Industrial engineering and management curriculum profile: Developing a framework of competences

This paper presents a framework of competences developed for Industrial Engineering and Management that can be used as a tool for curriculum analysis and design, including the teaching and learning processes as well as the alignment of the curriculum with the professional profile. The framework was applied to the Industrial Engineering and Management program at University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal, and it provides an overview of the connection between IEM knowledge areas and the competences defined in its curriculum. The framework of competences was developed through a process of analysis using a combination of methods and sources for data collection. The framework was developed according to four main steps: 1) characterization of IEM knowledge areas; 2) definition of IEM competences; 3) survey; 4) application of the framework at the IEM curriculum. The findings showed that the framework is useful to build an integrated vision of the curriculum. The most visible aspect in the learning outcomes of IEM program is the lack of balance between technical and transversal competences. There was not almost any reference to the transversal competences and it is fundamentally concentrated on Project-Based Learning courses. The framework presented in this paper provides a contribution to the definition of IEM professional profile through a set of competences which need to be explored further. In addition, it may be a relevant tool for IEM curriculum analysis and a contribution for bridging the gap between universities and companies.

HEP-Frame: A software engineered framework to aid the development and efficient multicore execution of scientific code

This work was supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) within Project Scope (UID/CEC/00319/2013), by LIP (Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas) and by Project Search-ON2 (NORTE-07-0162- FEDER-000086), co-funded by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund.

Changes in institutional governance and management of higher education in Laos: National University of Laos

PhD thesis in Educational Sciences (specialization in Politics of Education).

A systematic study of the structural and magnetic properties of Mn-, Co-, and Ni-Doped Colloidal Fe3O4 nanoparticles

A series of colloidal MxFe3-xO4 (M = Mn, Co, Ni; x = 0–1) nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 6.8 to 11.6 nm was synthesized by hydrothermal reaction in aqueous medium at low temperature (200 °C). Energy-dispersive X-ray microa-nalysis and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry confirms that the actual elemental compositions agree well with the nominal ones. The structural properties of obtained nanoparticles were investigated by using powder X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that our synthesis technique leads to the formation of chemically uniform single-phase solid solution nanoparticles with cubic spinel structure, confirming the intrinsic doping. Magnetic studies showed that, in comparison to Fe3O4, the saturation magnetization of MxFe3-xO4 (M = Mn, Ni) decreases with increasing dopant concentration, while Co-doped samples showed similar saturation magnetizations. On other hand, whereas Mn- and Ni-doped nanoparticles exhibits superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature, ferromagnetism emerges for CoxFe3-xO4 nanoparticles, which can be tuned by the level of Co doping.