A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING DEGREE AT THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MADRID- UPM Eutiquio Gallego*, Margarita Ruiz Altisent, Carlos Mejía, Eva Cristina Correa, José Luis García, José María Fuentes, Francisco Ayuga
Introduction Degree programs dates from 19th Century Livestock Agricultural practice Food production
New specialties (gardening, food engineering, environment..)
Introduction Relation to living organisms Biosystems Engineering
Introduction Agricultural Engineering: the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing Biosystems Engineering: field of engineering that integrates engineering science and design with applied biological, environmental, and agricultural sciences (Briassoulis et al., 2014)
Objective Proposal of a new University Master in Biosystems Engineering (UMBE) taking into account professional requests, and the recent research and field of expertise trends in the new and evolving profession of BE discipline, while adapting current actual University Master in Agro-Engineering (UMAE) CIGR - AgEng 2016 Conference. Aarhus, 26-29 June
Higher Education in Spain Adapted to European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Spanish Law regulation (RD 1393/2007) Bachelor 240 ECTS 4 years Master 60-120 ECTS 1-2 years PhD Seminars and Courses Doctoral Thesis 3 years (full time)
Higher Education in Spain 4 years, while Bachelor degrees usually comprises 180 ECTS (3 years) in EHEA Bachelor 240 ECTS 4 years 60 ECTS: Basic Courses Final Bachelor Thesis (6-30 ECTS) Optional: Practical Stage (max. 60 ECTS)
Higher Education in Spain Master 60-120 ECTS 1-2 years 1-2 years Final Master Thesis (6-30 ECTS)
Higher Education in Spain Training stage + PhD Thesis PhD Seminars and Courses Doctoral Thesis 3 years (full time) Min. 300 ECTS (60 ECTS from Master level) 3 years (Full time). Optional 1 + 1 additional years (Extension) Lectures are not compulsory, but most programs require some hours or ECTS spent in seminars, workshops or courses
Official professions Practice of many professions in Spain requires having a degree (Bachelor or Master) that satisfies specific requirements defined in the law Engineering fields have 2 levels in Spain: mid-level Engineers (Bachelor) and upper-level Engineers (Master) Name of degree dependent on name of profession claimed
Degrees Ag. Eng. in Spain Bachelor Order CIN/323/2009 Mid-level Agricultural Engineers Master Order CIN/325/2009 Upper-level Agricultural Engineers Module Min. number ECTS Basic courses for engineering 60 Basics courses agricultural engineering 60 Specific Technology 48 Final Bachelor Thesis 12 Module Min. number ECTS Technology and Planning of Rural Land 20 Technology of Crop and Animal Production 20 Technology of Food Industries 10 Management and Organization of Food Companies Final Master Thesis 6 30 10
Biosystems Engineering in the world (Erasmus Network) (Atlantis Project) (Atlantis Project) USAEE defines a core curriculum for BE POMSEBES commom basis EU - USA for BE TABE.NET mid-level learning outcomes and competences 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 FEANI approves core curriculum for BE ERABEE common basis of core curriculum in EU (Erasmus Network) UMBE proposal at UPM
Biosystems Engineering in the world University Degree Title Country Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Master of Bioscience Engineering: Biosystems Engineering Belgium Wageningen University Master in Biosystems Engineering Holland University of Aarhus Master in Biosystems Engineering Denmark University College Dublin Master in Biosystems Engineering Ireland Universidade de Évora Université de Liège Maestrado Engenharia de Biossistemas Bachelor and Master in Bioengineering More than 30 universities across USA offers degrees in BE Portugal Belgium Names used: Biosystems Engineering ; Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering ; Biological and Biosystems Engineering or Biological Engineering
Degrees Ag. Eng. in Spain Bachelor More than 50 degrees Master 20 degrees
Biosystems Eng. in Spain and UPM Degree title at UPM Profession acquired ECTS Bachelor in Agricultural and Agro- Environmental Engineering Bachelor in Food Engineering Mid-level Agricultural Engineer (Specialties MRB, CAP and GH) Mid-level Agricultural Engineer (Specialty FI) 240 240 Bachelor in Agricultural Sciences and Bioeconomy None 240 Bachelor in Biotechnology None 240 Master in Agro-Engineering (UMAE) None 60 Master in Agricultural Engineering Upper-level Agricultural Engineer (All specialties) 120 Only 2 degrees uses the term "Biosystems" in Spain, but none of them lye on the fundamentals of the discipline
Evolution towards UMBE UMAE dates from 2009-2010. Successful implementation and first step for Phd in Agroengineering program, but later it appeared a change in PhD law regulation Master in Agricultural Engineering (120 ECTS; upper-level Agricultural Engineers) started during the academic course 2014 2015: similar names and sharing objectives. Many courses included in UMAE are oriented to the field of BE, thus surpassing the traditional contents and perspectives usually taught in classical AE degrees. A new College created at UPM includes the term Biosystems in its name. On-line education enrollment is not possible in UMAE (professionals and students abroad) Large number of modules of specialization in UMAE, and some pairs are usually requested by students (Engineering Projects, Land and Environment - Rural Construction; Automatics - Mechanization).
Objectives UMBE Objective O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 O6 O7 Description The use of tools and equipment for the sustainable management of natural resources and control of agricultural systems The design of infrastructure and agricultural buildings according to criteria of sustainability The modelling of agrifood Biosystems for process control in the agrifood industry The use of computer tools and advanced techniques for the design of equipment and facilities in the field of Biosystems engineering The use of methodologies and tools for the environmental management and planning of rural areas The development of reports or scientific - technical documents for planning activities in the field of Biosystems Engineering Training in the tasks of research, development and innovation such as design of experiments, data analysis or planning and development of research projects
Competences UMBE Origin Spanish law RD 861/2010 UPM Specific Biosystems Engineering Number of competences 5 basic competence all Master students must acquire according to the Spanish law 7 basic competences all Master students must acquire at Technical University of Madrid (UPM) if they enroll in a Master program offered by this institution 6 Specific competences associated to Biosystems Engineering field, and defined in the proposal.
Structure UMBE Projects in Biosystems Engineering (4 ECTS) 1st Semester Compulsory courses (15 ECTS) Hidrology and management of water resources (4 ECTS) Advanced elements in agricultural machinery: mechatronics (4 ECTS) Courses in modules of specialisation (15 ECTS) Module 1. Projects and Construction Module 2. Irrigation and Energy 2nd Semester R+D+i in Biosystems Engineering (3 ECTS) Module 3. Automatics and Robotics Master Thesis and Practical Training (24 ECTS) Research and Technical Seminars (6 ECTS) Module 1. Projects and Construction Module 2. Irrigation and Energy Module 3. Automatics and Robotics R+D+i in Biosystems Engineering
Structure UMBE Courses in modules of specialisation (1st Semester) Module 1. Projects and Construction Module 2. Irrigation and Energy Module 3. Automatics and Robotics Rural Infrastructures (4 ECTS) Sustainable Construction in Biosystems Engineering (4 ECTS) Distribution systems for irrigation water (4 ECTS) Irrigation Technology (4 ECTS) Precision Agriculture (4 ECTS) Automation of agricultural and food processes (4 ECTS) Tools for Environmental Management (4 ECTS) Structural Design for Biosystems Engineering Buildings (3 ECTS) Energy supply and automation facilities (4 ECTS) Renewable energy (3 ECTS) Robotics applied to agriculture (4 ECTS) Physical properties of agriculture products (3 ECTS)
Conclusions Core concepts and threads of BE are not completely established yet: difficult for comparison and recognition of studies, leading to a reduced number of degrees in Europe. Higher Education in Spain shows particular characteristics different from the rest of Europe. Bachelor degrees last 4 years, 2 levels of Engineers in Spain for any discipline. Specific regulation affecting the professional-official practice of engineers
Conclusions The proposed UMBE is an evolution of an existing Master (UMAE) at the (UPM): Solving problems identified in UMAE Adapting to Higher Education framework existing in Spain. Taking into account BE concepts
Thank you for your attention!!!