Memorandum submitted by the Institution
of Civil Engineers (ICE)
INSTITUTION OF
CIVIL ENGINEERS
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is
a UK-based international organisation with over 75,000 members
ranging from professional civil engineers to students. It is an
educational and qualifying body and has charitable status under
UK law. Founded in 1818, ICE has become recognised worldwide for
its excellence as a centre of learning, as a qualifying body and
as a public voice for the profession.
ICE has close links with the HE sector. Jointly
with three other professional bodies, as the Joint Board of Moderators,
the ICE is involved in accrediting a wide range of degree programmes,
involving approximately 10 universities per year, including 4
year MEng, 3 year BEng and foundation years.
Academics are involved in many of the ICE's
Committees and hold high level Member positions in the Institution
including on Council.
ICE has a student grade of membership: there
are 8232 UK-based ICE Student Members (October 2006).
Upon graduation, many of our Student Members
transfer to Graduate Member status; there are 13619 UK-based ICE
Graduate Members (October 2006). The majority of these are working
in the industry, on company-approved training schemes, and working
towards professional qualification.
THE ROLE
OF UNIVERSITIES
OVER THE
5-10 YEARS
What do students want from universities?
They are looking for challenging and stimulating
courses; they want excellent up-to-date education; they are being
more "choosy" and making more enquiries when doing their
research on where and what to study; they want to increase their
existing level of education and more importantly their skill level
so that they can secure good, well paid employment.
What do employers want from graduates?
Broadly employers are seeking two types of graduates:
(a). The conventional competent graduate
who is capable of doing well on a typical training scheme (this
is probably the majority); and
(b). Increasingly companies are looking for
something extra: they are becoming more interested in recruiting
an interesting and exciting graduate with a wide set of skills
(for example management skills, the ability to deal with politicians,
and to succeed in the commercial environment) capable of learning
new techniques and being an innovative thinker.
Generally employers are recruiting both a and
b type graduates; all graduates must have underpinning science
and maths; a knowledge of, and ability to apply engineering principles
and design skills are particularly important.
The challenge faced by HE is knowing what to
remove from existing civil engineering degree programmes in order
to create the time and space for the new material to equip the
graduates of the future described under b.
Good practice is demonstrated where universities
with industry links seek to deepen these links, making them more
meaningful, which can have spin-offs for delivery of learning
in the workplace. A challenge is how to recognize and reward industry
for their involvement.
What should government want from HE?
Graduates appropriate for a high skill economy.
Internationally competitive HEIs—this
may require a greater level of collaboration on research as the
UK currently has only a few such centres.
UNIVERSITY FUNDING
Is the current funding system fit for purpose?
No, it is not fit for purpose in terms of quantum;
the UK HE system is under-funded. It does not fit the current
demand.
WHAT
ARE THE
PRINCIPLES ON
WHICH UNIVERSITY
FUNDING SHOULD
BE BASED?
The pendulum has swung too far to the research
extreme, with teaching taking a lower priority. Research and teaching
should coexist in all HEIs to varying extents; the full economic
costing of teaching should be considered on the same basis as
that for research. The reduced relative weighting for lab-based
subjects has had a serious impact and the weighting for engineering
subjects needs to be increased back to the level of other lab-based
disciplines such as medicine.
Should the £3,000 cap on student fees be
lifted after 2009?
This is a very sensitive area and needs to be
dealt with very carefully. There is a serious danger of putting
off students. If there is extensive provision of bursaries, removing
the cap may be possible. It is important to remember that for
research intensive universities, student fee income is a very
small part of overall income; however others that are teaching-focused
rely more heavily on tuition fees as a major source of income.
What should the Government be funding in HE and
by what means?
Government needs to think through more clearly
what it wants from the HE sector, and make it clear that it wants
to support UK science and technology.
There are some areas where it makes good sense
for government to fund—for example climate change research.
The mechanism of peer review, for example, in deciding to allocate
major EPSRC funding is a good one. It would make good sense for
government to consult with the academic community about what they
would like to see funded.
See also, the ICE's comments on the Bologna
Process and the importance of ongoing government support for recognisable
and defensible second cycle qualifications in engineering.
Should central funding be used as a lever to achieve
government policy aims?
No. It is extremely important for universities
to be independent of government. However, it would be appropriate
for government to give clear indications of those areas which
it wishes to see supported, as per the reference to climate change
research mentioned above.
Should research funding be based on selection
of "quality"?
Yes, although we are not quite sure what is
meant by high quality research; it is very difficult to define
quality in the context of research. There must be a right balance
of funding to ensure, for example, that "blue skies"
research can be followed through to implementation.
The danger of continuing to support research
of high quality is that it is self-perpetuating. Mechanisms need
to be established to recognise and support those without a demonstrable
track record in research in order to provide opportunities for
those other than the leading research HEIs.
How can leading universities reach internationally
competitive levels of funding?
By undertaking internationally leading research
and working collaboratively. Government can help by providing
funding for advanced equipment and excellent laboratories.
How can leading research universities reach internationally
competitive levels of funding?
Funding mechanisms should enable greater collaboration
with non-UK universities. This needs to be facilitated by UK Government
officials liaising with their opposite numbers outside the UK,
especially in the US. There are examples (EPSRC and NSF) but it
is felt that EPSRC had to concede a lot.
There needs to be a different mind-set in the
UK toward funding with an increasing emphasis on securing private
funding.
Funding by charities is welcomed, but the disadvantage
is that they cannot fund full costs.
In some cases, greater collaboration within
a university between academics and central administration would
enable better financial planning over the long term.
Are some parts of the sector too reliant on income
from overseas students?
The risk of such reliance is very high—some
countries such as China and India are looking to establish their
own provision so that the demand from those countries may decline.
A better question may be "are all parts of the sector sufficiently
aware of the risks?" They are probably not. London-based
universities are likely to be more attractive to overseas students
because of the draw of the capital and therefore need to be especially
aware of the risks.
There is a distinction to be made between the
type of overseas student ie undergraduates and postgraduates.
In some cases, the reliance is on postgraduates, with the consequent
higher fee generation This, in part, reflects the poor UK funding
regime for home graduate students.
It is in our national interest to provide high
quality HE for students from wherever in the world—it gives
them and brings to us an important cultural and business perspective.
See also the ICE's response to the Bologna Process[115]
which highlights the risk of the UK losing its international reputation
for HE excellence.
December 2006
115 Education and Skills Committee, The Bologna
Process, Fourth Report of Session 2006-07, HC 205, Ev 102 Back
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