Continental Global Engineering Excellence Initiative

Boston/Hanover (ots) -

Study on the Future of Engineering Takes Shape

Eight top international universities compile initial findings of
their research on engineering science - Internationalization of
universities a key to success

Universities with highly demanding engineering programs must
intensify their internationalization activities significantly if they
want to keep pace with the ever increasing dynamics of economic
globalization and the growing complexity of challenging worldwide
value-added chains. This is the interim findings of the first
comprehensive study on the future of engineering education, currently
being compiled by eight renowned top international universities in
the scope of the Global Engineering Excellence (GEE) initiative,
instigated by Continental AG.

In November of last year, the international automotive supplier
started the Global Engineering Excellence initiative in close
cooperation with the top universities to study the perspec¬tives and
social position of engineers as well as their education and impact on
the performance capabilities of economies, and to draw conclusions
from these findings. At the most recent meeting of the study
participants at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in
Boston, the initial findings of the study were discussed. Concrete
recommendations are then to be formulated during a second project
meeting at the Tsinghua University in Beijing at the end of June. The
full findings will be presented during a two-day event with
representatives from all participating universities as well as
high-ranking representatives from the world of politics and business
on November 9 and 10 in Frankfurt.

The results compiled to date indicate that there is a tight
intermeshing between the increasing economic globalization and the
resulting changes in requirements for an engineering education.

The professors involved in the project uniformly concluded that,
as a consequence, a tight intermeshing of the research and
development departments is also essential in a global society in
which value added chains and distribution channels are permanently
expanding and changing.

"The trends in a globally networked economy must be reflected in
the education concepts at universities," said Prof. Bernd Widdig from
MIT in Massachusetts, calling for "close coordination and intensive
cooperation between the engineering and science branches - at a
world¬wide level." Prof. Reiner Anderl of the Technical University of
Darmstadt, which is heading the study, summed it up by saying that
"the goal can only be a globally-oriented engineering program."

The research team feels that it is up to the universities
themselves, the companies and, last but not least, those bodies in
charge of educational policies to attain this goal. A call for action
and recommendations are to be presented on November 10 at an
international press conference in Frankfurt.

The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of brake
systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical
elastomers. In 2005 the corporation posted consolidated sales of
EUR13.8 billion. It currently has a worldwide workforce of around
80,600 employees.

Originaltext: Continental AG
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Hannes Boekhoff Bettina Körner
Head of Press Relations Press Officer
Continental AG Continental AG
Vahrenwalder Strasse 9 Vahrenwalder Strasse 9
30165 Hanover 30165 Hanover
Tel.: 0511 938-1278 Tel.: 0511 938-1640
Fax: 0511 938-1055 Fax: 0511 938-1055
E-mail: prkonzern@conti.de E-mail: prkonzern@conti.de

Information about the initiative you find on the internet under:
www.global-engineering-excellence.org and the Corporate Image and
Video Library of Continental under: www.conti-online.com