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CESUN brings together engineering systems units from around the world

ESD-established organization works toward broadening engineering education and practice.

Representatives from member universities of the Council of Engineering Systems Universities (CESUN) convened for the council’s annual meeting on May 3-4, at Stevens Institute of Technology. (Slides of presentations will soon be available on the CESUN website.)

The MIT Engineering Systems Division established CESUN in 2004 in partnership with other universities offering educational and research programs in engineering systems — with the main objective of broadening engineering education and practice. Since then, CESUN membership has grown to include 50 universities in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.



Although CESUN member units are unified in their efforts to address real-world challenges with engineering systems approaches, they currently have a wide range of forms and names. Some are classified as programs, some as divisions or departments, and others — particularly some of the newer members — are schools. The names of the units also vary, with examples such as Engineering Systems, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Decision Science and Engineering Systems, Systems and Enterprises, Management Science and Engineering, and Engineering and Public Policy. The CESUN units tend to be new to their universities, with most fewer than 10 years old.

The recent meeting provided an opportunity for CESUN representatives to discuss some of these challenges, as well as to consider opportunities to improve recognition for the field of engineering systems and to continue to develop a shared view of the foundations of engineering systems.

"The CESUN Annual Meeting at Stevens Institute of Technology provided a rich forum for participants to articulate and discuss institutional advances in Engineering Systems,” said Georgia Institute of Technology Professor William B. Rouse, chair of the CESUN Executive Committee. “I could sense that we are gaining momentum in forming common ground while also nurturing the diversity of offerings across the global CESUN community.”

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the next International Engineering Systems Symposium, which will be hosted by TU Delft in June 2012, and the upcoming Engineering Systems book series from MIT Press.

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