Page 21 - Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11338.html

4 EDUCATING THE ENGINEER OF 2020

contrasted with more basic problems such as access to water and hous-
ing in others. Within countries, the demographics will change, includ-
ing in the United States, where the numbers of minorities will grow
rapidly whereas those of the traditional majority will decline in a rela-
tive sense. This has major implications for the future of engineering, a
profession where minorities and women remain underrepresented.
Although certain basics of engineering will not change, the explo-
sion of knowledge, the global economy, and the way engineers will work
will reflect an ongoing evolution that began to gain momentum a de-
cade ago. The economy in which we will work will be strongly influ-
enced by the global marketplace for engineering services, evidenced by
the outsourcing of engineering jobs, a growing need for interdiscipli-
nary and system-based approaches, demands for new paradigms of
customization, and an increasingly international talent pool. The steady
integration of technology in our public infrastructures and lives will call
for more involvement by engineers in the setting of public policy and in
participation in the civic arena. The external forces in society, the
economy, and the professional environment will all challenge the stabil-
ity of the engineering workforce and affect our ability to attract the
most talented individuals to an engineering career. However, amid all
these challenges, exciting opportunities also will exist if the engineering
community takes the initiative to prepare for the future.
If the United States is to maintain its economic leadership and be
able to sustain its share of high-technology jobs, it must prepare for this
wave of change. Although there is no consensus at this stage, it is agreed
that innovation is the key and engineering is essential to this task; but
engineering will only contribute to success if it is able to continue to
adapt to new trends and provide education to the next generation of
students so as to arm them with the tools needed for the world as it will
be, not as it is today. It is within this context that this Phase II report
considers recommendations for changes in engineering education.
Reinventing engineering education requires the interaction of engi-
neers in industry and academe. The entire engineering enterprise must
be considered so that the changes made result in an effective system.
Because most engineers work in industry and do not interact one-on-
one with people who directly benefit from their services, as do physi-
cians, lawyers, and teachers, the public is unclear about what most engi-
neers do, and secondary students (and their parents and advisors) have
poorly formed ideas about what an engineering education offers and

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