PREFACE

It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the 16th International Symposium on Advances in Technology Education (ISATE 2023), based on the collaboration among National KOSENs (National Institute of Technology, NIT) from Japan; five polytechnic schools from Singapore; Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education from Hong Kong; and other institutions from Japan, Finland, Mexico and Thailand.

  Recent host institutions include Temasek, Singapore, in 2017; Hong Kong in 2018; and Tokuyama, Japan, in 2019. Unfortunately, the 2020 symposium was canceled, and the last two symposiums in 2021 and 2022 were held online due to COVID-19. This year the 16th (ISATE 2023) symposium is held in Matsue, Japan, with an exciting return to face-to-face presentations.

  Solving global issues such as global warming is an urgent task, and we are now in an era where we are striving to make maximum use of technological innovations, realize Society 5.0, and achieve the SDGs, in order to create a sustainable society. Since the early 2000s, thanks to IT, technological innovation has exploded with remarkable progress being made in both software (AI and big data processing) and hardware (high-performance, compact, inexpensive semi-conductor integrated circuits and sensors). With the development of the Internet of Things that makes use of these technologies, technology is advancing society toward the realization of a sustainable society. This advancement is known as Digital Transformation (DX).

  DX is also in the process of revolutionizing education. Education curriculum reform and IT education are progressing rapidly. In Japan, at elementary and secondary GIGA schools, every student has a tablet. In higher education, new subjects such as AI programming are being expanded. At companies, recurrent IT education is also being implemented. In addition, DX is being used to improve the quality of education.

  With the aim of developing new education in response to this large and crucial shift in technology, we hope to share knowledge and deepen understanding of "engineering education in the DX era". The goals of this symposium are to further develop engineering education from comprehensive and multifaceted perspectives, and to discuss and exchange information on engineering education for practical engineers. The discussions to develop engineering education revolve around four contexts: (1) education research and practice, (2) teaching and learning, (3) educational models and approaches, (4) industrial and multiple institutions collaboration.

  Last but not least, we appreciate all of you for your cooperation in planning and holding this wonderful symposium in cooperation with KOSEN headquarters. We are also grateful to the Shimane Prefectural Conference/Convention Support Project and to Matsue City for their moral and financial support.

    Prof. Kiyoshi WADA, Dr.Eng.
    President
    National Institute of Technology,
    Matsue College, JAPAN