No generation is more at ease with online, digital technologies than today's young people who has grown up in an immersive computing environment. This era of technological innovation has significant implications for higher education of scientists and engineers, and will have a major impact on teaching methodologies over the next years. Distance education, online learning and the opportunity to collaborate with research partners from around the world are some of the transformational benefits that universities are embracing. Such advances may lead to profound changes in the way courses are taught: "Teaching will become more outcome-based and student-centre".

The aim of this session is to provide a forum for teachers and researchers to discuss innovative and effective means of educating the future generation of engineers and geoscientists. Technological changes and advances in knowledge constantly create new demands on engineers, geoscientists and the educational system that produces them, so there is a need for the continued development and improvement of education to meet those demands.

Finally, technology is most likely to affect future academic offerings, spurred by innovative faculty research, student engagement and the pursuit of academic collaboration. Over the next five years, it is expected to see a greater number of interdisciplinary majors, combining chemical engineering and environmental studies for instance, and foresee broader inter-university collaboration among students from multiple institutions.

Selected contributions from earlier EGU meetings are being submitted to European Journal of Engineering Education.

Funding provided by CEIGRAM (Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks) and by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) through project no. AGL2010-21501/AGR is greatly appreciated.