Page 27 - 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

10 EDUCATING THE ENGINEER OF 2020

face continuing social and political unrest and threats from terrorism
and fundamentalism, creating an increased need for military services
and security measures domestically and abroad.
Among these unfolding changes, the world’s economy, which has
become tightly interlinked, with much of the change triggered by tech-
nology itself, will remain so, short of worldwide military or economic
warfare. In such an environment, the marketplace for engineering ser-
vices will be worldwide, and jobs will move freely. Information sharing
allowed by the Internet, broadband communication links, and high-
speed computers has the effect of tying cultures, knowledge, and econo-
mies together with possible positive as well as negative impacts on
U.S.-based engineers. For many years to come, engineers in developing
economies will be willing and able to do equivalent work for less than
U.S. wages. The key to maintaining a robust marketplace for U.S.
engineers will be how they can bring additional value to offset this
difference.

PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT FOR
ENGINEERS IN THE FUTURE
In the past, steady increases in knowledge have spawned new
subspecialties within engineering (e.g., microelectronics, photonics, and
biomechanics). However, contemporary challenges—from biomedical
devices to complex manufacturing designs to large systems of networked
devices—increasingly require a systems perspective. This drives a grow-
ing need to pursue collaborations with multidisciplinary teams of tech-
nical experts. Important attributes for these teams include excellence in
communication (with technical and public audiences), an ability to
communicate using technology, and an understanding of the complexi-
ties associated with a global market and social context. Flexibility, re-
ceptiveness to change, and mutual respect are essential as well.
The explosion in knowledge sharing, coupled with advances in tech-
nology, will provide the ability to achieve a new era in customerization—
a buyer-centric business strategy that combines mass customization with
customized marketing (Wind and Rangaswamy, 2000). This will de-
mand the social interaction of many engineers with customers, even
more so than today, belying the image of the engineer as the “techie
nerd” and demanding that such engineers have well-developed people
skills in addition to their ability to solve problems.
The business competitiveness, military strength, health, and stan-

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