How do you view the phenomenon of "engineering science"? China is a big country in engineering education, but in many high-tech manufacturing fields are "stuck neck"…In the midst of the great changes in the development of the times, although engineering education in China continues to innovate, there are still many difficult problems to be solved.
In order to clarify the problems in engineering education and promote its healthier development, China Science Daily has launched a column "Engineering Education Talk" from today, inviting experts and scholars from academia and industry to discuss the problems in engineering education.
In order to achieve the high-level development of science and technology innovation in China, universities must focus on how to cultivate innovative talents in new engineering education.Around the world, the exploration and practice of universities at home and abroad around this topic has been very rich, and it will be fruitful if we learn from each other.
Take the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example.In order to improve the innovative ability of engineering students, the school has opened a 32-hour elective course "Thinking Methods" in freshmen.This is because they believe that the development of multidimensional thinking methods plays an important role in the construction of new engineering.
Combined with China's national conditions, the author also believes that multi-dimensional thinking may be the key to opening the door to industrial and social development and innovation and entrepreneurship in the future.Relevant cultivation can ensure the connection between "school education" and "lifelong independent learning", and help realize the multi-disciplinary integration of "science", "engineering", "humanities" and "art aesthetics".
In my opinion, multi-dimensional thinking involving innovation can be broadly divided into the following categories.
Ethical thinking
All innovations must conform to human ethics, which is both a prerequisite and an insurmountable bottom line.
Some "scientists" are utilitarian and want to pursue fame and fortune in an "unprecedented" way, such as through germ cell cloning experiments, regardless of the possible adverse consequences.Some anti-human research is carried out under the cover of "national" and "public" interests, such as bacterial warfare and the development of weapons of mass destruction.
For example, Haber, a German chemist who won the Nobel Prize for the invention of chemical synthetic ammonia, developed mustard gas and other toxic gases for the German army in World War I and released it to the French for the first time on April 22, 1915.Haber's behavior was condemned by many scientists, and even his wife, Dr. Clara Imeva, committed suicide with hatred for her husband's cruelty.
In new engineering education, students must be told that so-called innovation beyond human ethics must be prohibited.
creative thinking
Creative thinking can be subdivided into many directions, including analytical thinking, systematic thinking, abstract thinking, observation-verification thinking, etc.
Many complex scientific and technological problems include the following characteristics: belonging to multiple subsystems, which may also belong to linear and nonlinear relationships; strong crosslinking between parameters of each system.
To solve this kind of problem, the complex system can be broken down into several subsystems, researched and quantitative mathematical expressions, and then the results of each subsystem can be dialectically unified.This is called decomposition-reduction thinking.
Systemic thinking is strongly advocated by Mr. Qian Xuesen.After being awarded the title of "National Outstanding Contribution Scientist", he said, "The theory and practice of systematic engineering thinking are based on mature theories, and it is significant beyond my contribution to China's aerospace industry."
The most rational and highest level of abstract thinking is the analytical expression through mathematical calculations.Many scientists have said that a study that cannot be expressed in mathematical equations should not be considered a complete scientific study.
More scientific research results are achieved by observing and discovering problems and asking questions to solve problems.Einstein once said that discovering valuable problems requires genius and innovative thinking, and that solving problems is just clever mathematical reasoning and clever experimentation.Qian Xuesen also pointed out, "Start with a conjecture, and then scientific argument."From the perspective of thinking, scientific engineering originated from image thinking, and finally logical thinking."
Darwin's theory of biological evolution has epoch-making significance, which fundamentally subverts the creationism of biogenesis and development.The main argument is that he accumulated a wealth of information through careful excavation and investigation of various creatures during his long journey of up to five years.
On the Galapagos Islands on the west coast of the Americas alone, he discovered and studied 225 plant species, 100 of which were new.He systematically generalized these observations, arguing that only gradual variations in species could explain the orderly changes in organisms he observed from time to space.After many studies, he published the book "Origin of Species" and achieved great achievements.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking includes dialectical thinking and reverse thinking.It requires people to see the essence through phenomena, that is, deduce from existing theories and laws, analyze the process from different perspectives, and explore the connection between things and the inner relationship between theories.
To deal with both macro and micro problems requires dialectical thinking.For example, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao found that the law of conservation is suitable for the macro world, while the law of non-conservation is suitable for the micro world.
Dialectical thinking requires a unified standpoint of opposites.We encounter many problems, both positive and negative, with correctness, and right and wrong are also interchangeable in certain situations, such as quantum mechanics' inclusive perception of the wave-particle duality of light.
Propositions put forward to enlighten students' thinking should not only be simple standard answers, but should fully stimulate students' imagination and speculation, and fully understand the problems.
Reverse thinking can also begin with doubts about the original conjecture, and the ancients "accumulated doubts and realized, learned gradually."For example, Qiu Chengtong began to doubt the perfection of Carabin's conjecture and falsified it in many ways, but it proved to be correct and falsified.
There are many examples of reverse thinking in the field of engineering.For example, China's steel industry needs a large amount of high-quality ore, but most of the ore in China contains only about 30%, and it is very difficult to enrich iron through floating ore technology.Ansteel Mining & Metallurgy Company reverse thinking, from the ore screening extraction of a single chemical properties of pulse stone, the iron content of the remaining ore from 30% to more than 60%, solved the problem of domestic iron ore.
Teamwork Thinking
The rapid development of science and technology has led to the differentiation and cross-section of disciplines, and the propositions put forward in a certain field are related to many disciplines.It's hard to make a big difference in the way we fought alone at the beginning of the last century.
For example, the discovery of DNA double helix structure is the physicist Schrödinger's conjecture, analytical chemist Chuckoff's structural decomposition, synthetic chemist Pauling's existence of helical chemical bonds.
In particular, a huge innovative engineering project, such as the Manhattan Project for Atomic Bomb Manufacturing, was completed by tens of thousands of different professionals.
Seeking a sincere and appropriate partner is one of the shortcuts to success.This kind of mind implantation can start with the collective play of young children and continue to advance in university education.
market thinking
For a great innovative discovery process, from the beginning of the project to the production of the results, inventors should be aware of its social value, engineering research and pure scientific basic research is the difference.For important research projects, dynamic evaluation of application feasibility should be carried out throughout the process to serve as an important basis for decision-making.
In short, in order to cultivate high-quality and innovative talents, new engineering education should be constantly reformed.One of the important points is not only to instill a lot of cutting-edge information and knowledge, but also to develop students' innovative ways of thinking in many dimensions.The development of multi-dimensional thinking methods is undoubtedly an important part of innovative engineering education.