2004 Annual Report

Education, Training, and the Profession Technical Council

 

Hessam S. Sarjoughian

Arizona Center for Integrative Modeling & Simulation

Computer Science & Engineering Dept.

Fulton School of Engineering

Arizona State University

Tempe, Arizona, USA

 

Synopsis

Since 2003 BOD annual meeting, the Education, Training, and the Profession Technical Council has refined its mission and continued with its promotion and dissemination of modeling and simulation education within the SCS and other societies.  The Council focused on academic and professional programs targeting disciplined modeling and simulation education, best practices, and advancing wider recognition of the discipline via conferences and workshops. While the Council has been able to advance the SCS mission with respect to elevating visibility and key role education plays, its impact and role needs to be expanded within and outside the society. This report offers recommendations to the SCS and the new Chairman of the Council serving from 2004 to 2006.

Educational Programs

Various efforts were undertaken or continued in support of academic and professional education via degree programs and certificates.

§         An Online Masters of Engineering in Modeling & Simulation (M&S MEng) was announced in April 2004. This program is offered at Arizona State University, Main Campus.

§         A Modeling and Simulation Certificate Program was formed at the University of Alabama, Huntsville (UAH). This program is offered via the UAH Continuing Education Program.

§         A proposal is underway for creating the first undergraduate engineering in Modeling and Simulation. This activity is led by Chell Roberts (Arizona State University, East Campus) in collaboration with Sumit Ghosh (Stevens Institute of Technology) as well as the Council and SCS.

§         The Council has been engaged and continues to support developing the M&S Body of Knowledge (BoK) and Undergraduate/Graduate Curricula within the SimSummit related activities and the DEVS Standardization.

Conferences and Workshops

Several members of the SCS delivered free tutorials at major modeling and simulation conferences.

§         Organized the Education Track at SCSC `04 and helped with the WMC `04 education track.

§         Tutorials were presented at I/ITSEC, ASTC/SIW, and SCSC.

§         Continued participation in the development of Online offering of Modeling & Simulation certification by M&SPCC. The Council recommended candidates for the M&SPCC Certification Board and Commission Oversight Council.

§         Participated and contributed to the ASTC `04 Special session on M&S Body of Knowledge Workshop which was organized and conducted by Bill Waite and Jim Skinner of AEgis Technologies.

§         The education council objectives and goals were presented at the first M&SNet meeting which was held in Dec. 2003. Also addressed the role and importance of M&S education at the NSF Workshop on Modeling and Simulation for Design of Large Software-Intensive Systems: Challenges and New Research Directions which was hosted by ACIMS and held in Dec. 2003.

Teaching Materials

The Council has supported dissemination of education materials such as the Dynamic Modeling CDROM by Paul Fishwick of University of Florida. Similarly, the Council supported the VP Publication for the forthcoming publication of a modeling and Simulation textbook by Harold Klee of University of Central Florida. The Council has also been providing recommendations and support for online publication of a collection of DEVS modeling and simulation tutorial slides by Bernard Zeigler of University of Arizona.

Ongoing Activities

The Council continues to develop relationships with educational, governmental, and industry to deliver first-class education to the modeling & simulation community.

Recommendations

§         Increased cooperation among the Education, Publication, Conferences, and Membership arms of the SCS. For example, a strategic planning between Education and Conferences can help with increasing the quality of the Education tracks and tutorials. Similarly, it is important to publish selected education-related contributions in the SCS Transactions and the Journal of Defense Modeling & Simulation. The M&S Magazine and the SCS website (and in particular the Council webpage) offer important forums to inform current constituents and attract new members.

§         The Council should play an active role in the offering of tracks or sessions at SCS conference as well as those it sponsors. Specifically, it is key to hold an annual Education Track instead of two or more.  

§         To attract volunteers and increase participation and activities (e.g., Education Track at SCSC and tutorials at conferences) the Council would need to expand its activities to meet the needs of the profession using traditional and new technologies and approaches such as Advanced Distance Learning.

§         Continue with the initiative to forge alliances and strategic partnerships between SCS, MSIAC, and others.

§         The SCS membership offers a means for identifying individuals who are (or might be) interested in participating and contributing to the Council.