Implementing optics courses in dual engineering university programs: challenges and perspectives

摘要

There are a few barriers to justify the implementation of optics courses into the tight time schedule of a dual engineering university program. The integration of optics into the classic occupational areas of electrical- and communication engineers is ambitious. Between optics and electrics, there are many overlapping contents and correlations. Most companies want fast highly specialized workers but they will not recognize that the most important skill of engineers is their ability to think outside the box. The process of engineering is not to follow algorithms and processes. Their purpose is to develop unique and working solutions that are unable to solve for other specialists. This is because they can see the big picture. To develop this ability it is neccessary to teach them the connections between different fields and to show them the possibilities of science. Only engineers with that far-sightness are able to handle the proceeding digitalization of their business ant to stay productive and contemporary. Most of their work e.g. calculations of construction parts can be solved by standartized algorithms and programs but their real work to think about solutions can never be automatized. Those solutions can be devised with parts of theoretical foundations of optics.