A tale of interdisciplinary studies: Communication systems engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIMSCI 2018 - 12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, Proceedings
EditorsNagib Callaos, Belkis Sanchez, Jose Vicente Carrasquero, Andres Tremante, Friedrich Welsch
PublisherInternational Institute of Informatics and Systemics, IIIS
Pages29-34
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781941763858
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2018
Event12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, IMSCI 2018 - Orlando, United States
Duration: 8 Jul 201811 Jul 2018

Publication series

NameIMSCI 2018 - 12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, Proceedings
Volume1

Conference

Conference12th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics, IMSCI 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando
Period8/07/1811/07/18

Keywords

  • Communication systems engineering
  • Computing
  • Engineering
  • Interdisciplinary

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Information Systems

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