TY - GEN
T1 - A tale of interdisciplinary studies
T2 - 12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, IMSCI 2018
AU - Giladi, Ran
N1 - Funding Information:
Twenty years ago, students began their studies in the newborn Department of Communication Systems Engineering. The curriculum for the B.Sc. degree in Communication Systems Engineering (CSE) was approved by the University’s senate, and by Israel’s Council for Higher Education (CHE). The curriculum, as well as the justification and the motivation for this study program and the resulting degree are described in [17]. The CSE undergraduate program is interdisciplinary, combining Computer Science (CS), Electrical Engineering (EE), and Information Systems (IS) in its curriculum. It is based on the multidiscipline knowledge required to analyze, design, deploy, implement, operate, administrate, manage, and maintain communications systems and networks. There are many academic and professional journals in CSE, as well as many academic and professional conferences for CSE issues. The communications and Internet industry is blooming if not exploding, and requires the multidisciplinary knowledge of CSE. Despite all of this, departments dedicated to CSE (sometimes called Telecommunications or Network Engineering) are not very common, and traditionally, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science departments usually teach and research CSE.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 by the International Institute of Informatics and Systemics.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Two decades ago an interdisciplinary undergraduate program for Communication Systems Engineering was planned and suggested by Ben-Gurion University and approved by the Council for Higher Education of the State of Israel. Since then, hundreds of students have enrolled in this program and graduated successfully, and graduate programs in CSE were offered. The interdisciplinary nature of the undergraduate program enabled students to resolve their uncertainties over whether to study hardware- or software-oriented engineering programs. Many considered the CSE program a remarkable success during its early years, as it responded to the Israeli hightech industry's requirements and the students' expectations. The graduate engineers of this program met the industry's desperate requirements for skilled engineers in networking, communication equipment, and software during the pre- and post-bubble era of the Internet boom. However, a few years after its inception, this undergraduate program, or the department running it, or both, started to decline in many respects, mainly in the demand for this program, to the point where the department even considered closing it down. The decrease in demand stands in contradiction to the satisfaction of both students and graduates. This paper briefly describes this interdisciplinary undergraduate program, and the factors that could have influenced its success or failure.
AB - Two decades ago an interdisciplinary undergraduate program for Communication Systems Engineering was planned and suggested by Ben-Gurion University and approved by the Council for Higher Education of the State of Israel. Since then, hundreds of students have enrolled in this program and graduated successfully, and graduate programs in CSE were offered. The interdisciplinary nature of the undergraduate program enabled students to resolve their uncertainties over whether to study hardware- or software-oriented engineering programs. Many considered the CSE program a remarkable success during its early years, as it responded to the Israeli hightech industry's requirements and the students' expectations. The graduate engineers of this program met the industry's desperate requirements for skilled engineers in networking, communication equipment, and software during the pre- and post-bubble era of the Internet boom. However, a few years after its inception, this undergraduate program, or the department running it, or both, started to decline in many respects, mainly in the demand for this program, to the point where the department even considered closing it down. The decrease in demand stands in contradiction to the satisfaction of both students and graduates. This paper briefly describes this interdisciplinary undergraduate program, and the factors that could have influenced its success or failure.
KW - Communication systems engineering
KW - Computing
KW - Engineering
KW - Interdisciplinary
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056527669&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85056527669
T3 - IMSCI 2018 - 12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, Proceedings
SP - 29
EP - 34
BT - IMSCI 2018 - 12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, Proceedings
A2 - Callaos, Nagib
A2 - Sanchez, Belkis
A2 - Carrasquero, Jose Vicente
A2 - Tremante, Andres
A2 - Welsch, Friedrich
PB - International Institute of Informatics and Systemics, IIIS
Y2 - 8 July 2018 through 11 July 2018
ER -