The labor market for materials engineers is continuously evolving and therefore it is appropriate to consider whether we are promoting the right skills during bachelor and especially master studies. Different aspects have nowadays considerable influence.
Firstly, current social context needs to be taken into account: rapid changes, growing social complexity, varied migrations flows, increased professional and geographical mobility and the demographic structure (aging population). To overcome this challenge, skills related to internationalization are demanded: multilingualism, intercultural communication capabilities, presentation and communication abilities, team work and independency.
Secondly, the digitalization process on the different fields is steadily progressing, and materials science and engineering (MSE) is not the exception. New skills related to the field of data science are required, including the concept of FAIR data (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable). Which contents related to this area needs to be incorporated in the educational programs?
Thirdly, the climate change crisis demands that also materials scientists and engineers seek for solutions. The German Academy of Science ACATECH has selected the topic “Recyclable material systems for resilience and technological sovereignty” as the second (out of 39) most important technical topic for the society. The concepts of circular economy of materials can provide a great contribution towards reductions of CO2 emissions, but more important to ensure the sovereignty of Europe despite the very complex geopolitical situation in the world, which has currently detrimental consequences for the availability of raw materials and the supply chain.
To deal with the mentioned challenges, the European School of Materials (EUSMAT), has developed a concept for lifelong learning, with a well-established internationalization and multicultural approach. In the EUSMAT programs, language courses and training on intercultural communication are integrated in the study curricula and the students have to spend a compulsory study period abroad. One main distinctiveness is the multilingualism: all our students need to command at least two languages out of English, German, French and Spanish. Nowadays we are handling a critical balancing act of incorporating new contents related to digitalization and data science at the expenses of reducing technical contents in MSE. Finally, the concept of circular materials has to be incorporated in the minds of all scientists and engineers. The goal of this contribution is to estimulate the disccussion of these topics.