“The rate of technology change is unprecedented. The half-life of an engineer’s knowledge is estimated to be between two to seven years and generally accepted to be less than five years. And it will continue to accelerate. If it becomes less than five years, certainly less than four, we start to get scared. Half of what students did the first couple of years may or may not be relevant. The goal is to at least have it current the day that they graduate.”

– Professor Leah Jamieson, Dean of Engineering, Purdue University, during the keynote address at DesignCon 2007