How can Engineering education be transformed and developed to keep pace with technological advancements and enable future engineers to guide the industry? These questions were at the center of discussion at the two-day international conference Innovation in Engineering Education (IEE 2025), where experts from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Debrecen shared their perspectives on the application of artificial intelligence.
The English-language conference was organized by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Debrecen (DE MK), the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Informatics at the University of Miskolc, and the Technical Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) in celebration of the MTA's 200th anniversary—the event aimed to support the development of engineering education through innovative approaches and interdisciplinary collaborations. Around fifty educators and researchers from Hungary and Central Europe participated, representing various related scientific fields.
The dean of DE MK emphasized that educational programs must change due to the challenges of the modern era. Instead of teaching engineers through subject-based curricula, education should focus on competencies, experiences, and practical knowledge. He suggested that fewer modules might be needed, but these should comprehensively cover all essential aspects to prepare students for their future engineering careers.
"Undergraduate students learn about today's technologies, while master's students are trained to create future technologies," stated Géza Husi.
He also highlighted that the Faculty of Engineering will soon launch its doctoral school, and its research infrastructure has been recognized as part of an Excellent Research Infrastructure Network. With these advancements, all conditions are in place for further progress and an increase in the quality of education.
The vice dean for scientific affairs at DE MK addressed one of the conference's key topics: integrating artificial intelligence into education. He cautioned that AI must be used carefully.
"An engineer must take responsibility for the results they produce. Therefore, using sources or tools whose outputs and answers cannot be fully trusted is unacceptable. AI-based applications provide responses that depend on how the questions are formulated, often exhibit randomness, and typically lack a documented problem-solving process," said Imre Kocsis.
Professor emeritus Imre Horváth from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands also attended the conference and spoke about the strong societal and technological challenges facing technical higher education today.
"The accelerated pace of change makes future planning difficult. Nevertheless, we have a duty to develop pedagogical methods and curricula that equip students interested in engineering fields with the skills to face future challenges," he stated.
The vice president responsible for technical sciences at the MTA Debrecen Regional Committee emphasized that engineering sciences must contribute to solving global issues such as urbanization, environmental pollution, global health, and resource utilization. Engineering students must be taught to remain open to these challenges.
According to István Komlósi, social media has become a serious competitor to higher education, making it increasingly challenging to capture students' attention. To address this, new solutions such as virtual laboratories and artificial intelligence could be incorporated into engineering programs to create experience-based learning. However, he stressed that true innovation is still only possible through the human mind. "To create something new, fundamental knowledge must be ingrained in the mind," he concluded.
Cs.K.