Education about standardization has been supported by ETSI since 2018 with the publication of our textbook (Understanding ICT Standardization – Principles and Practice) and other teaching materials.

The standardization landscape is becoming more complex: new technology challenges and horizontal considerations – like artificial intelligence, data protection or cybersecurity – will require new skills in the development of standards.

ETSI is strongly aware of the importance to try to enable the education of the future ICT standardization experts.

Highlighting ETSI’s lead as the premier body for education and awareness in ICT standardization – and continuing our role in encouraging the new generation of standards people – we developed a second edition of our successful textbook and further teaching materials.

‘Understanding ICT Standardization’ has been drafted by university experts in Europe, with content structured to allow modules to be readily used in engineering, business, and law courses. The new edition also meets latest accessibility requirements.

The first edition has already had more than 1 000 downloads, and the accompanying slide set has been used by over 40 European universities.

The teaching materials are targeted at third-level education, primarily for students of engineering or scientific subjects. The materials are modular in structure, and some modules may be of relevance to students of business, management, innovation, and legal subjects.

Topics covered include:

  • Standardization basics
  • The standards ecosystem
  • The production of standards
  • Standardization and innovation
  • A Strategic perspective on standardization
  • A business perspective: Standardization and intellectual property rights (IPR)
  • The economic benefits of standards

We are pleased to support the actions of the EC in order to promote ICT standardization awareness among academics and students and strongly encourage the development and dissemination of standardization academic teaching modules. The new edition also meets the latest accessibility requirements to enhance inclusiveness.

The EC is strongly promoting the issue of education about standardization in its latest standardization strategy and clearly states that standardization relies on involving the best experts. They believe that Europe is facing a generation shift with the need to replace those who will soon be retiring. The use of standards is growing, the importance of standardization for the competitiveness and public good is undisputed, but there is a concern that awareness and training on standardization is comparably small.

There is also a concern about the lack of any formal education or vocational training on standardization. This worrying position can be seen in the overall difficulty to recruit technical experts for the standardization development work.

Like other SDOs, ETSI currently depends on experts from industry, public administrations, civil society, research, or academia to deliver on all the critical aspects when developing standards. ETSI strongly agrees on the need to educate and recruit the best standardization experts to successfully pursue our global ambitions and to support the EC goals for a digital, green, and resilient single market.

More about standardization education

See article about Teaching standards in the digital world in Enjeux numeriques No. 6

If you want more information on the ETSI Education about Standardization activities please contact EducationAboutStandardization@etsi.org.