A leading engineering school from Canada, the Ecole de technolgie supérieure, is the winner of this year's ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization. The award was presented at the 34th ISO General Assembly in New Delhi, India, 21-23 September 2011.
From left: Prof. François Coallier, of the
Prof. François Coallier received the award on behalf of the engineering school for its standardization programmes covering both graduate and undergraduate degrees. Mr. Sadao Takeda, ISO Vice-President (policy) and Chair of the selection committee which had designated Ecole de technolgie supérieure as the winner, said that the committee was particularly impressed by:
- The integration of standardization aspects into conventional disciplines such as IT and software engineering. This includes referring extensively to the output of ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee JTC1, Information technology
- The inclusion of standards in engineering subjects such as software quality assurance, maintenance and testing by experienced professors who participate in the work of technical committees and subcommittees
- The publications related to the course (which facilitated its assessment) could serve to provide insights to other institutions wishing to go the same way.
The award comprises a certificate of appreciation and a cash prize of 15 000 Swiss francs. It is co-sponsored by ISO and the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC), the ISO member for Japan.
The Ecole de technolgie supérieure was one of eight finalists. The other educational institutions (see below) were from Belarus, Botswana, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Iran, Oman and the United Kingdom.
This is the third time the prize has been awarded since its creation in 2006 to encourage and recognize successful programmes in higher education on standardization. The previous two awards, presented in 2007 and 2009, went to China Jiliang University, People's Republic of China and the Rotterdam School of Management, the Netherlands, respectively.
In addition to Mr. Takeda, the award selection committee consists of eminent international personalities from academia, the economic sphere and the media:
- Mr. Jean-Guy Carrier, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
- Mr. Guillaume Chenevière, Executive Director, Media and Society Foundation, Switzerland
- Prof. Masami Tanaka, Vice-President, Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC)
- Mr. Richard Yelland, Head of the Education Management and Infrastructure Division, IMHE (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The next award will be made in 2013. It alternates with the former Helmut Reihlen- now ISO/DIN-Award for young standardizers in developing countries and economies in transition.
Other 2011 award finalists
- Belarus: Belarussian National Technical University
- Botswana: University of Botswana
- Bulgaria: Technical University of Sofia
- Indonesia: Trisakty University
- Iran: Amirkabir University of Technology
- Oman: Caledonian College of Engineering
- United Kingdom: Middlesex University
