Next generation – Shaping the future with electrical engineering
One person believes that electrical engineers repair machines. Another interviewee, on the other hand, thinks they are responsible for installing sockets or smoke detectors. And the third could imagine that these are the people who decorate the city Christmas tree with lights at Christmas.
The results of the study series “The Image of Electrical Engineering”, published last year by the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI) in cooperation with the VDE, are alarming. “Even if we tend to see a distorted image of what our work is like in reality from a young person's perspective, we shouldn't be surprised if no one wants to become an electrical engineer,” says Dr. Michael Schanz, Head of the VDE's Technical Committee for Studies, Careers and Society. However, this misjudgement, the negative image and the associated dramatic decline in student numbers have devastating consequences in two respects:
Firstly, it is making the shortage of skilled workers worse and worse. However, in order to master all the upcoming challenges - from the energy transition to the digital transformation and artificial intelligence - we need significantly more electrical engineers, not fewer! To put it bluntly, you could say: Who is supposed to save the world if not young people who decide to study electrical engineering and information technology today?
This VDE dialog is dedicated to showing young people what exciting, meaningful and often well-paid jobs await all those who successfully study electrical engineering. In addition, we want to dispel prejudices, provide assistance on the way to university and afterwards, and give encouragement. Because one thing is certain: as rewarding as this career path is, it is not easy for most people.
In order to be even more convincing, the editors of VDE dialog have enlisted the help of an advisory board this time. Eight young people between the ages of 17 and 24, pupils and students alike, have helped us to present our ideas in a way that appeals to and engages the people we want to reach: the next generation of electrical engineers.
That's why this issue also contains articles and reports that we hope will be of interest to this target group and, just like the rest of the magazine, will keep our regular readers well informed and entertained.
We look forward to your opinion at dialog@vde.com
We hope you enjoy reading this issue
Your VDE dialog editorial team
