A new undergraduate degree in control engineering

Abstract

In December 1994, the Brazilian government regulated three new engineering undergraduate degrees. One such degree was in control and automation engineering. The paper discusses how, in Brazil, control engineering moved from a relatively small group of courses within electrical engineering curricula to an undergraduate degree in its own right. It presents a short review of undergraduate control education in countries around the world. The authors also present an overview of the control engineering profession, real-life applications, and state-of-the-art in Brazilian industries. Finally, the paper describes the major issues taken into account during the conception of this new engineering degree at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In 1998 and 1999 academic years, 40 students were admitted each year for this degree. In view of the high demand of the Control and Automation Engineering degree by the prospective engineering students, since February 2000, the number of places has been increased to 80 students per year.