Executive Committee Candidate
Biography
Dr. Eleonore LICKL had been working in industry in Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain and in research in Taiwan for 10 years after finishing her studies. She graduated as “Diplom- Ingenieur” from the University for Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Austria in 1980 in Food Science and Biotechnology and received her doctorate from the same university in 1982. She started teaching at the Vocational and Technical College for Chemical Industry in Vienna, Austria, in 1989. The last 14 years she had been also working in teaching at the University of Teacher Education Styria, Graz, Austria, here mainly in the fields of Vocational Teacher Education. Short-time teaching experiences in Ecuador and the US are adding to her profile.
Dr. LICKL is currently a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Engineering Education IGIP, she is also a former Secretary General of IGIP. From 2011 until 2017 she had been acting as editor-in chief of the online journal The International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP). She is also writing in Austrian media related to chemistry, and food and biotechnology. She is an IGIP Senior member and a recipient of the Adolf Melezinek Meritorious Service Award. She is a member of IEEE Education Society.
Her interests are all areas of engineering education, esp. in professionalization of engineering faculty in general. She trains professionals starting to teach in Austrian VET Schools in the STEM sector. Her expertise is also in teaching first and second year students in chemistry and chemical engineering, and recently her research interests also include pre-school didactics in STEM field and the professionalization of kindergarten personnel in STEM.
Rationale
I feel honoured and privileged to be considered as a candidate for the IFEES Executive Committee election for another two years. I am a member of the IFEES EC since Albuquerque and I am currently one of the vice presidents of IFEES. I can state that from the beginning of IFEES some 13 years ago I have been informed and partially involved in the intention and work of IFEES. As the world is becoming smaller international work is becoming more and more important. To see the trend of the coming years is essential for us in engineering education, the trends maybe here even early tomorrow and not in the next years, as expected. Engineering education must provide the knowledge and the competencies to our students, to work with any trend, foreseen or not. Almost 40 years of working experience – in engineering, but also in engineering education – give me the insight what education – and engineering education should be all about.
As a long-standing member of the International Society for Engineering Education (IGIP), also as its Secretary General and as member of the Executive Board I’m involved in the international engineering education discussion for more than 30 years. Having been a member of the curriculum development board of the Vocational Teacher Education studies for Engineers at the University of Teacher Education Styria and teaching these professionals I am also involved in the trainer’s education discussion. Training myself chemical engineers since almost 30 years I can see the side of the students as well.
I appreciated both the potential and the social responsibility of IFEES as a global player, to participate in designing of flexible Engineering Education under the influence of developments in business, science, and society. I would like to collaborate as a member of the IFEES Executive Committee for another two years.