Education in instrumentation: some questions and answers

Instrumentation is the science and technology of measurement. As a science it studies measurement algorithms. As a technology it studies the implementation of measurement algorithms. There is broad agreement on the importance of instrumentation, but there is far less agreement on when and how to teach instrumentation courses and what to teach in them. The reasons why are discussed with reference to our experience in teaching in two different areas: telecommunication engineering and electronic engineering. In the first area we teach a course on electronic instrumentation. In the second area we teach in addition a course on sensors and signal conditioning. In both curricula there is an elective course on medical instrumentation. The careful consideration of the reasons given and the approach described have rendered our courses very successful.