Executive Summary
- Hands-on experience improves conceptual understanding and mastery of core electrical engineering principles, such as circuit design and programming, according to a chapter in a 2024 academic publication
- UK universities’ electrical and electronic engineering courses, such as at Imperial and Southampton, offer a balance between the theory and practical – to give ‘room to explore the breadth of topics’, as Imperial puts it
- Education also needs to stack up against the rapidly changing electrical and electrotechnical landscape
There is a balancing act required in order to create good electrical engineers; a mix between the theoretical and the practical. Yet this is not just about learning to use a set of crimpers versus the intricacies of Ohm’s law. It is a wider discussion on mathematics and programming versus getting to grips with the generation, transmission and applications of electrical power.
A chapter in a 2024 academic publication, from Angel Paredes Parrilla at the University of Malaga, explores the role of hands-on learning in electrical engineering education in depth. “In electrical engineering, hands-on learning holds particular significance,” Paredes Parrilla wrote. “Students often face abstract concepts and highly integrated systems that are difficult to grasp through theory alone.
“Practical experience with electronics, circuits, and components allows students get a deeper understanding on how to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world applications.”
The rationale is that hands-on experiences improves conceptual understanding and mastery of core engineering principles, such as circuit design and programming. Practical training ‘turns knowledge into skills’, as a recent post from Cambridgeshire-based Electrical Courses notes. “It prepares you for real situations, builds confidence, and improves your chances of success in assessments and work.”
Of course, a lot of what actually matters depends on where the individual wants to work. If you’re working on integrated circuits, for instance, then a strong mathematical background is non-negotiable. Plenty of workplaces have office-based engineers who have a workload to match, with technicians and electricians out in the field. It goes without saying that field work requires practically demonstrable competence, and any electrician course that does not include hands-on training will be inadequate for real electrical work.
Yet a good electrical engineering course, properly accredited – any worth its salt will be with the IET and/or City & Guilds, for instance – will plot an appropriate path for whichever direction students wish to travel. As IEEE finds, a degree programme typically introduces students to the foundational sciences and mathematics and underlying electrical phenomena, before progressively building competency in specific sub-disciplines, from power systems, to signal processing, to digital design, to electromagnetics.
Imperial College London’s first-year curriculum in electrical and electronic engineering (BEng) gives a good example of how this is practically structured. The course is designed to give ‘room to explore the breadth of electrical and engineering topics’. Students study mathematics, circuit analysis and programming – C++ – alongside a group electronics design project taking into account the full design process.
The second year completes the fundamentals in analogue and digital electronics and power electronics while maintaining the ‘strong’ focus on mathematics and computing. Students pick a chosen route which then solidifies in year three to either become generalist or concentrate on a particular field.
For the University of Southampton’s electrical and electronic engineering (BEng) course, meanwhile, there is an explicit understanding that the theory and practical sides are balanced. Topics range from smarter energy distribution and intelligent robotics, to high-voltage electrical engineering, sustainable energy, and machine learning. The university has a particular expertise in photonics – the science of light – and quantum technology.
The education also needs to stack up against the rapidly changing electrical and electrotechnical landscape. Paredes Parrilla notes: “As electronics become more complex and miniaturised, informal tinkering opportunities have diminished, making structured hands-on experiences in educational settings even more vital for student learning and professional preparation.”
Imperial notes that electrical and electronic engineering is characterised by its ‘fast-evolving and interdisciplinary nature.’ “Today’s (and tomorrow’s) electrical engineers are often working at the intersection of many other disciplines – computer science, business and economics, biomedical, physics and materials, mathematics, sustainability and mechanics,” the university notes.
Perhaps it makes most sense, therefore, to keep an open mind.
