Systems engineering:: A new approach to complex IT-based technological systems in engineering education

Introduction of the multi-degree linear education system consisting of BSc, MSc and PhD programs in the Hungarian higher education, according to the goals and requirements of the Bologna Process, necessitates reviewing, enhancing and changing the three-level subject-structures consisting of fundamental, foundation enlarging and special subjects. In the course of the last 50 years the quantity of the number of subject areas and the number of engineering branches have been increasing in technological faculties around the world and they have already reached the limits of rationality. Recently there is an increasing demand for integrated and interdisciplinary special branches such as Systems Engineering. After having surveyed the paradigm changes in the progress of engineering sciences, the paper gives a brief summary on the concept, formation and significance of Systems Engineering. The paper also deals with Production Information Engineering as a characteristic field of Systems Engineering, which offers important application possibilities for IT-based system integration.