The Colleges of Technical Engineers of Catalonia offer a Bachelor's degree of at least 240 credits, with specializations and internships in companies

These were some of the ideas presented during the meeting of Governing Boards in February 2005.

Given the importance of the meeting held in Santpedor, a town near Manresa on February 26, in which the meeting of the Colleges of Industrial Technical Engineers of Catalonia (Barcelona, Girona, Manresa, Lleida, Tarragona and Vilanova i la Geltrú, we have collected in this space a summary of the minutes that we believe will be of interest to you.

There was a debate from which many important ideas emerge for our group and which in summary are a clear response to the adequacy of the European Higher Education Area and in particular to the Royal Decrees regulating university studies of Undergraduate and Postgraduate.

The main objectives of the new degree must be to train competent graduates in Engineering who can adapt to the job market. Graduates who have the basics and skills that may be useful to them during their professional life and who are able to adapt to the continuous changes in society.

These objectives can be achieved as long as the new degree provides a good scientific basis with a solid foundation in Engineering and with sufficient practical knowledge. Another aim should be to provide graduates with a culture of environment and sustainability while fostering a culture of diversity and group work. It will also be necessary to promote an attitude of continuous training, cooperation with other professionals and awareness of professional responsibilities, all within a critical and non-dogmatic attitude.

The Governing Boards of Catalonia propose that the degree be obtained with a minimum of 240 credits, that it be a degree with full attributions, specialties and that it be qualified for teaching at any academic level. The minutes of Manresa also emphasize that the professional qualifications are given by the respective Professional Associations and that there is a period of internships in the company in addition to the final project.

During the meeting, a good handful of questions were also raised about issues that are not clear enough in the Royal Decrees. These questions that will have to be answered by the Ministry of Education and Science in the coming months are how will the current graduates of Engineering and Technical Engineering to the new degrees or what responsibilities are provided in the new engineering degrees.

Finally, the boards of the Associations expressed their concern about the lack of information on the professional attributions of the new degrees. The minutes end with a clear position that we reproduce verbatim and which says: "New studies must help train competent and competitive citizens, open to new challenges." In the face of all this, the Professional Association of Technical Engineers Industrials de Catalunya expresses its spirit of collaboration with the work of continuous training of new professionals.