSLETTER 2/1994
2nd Meeting of the AECEF Board
by Dr.Jiri Vaska,
Secretary-General
The second Meeting of the AECEF Board was held at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (Portugal) in September 14 - 15, 1994. The meeting was opened by Prof. Jiri Witzany, President of the AECEF and by Prof. Jose Manuel Pinto Ferreira Lemos, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Porto, who welcomed the Meeting's participants at the University of Porto and expressed the readiness of his University to actively participate in the AECEF's activities.
At the Board Meeting participated:
The agenda of the Board Meeting included:
Item 1: Report of the Secretariat (main activities of the Secretariat since the 1st AECEF Board Meeting, CTU Prague, May 1993)
Dr. Vaska presented the Report of the Secretariat. The report covered the following topics:
The AECEF members (14 members) listed below have paid their membership (registration) fees (50 GBP or equivalent):
In the AECEF Statutes, the problem of dues for membership of the organization was not defined well. It was not clear if the membership is to be paid once for all time (i. e. registration fee only) or if it is a yearly membership fee. However, without a regular (yearly) membership fee the development of the Associtaion would be strongly limited. A system of yearly membership fees should be developed and put on the Agenda of the 1st General Assembly of the AECEF (Prague, September 1995) for discussion and approval.
Cooperation with other academic or professional organizations:
Cooperation with the Fakult½tentag fìr Bauingenieuren- und Vermessungswesen (the most distinguished German assembly of civil and geodesy engineering faculties dealing with basic questions of university education and research in the field of civil and geodesy engineering, and formulating professional references for government and non-government institutions). Prof. J. Witzany and Secretary Dr. I. Vavra took part in the Fakult½tentag Conference held in Berlin in October 1993 to inform participants about the AECEF's structure and activities. The Conference decided that the Fakult½tentag should support the ideas of the Association of European Civil Engineering Faculties and become a corporate member of it. The Fakult½tentag Board members, the newly elected president Prof. G. Zumpe (TU Dresden) and vice-president Prof. W. Durth (TU Darmstadt) will represent the Fakult½tentag on the AECEF Board. The AECEF Secretariat considers the active participation of the Fakult½tentag in the AECEF's activity as a very significant step and a contribution to the future activities of the Association and for the development and coordination of civil and geodesy engineering studies at all types of universities.
The AHECE (Association of Higher Education in Civil Engineering, Russian Federation, President Prof. Vladimir Y. Karelin) has expressed its interest in contacts with the AECEF and is planning to visit the AECEF Office to discuss this matter.
The AECEF Office is in correspondence with The Institution of Civil Engineers (UK) (Mr. J. A. Whitwell, Director - Education Training & Membership) about possible contacts between ICE and AECEF.
Possible contacts and cooperation with SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education) and IGIP (International Society for Engineering Education) will be discussed with SEFI and IGIP representatives during the joint SEFI/IGIP Conference "Visions and Strategies for Europe: an examination of the first five years of the new East-West partnership in Engineering Education" which is to be held at the Czech Technical University in Prague, September 21 - 23, 1994.
The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) has included AECEF on its mailing list and supplies the AECEF Office with information about its newly published materials (mostly on quality management in the consulting engineering industry, FIDIC's "Red Book" - International Civil Engineering Conditions, Practical Legal Guide, etc. ). The materials are available on request from the AECEF Secretariat.
A proposal for a new TEMPUS project (Complimentary Measures Project for academic year 94/95) with the main topic "Development of the AECEF" has been prepared and submitted to the TEMPUS Office in Brussels.
Receipts and expenditures of the AECEF (until June 30, 1994)
Receipts
| Year | GBP | CZK*) | |
| 1993 | Admission fee (7 universities per 1 year 1 university per 2 years) Loan from Fac. of CE, Prague |
350 100 1 110 |
15 050 4 300 47 700 |
Total |
1 560 | 67 050 | |
| 1994 | Admission fee |
350 |
15 050 |
Total |
|||
T o t a l |
1 910 | 82 100 | |
Expenditures
| Year | GBP | CZK*) | |
| 1993 | Board Meeting '94 (Prague) Postage Fax Newsletter 1/93, xerox |
675 96 19 58 |
29 000 4 100 800 2 500 |
Total |
848 | 36 400 | |
| 1994 | Postage |
90 57 79 |
3 900 2 430 3 400 |
Total |
226 | 9 730 | |
T o t a l |
1 074 | 46 130 | |
*) 1GBP = 43 CZK
The main conclusions to Item 1 were:
The Secretariat will send an invoice to member universities to cover the membership fee for 1994 and arrears for 1993.
The problem of dues for membership fee will be put on the Agenda for the 1st AECEF General Assembly (Prague, September 1995); a supplement to the Statutes will be prepared for approval by the General Assembly.
AECEF members are invited to use the AECEF information materials during contacts with their partners with the aim to enhance the membership at the AECEF; it is especially desirable to enhance the membership of CE faculties from Spain, Italy and France.
Item 2: TEMPUS Project - Analysis and comparison of curricula and study plans of European Civil Engineering faculties; a Questionnaire research project
Prof. J. Witzany and Dr. I. Vavra referred to this Item. The AECEF Research Project "An analysis and comparision of curricula and study plans of European Civil Engineering faculties" was supported by a TEMPUS Complementary Measures Grant for the academic year 93/94 (Contract No.: CME-93-B-2003, grant amount 10. 000 ECU). The project was coordinated by Prof. J. Witzany and Dr. I. V▀vra. The objective of the research was an analysis of curricula and study plans of European and non-European (USA, Canada) Civil Engineering faculties. A questionnaire method was used for the research.
The main conclusions to Item 2 were:
The opinion was expressed that the research provided interesting and valuable information on the educational system for Civil Engineering in European and several non-European universities. The research report will be available to AECEF members and to all responding Universities.
It was recommended to repeat this questionnaire research after three or four years with the aim to follow of how the investigated information changes with time.
Item 3: Preparation for the 1st AECEF International Symposium "Education for Civil and Environmental Engineering and Surveying"
Prof. J. Machacek (Fac. of Civil Engineering, CTU Prague), Chairman of the Symposium Organizing Committee, referred to this Item.
The 1st AECEF International Symposium "EDUCATION FOR CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING" will be held at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic from September 25 - 27, 1995. The First General Assembly of the AECEF will be held at the time of the Symposium.
The main goal of the Symposium is to bring together civil engineering educators (involved in engineering, building construction, surveying, environmental engineering), researchers, building professionals and others with an interest in construction/building education, study programmes, curricula and research from around the world for the exchange of ideas, findings and experience, and to make proposals for modern methods in civil engineering education and its relation to research.
The call for papers and preliminary registration for the Symposium have been already circulated.
Information about other symposiums with similar topics that will be held in 1995:
The 1995 ASCE Education Conference, Denver, Colorado, June 8 - 11, 1995. The aims of the 1995 Conference are to
define current and future needs for civil engineering education and training;
develop an array of ASCE educational objectives, perspectives and strategies for possible implementation;
strengthen global interaction among educators, students, and practitioners.
Contacts:
The AECEF is planning active participation in this Conference and is preparing a position paper for the conference. The AECEF members are encouraged to submit a short position paper for this Conference.
1995 CIB W89 Orlando Symposium "Construction/Building Education and Research beyond 2000", April 5 - 7, 1995, Orlando, Florida, USA. Topics to be overed:
Contacts:
The main conclusions to Item 3 were:
The Board recommended Prof. Witzany as Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Symposium and the Board members as members of the Scientific Committee; it was further recommended to ask representatives of the ASCE, University of Florida, SEFI/IGIP and the Fakult½tentag to accept membership at the Scientific Committee
The Board recommended that organizers of the educational conferences in the USA (ASCE, Orlando) be asked to prepare key note papers for the AECEF Symposium
To increase interest in participation at the AECEF Symposium, the Board recommended that the first announcement and call for papers be circulated again and that the deadline be extended for receiving the abstracts (by January 15, 1995) and full papers (by May 15, 1995)
Item 4: Preparations for the First AECEF General Assembly
Dr. J. Vaska referred to this Item.
The First AECEF General Assembly will be held at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University Prague, Czech Republic on September 26 - 27, 1995. The First AECEF General Assembly will be held on the occasion of the 1st AECEF International Symposium.
General Assembly of the AECEF (Extract from the AECEF Statutes):
(5) The General Assembly is the highest body of the Association. Through its mediation members of the Association exercise their right to participate in the Association's activities, make decisions concerning its activities and make comments.
(6) The General Assembly is convened by the President
at least once every three years
whenever at least 1/3 of members request a meeting.
(7) The announcement of the General Assembly must be made in writing to all members of the Association at least three months prior to the meeting.
(9) The General Assembly has a quorum if at least one half of the members of the Association are present. Decisions are passed on a simple majority vote.
(10) The General Assembly has the following rights:
approval of Association Statutes and possible amendments to them,
decisions on the Association's activities,
election, or possible dismissal, of the President and Board members in accordance with the established rules,
admission of new members,
establishment of working committees.
A preliminary registration for The First General Assembly has been already circulated among the AECEF members.
The Chairman of the Organizing Committee is Dr. Jiri Vaska, General Secretary of the AECEF.
Documents that should be prepared for discussion at the General Assembly:
report of the President
report of the General Secretary (including financial report)
report of Chairmen of Working Committees
Materials for the General Assembly (report of the President, report of the General Secretary report of Chairmen of Working Committees) should be circulated to the AECEF members before the Assembly, not later than July 1995; the materials will be approved by the AECEF Board at the Board Meeting in May/June 1995.
AECEF members are invited to send their proposals for changes or amendments to the Statutes (dues for membership fees, role, rights and duties of the General Secretary, his or her term of office, voting rights devoted to corporate members only, etc.).
AECEF members are invited to send their views on the general concept of AECEF activities and their proposals for increasing the activity of Working Committees for the coming period.
Item 5: Activity of AECEF Working Committees
Prof. J. Witzany introduced this Item. The conclusions of the Preparatory Committee Meeting (Prague, September 1992) pointed out that the attraction of the Association would follow from the activity of its Working Committees, and from what the Association could offer to their members. Four Working Committees were constituted within the Association:
Working Committee I for comparability of curricula of Civil Engineering faculties, system of studies, postgraduate studies, requirements for graduates in different European countries, etc. The Chairman of Working Committee I is Vice-President Y. Zech, the members of the Committee are Prof. S. H½ggstr¸m, Prof. O. Dabrowski, Prof. L. T. Shkejlov and Dr. Z. J. ÒvehlÞk.
This Committee has prepared a research project on curricula and study programmes for CE (see Item 2).
Working Committee II for study and lecture visits to foreign Universities by University teachers, students and researchers. The Chairman of Working Committee II is Vice-President P. Vainiunas.
Working Committee III for dissemination and application of the latest knowledge in Civil Engineering research and teaching, and the transfer of technologies. The Chairman of Working Committee III is Vice-President A. Detrek¸i, the members of the Committee are Prof. F. Òertler, Prof. T. Jakobsen, Prof. J. Berny and Prof. P. Sardin.
Working Committee IV for cooperation and contacts with other European Organizations. The Chairman of Working Committee IV is Vice-President H. R. Evans, the members are Prof. S. Hansen and Prof. V. Kristek.
The low levels of activity from the AECEF Working Committees so far were discussed and ways of raising the level of activity were sought.
The main conclusions to Item 5 were:
The Working Committees must concentrate their activities on acute problems
AECEF members will be invited to write information about their University system for the AECEF Newsletter
The Board members are invited to contribute regularly with fresh information for the AECEF Newsletter
Item 6: Other business
Prof. J. Witzany proposed Prof. Alfredo Soeiro (University of Porto) as advisor to the Board for contacts with SEFI/IGIP and for contacts with Universities in Spain and Portugal. The proposal was accepted
Prof. Francis proposed that some information be generated about research projects in former eastern block countries. This could be organized as an activity of Working Committee III.
The 3rd Meeting of the AECEF Board is proposed to be held in May/June 1995 to discuss in detail documents for the First AECEF General Assembly.
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