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The article reviews the book "Australia in the Asian Century White Paper."

Robotics engineering, long considered a composite of various engineering disciplines, has developed over the past two decades to where it now has identifiable areas of technical focus, as well as scientific engineering expertise, and is now becoming a focused discipline in its own right. We find that industry now specifically seeks engineering talent concentrated in the robotics field possessing multidisciplinary skills and systems understanding. Also, students entering university engineering programs now often have developed great interest and understanding in robotics due to their participation in competition programs such as First Robotics and Robofest. Because of this voiced need from industry and interest possessed by entering engineering students Lawrence Technological University developed a new multidisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in robotics engineering. The degree was launched in the fall of 2011 with direct support and input from Lawrence Tech's math and computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering departments. The robotics engineering degree is currently administered through the Lawrence Tech mechanical engineering department. In this paper the author reviews the approach used to develop the overall objectives of the degree, the challenges of curriculum development and its structure, and how to negotiate through the difficult decisions required when selecting what the most critical multidisciplinary aspects of each of the three supporting departments without the risk of academic technical content dilution. Also reviewed in this paper are several other important aspects encountered in the development of this new degree such as benchmarking of other programs, the seeking, collection and incorporation of industry input and their partnerships, the approval of this new program through the university's "new programs" approval process, the recruitment of current and new faculty to support the program, and strategy currently employed for addressing assessment and eventual ABET accreditation of the program. Each of these aspects is a great challenge for any new program, but due to the complexity and the interdepartmental multidisciplinary requirements of a robotics engineering program great care and effort was made to assure that the foundational aspects of the program such as projects, research, and student learning were all complementary to current and future success of the program. The author also discusses innovative approaches used in teaching within this program. The perspectives and impact of multidisciplinary designs, approaches, and experiences of the robotics engineering degree program on constituents including students, faculty, administration, career services and employers are also reviewed. Lastly, documented feedback from students is also provided that give their perspective on the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past couple decades, mechanical engineering programs have made significant advances in developing educational materials and laboratory exercises in controls and mechatronics1-4. However, there is an important gap remaining between the academic programs and the needs of the graduates and industry. The academic programs are heavily oriented towards control theory, board-level electronics, interfacing and microprocessors supplemented with laboratory equipment, such as the inverted pendulum, and projects, such as Lego robots5-7. But industrial applications require mechanical engineers to design machines with multiple axes that execute complex, high speed, high precision coordinated motion using sophisticated motion controllers. In this paper, we present overview of a new course and its laboratory developed in partnership with industry. The course aims to teach "the fundamentals" while focusing on industrial motion control technology and multi-axis machines. The course was offered for the first time in its new format in Fall 2013. Assessment results for one module are presented and discussed. This project was funded by a grant from the NSF-TUES program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls for a debate on effects that the current education system is having on our learners. Many students entering Higher Education struggle to rise to its rigorous academic demands. The need for support services is on the increase with greater focus on key skills, study skills and self-management. Students undertaking higher study can face financial hardship and emotional turmoil in striving to achieve, but the problems do not start here. Much of the trepidation felt by students comes as a result of earlier educational experiences, and is merely exacerbated as their learning experience progresses. It is time to re-assess the whole educational process and to question whether the system exists to encourage learning or to measure failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to present an extended book review of "The Physical University". Design/methodology/approach -- This article takes the form of a literature review focusing on one title. Findings -- This is an uneven collection of fragments of conventional late twentieth-century thinking about the physical campus. The future of the physical university, the campus is in doubt. Yet, only two of the dozen authors engage in this existential question. Originality/value -- The collection of articles ranges from purely philosophical to moderately practical. It is a poor summary of current thought and offers little guidance for dealing with the evolving future of the physical university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is an expanded review of "Wired for Success". Design/methodology/approach -- This article comprises an extended book review. Findings -- The authors do not address the critical insight of Peter Drucker that the "campus" as it exists today will exist in a new, undefined set of embodiments in the future. It also fails to consider the changing environment of and expectations for educational institutions, as competencies and other criteria not only change the very nature of education but also as "big data" can support more complex relationships for knowledge acquisition, globally. Originality/value -- This review provokes and challenges the readers to challenge their own and the authors' thoughts of what could and how education would evolve in light of the discomfort of many with current models and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews books about higher education. `New Universities and Regional Context: Papers From an International Seminar Held in Sundsvall, Sweden, 14-18 June 1992,' and `Expanding Colleges and New Universities: Selected Case Studies From Non-Metropolitan Areas in Australia, Scotland and Scandinavia,' edited by Urban Dahllof and Staffan Selander.

Presents information on the paper "Leadership, Higher Education, and the Information Age: A New Era for Information Technology and Libraries," edited by Carrie E. Regenstein and Barbara I. Dewey.

Reviews the book 'The Emerging Markets and Higher Education--development and sustainability,' edited by S. McMullen Matthew, E. Maunch James and Bob Donnorummo.