Systems Engineering Education Workshop; Washington DC; November 2014

人们普遍认为，系统工程是所有大型工程项目的关键要素；然而，据估计，仅国防部每天就因糟糕的系统工程而损失约2亿美元，其他联邦机构承认，它们无法使用当前的系统工程实践来完成预期的任务。越来越多的人呼吁系统工程，包括国防部长和国家科学院。与此同时，在过去的25年里，系统工程理论的元素也出现了。这些要素表明，有机会将系统工程表述为一门严格的工程学科。这些元素涵盖数学、经济学、商业和心理学，以及工程学和科学的重要元素。许多大学和专业协会提供不同的系统工程教育项目和证书。这个关于系统工程教育的研讨会将有助于统一这些不同的观点，并通过改善整个系统工程教育功能来帮助系统工程界向前发展。对与系统工程相关的项目的调查发现，系统工程教育项目多种多样，但对于如何创建更好的系统工程过程和相关的基本教育基础没有达成共识。研讨会的主要目的是调查系统工程教育的未来，不是对系统工程教育的历史和现状进行回顾，而是对未来进行展望。研讨会将把美国系统工程界的领导人聚集在一起，研究以下问题：1)政府和行业在属于系统工程的任务和角色方面的需求，2)满足系统工程需求所需的技能和知识集的要素，3)将这些要素组织到各级连贯的系统工程课程中，4)提供所需技能和知识集并将构成系统工程教育基础的基本理论，以及5)需要研究的知识差距，以加强系统工程教育。讲习班的结果将通过一份报告和一份档案出版物散发。

It is widely accepted that systems engineering is a key element of all large engineering projects; however, one estimate is that the Department of Defense alone loses about $200 million per day as a result of poor systems engineering, and other Federal agencies acknowledge that they cannot meet their projected missions using current systems engineering practices. There has been a proliferation of calls for systems engineering, including the Secretary of Defense and the National Academies. Simultaneously over the past 25 years, elements of a theory of systems engineering have emerged. These elements point to an opportunity to formulate systems engineering as a rigorous engineering discipline. The elements span mathematics, economics, business, and psychology, as well as significant elements of engineering and the sciences. Numerous Universities and professional societies offer diverse educational programs and certifications in systems engineering. This workshop on systems engineering education will assist in the unification of these disparate perspectives and help the systems engineering community move forward via improving the overall systems engineering education function.A survey of systems engineering related programs identified a diversity of systems engineering educations programs, without a consensus on how to create better systems engineering processes and the associated underlying educational foundations. The primary purpose of the workshop is to investigate the future of systems engineering education and not conduct a review of the history nor the current state of systems engineering education, but a look forward. The workshop will bring the leaders of the systems engineering community in the US together to investigate the following issues: 1) the needs of government and industry in terms of the tasks and roles that belong to systems engineering, 2) the elements of the skill and knowledge sets required to meet the systems engineering needs, 3) the organization of these elements into coherent systems engineering curricula at all levels, 4) the underlying theories that provide the needed skill and knowledge sets and that will form the basis of systems engineering education, and 5) the knowledge gaps that need to be researched that would enhance systems engineering education. Results of the workshop will be disseminated via a report and an archival publication.