Bopaya Bidanda selected to receive IFEES Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education

WASHINGTON  (June 28, 2012) ... The  International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES)  has named  Bopaya Bidanda, PhD  as the recipient of the Third IFEES Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education. Dr. Bidanda, Ernest E. Roth Professor and Chair of  Industrial Engineering  a at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, was unanimously selected by the IFEES Executive Committee, based upon the recommendation of the Award Committee. The Award will be presented during the IFEES/GEDC Award dinner on October 15, 2012 at the  World Engineering Education Forum  in Buenos Aires. 

In their recommendation to the Executive Committee, the members of the Award Committee stated that "Dr. Bidanda's most notable contribution is in the area of "internationalizing Engineering Education" through his efforts especially the "Semester at Sea" courses aimed at getting International Exposure for every undergraduate engineer. In addition he has also participated in "train the trainer" workshops helping to enhance faculty competencies. His focus on the skills of the students had helped them have an advantage over others in their employability. He has also created a program in his department for the systematic recruitment of PhD students who would like to obtain a faculty position upon graduation. 

"This has resulted that graduates of the University of Pittsburgh have recently begun to secure tenure-track faculty positions at prestigious universities world-wide including the Middle East Technical University, Kuwait University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, University of Waterloo and in the United States. What stands out is his direct personal involvement which has been inspirational for the students and faculty. It is worth noting that his work has been done with more individual motivation without any organizational infrastructure."

IFEES promotes engineering education globally and enhances its quality by bringing together members from engineering education societies around the world to share teaching methods, curriculum plans, and every other aspect of educating engineers, to include those organizations from developing countries.
Information technology and global communications have drastically altered the engineering field, making such collaborations, cultural understanding and mutual learning a real value to the engineering education community. 

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