RE3 = X re-engineering engineering education

Most engineering students are not enthusiastic about the mathematics they have to learn, and most practising engineers in industry seek to avoid maths whenever they can. Yet engineering is heavily reliant on mathematics. What is it about the teaching of engineering which induces these reactions in students and,professional engineers? Can the mathematical content of engineering be presented to enthuse, rather than to confuse and frighten? This paper outlines a new approach to the teaching of introductory engineering subjects to be introduced in Monash University from 1998. A common first year course for all students will present engineering itself in a more contextual framework, with the necessary mathematics progressively introduced as the tools needed to achieve the engineering solutions. The approach is planned to present a more holistic view of engineering, with maths as the link between all the main discipline branches, It remains to be seen if this "re-engineering" of engineering education will achieve its objectives: hence the unknown "X" in the title equation.