Modelling the context of continuing professional development

Engineering competence is a major competitive parameter in knowledge society, especially in the industry subject to very fast innovation processes. Being one step ahead of the competitors with incorporation of new knowledge in the products puts focus on the importance of human resources as a significant resource for industrial development. Continuing professional development of engineering staff is therefore very important. Based on research carried out as a Leonardo Pilot project supported by the European Union, a model for the continuing education process is described. The elements of the model and their interaction are discussed. It is important to achieve a joint understanding of engineering professional development and to acknowledge that it is not the university education once more. Part of the modelling is based on interviews with development engineers from the very dynamic mobile communication industry