Introduction
Standards permeate our everyday lives. Any product and service we use is built on the basis of one or many standards. Be it a simple coffee machine or a complex energy plant, “there is a standard for that!”. More importantly, standards help build a safer and more sustainable and resilient planet Earth. This is why it is so important to make sure that new generations are aware of what standards and regulations are and how they can be used to meet global goals and targets.
In focus
The Focal Point network of experts on Education on Standardization was endorsed at the 32nd Annual session. We will soon be having a launch meeting for this network; all interested parties are invited to contact the WP.6 secretariat
Text will be updated regularly, proposed by the experts or the secretariat.
- Key deliverables
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Symbol & Title
Issued date
ENG
FRA
RUS
ECE/STAND/17/Rev.4 page 16
Recommendation I on Methodological studies and education1970 PDF ECE/TRADE/C/WP.6/2012/7
Recommendation I on Education on standards-related issues2012 PDF PDF PDF ECE/TRADE/C/WP.6/2012/6
Concept note for the Workshop on “Introducing standards-related issues in educational curricula”, including a proposed model programme on standardization2012
- International Trade, standards and regulation module
- Module on the benefits of standardization to society
- Management system standards
SNV overview in "Benefits of standardization to society" Link ISO Management system standards
APEC Education Guide 3 on "Standardization: Fundamentals, Impact, and Business Strategy"
ECE/TRADE/440
Bringing Standardization in University Curricula: Making the Case2018
- Other resources
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The following is a non-exhaustive list of resources on the topic which have been identified by the working party. Other resources can be added if pertinent; please contact the secretariat. This list does not constitute an endorsement of any kind and is presented for information.
Author
Title
Issued date
Organization
Link
A World Built on Standards: A Textbook for Higher Education
2015
Danish Standards Foundation
Newell Hampson-Jones
Higher Education and Standardization: Knowledge Management between Generations
2011
British Standards Institution
ECE/TRADE/C/CEFACT/2018/6
White Paper on Paperless Trade2018
UNECE – UN/CEFACT
Nizar Abdelkafi, Rudi Bekkers, Raffaela Bolla, Alejandro Rodriguez-Ascaso, Michelle Wetterwald
Understanding ICT Standardization: Principles and Practices
2021
ETSI
- History
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In 1970, the UNECE Government Officials Responsible for Standardization Policies, the predecessor of WP. 6, developed Recommendation I that urged governments to include standardization in the curricula of educational institutions.
Under traditional educational approaches standards are considered highly technical and of interest to engineers only. Within an increasingly globalized economy, knowledge of safety requirements and standards applied in international markets is one of the key factors of success or falure of companies seeking to enter foreign markets. Labor markets are beginning to seek experts with standards related competencies who understand how standards and regulations could complicate approaching foreign markets.
WP.6 recommends Governments to encourage education establishments to introduce standardization into their curricula and particularly within universities for students studying law, economics and management.
WP.6 established the initiative on Education on standardization (START-Ed) at its twenty-second session in November 2012. This initiative groups together experts from academia to promote good practices and to share national experience.
START-ED Group elaborated a model programme on education on standardization and relevant teaching materials; a number of universities in the UNECE region already used these tools and have started teaching standardization to their students.
- Impact
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Text forthcoming
- Events
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Official meetings of the initiative of education on standardization (START-Ed)
- Seventh meeting, 7 June 2022, virtual meeting
- Sixth meeting, 23 November 2021, from 16:30hrs, fully virtual meeting
- Fifth meeting, 2 November 2020, virtual WebEx teleconference
- Fourth meeting, 21 November 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
- Third meeting, 3 November 2015, Geneva, Switzerland
- Second meeting, 26, November 2014, Geneva, Switzerland.
- First meeting, 20 November 2013, Geneva, Switzerland [Meeting minutes]
Other events related to education on standardization organized by WP.6
- Report of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies on its twenty-ninth session, Panel: “Teaching a new generation of standards settlers: innovative approaches” and Panel “Education on standards for sustainable development”, ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2019/2 ENG, FRA, RUS
- Report of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies on its Workshop on "Introducing Standards-related issues into Education Curricula" held as part of its twenty-second session
- Report of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies on its twenty-second session (paras 27 to 80).
- Policies and procedures
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Symbol & Title Issued
dateENG FRE RUS ECE/TRADE/2012/2
Report of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies on its twenty-second session (paragraph 80)2012 PDF PDF PDF - Books / brochures
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will be updated soon