Throughout centuries, engineering shows its driven power in development of the entire world. As time passes along, future development of humans calls for more comprehensive qualities from engineering profession. As far as I am concerned, “systematic and critical thinking minds” ([2]), defined to be cross-disciplinary and cross-industrial capabilities, will be crucial in the future engineering profession.
The importance of “systematic and critical thinking minds” can be illustrated from two aspects, the challenges of engineering and working areas of engineering students. On one hand, the grant challenges of engineering require engineers’ highly cross-disciplinary capabilities. Engineering, as traditional understanding implies, is to provide solutions for the “broad realms of human concern”; however, different from what is tradition, engineers now must consider all influential factors synthetically instead of merely providing technical solutions. For example, in solving the problem of new energy sources, engineers need to balance technical problems, environmental issues as well as economic feasibility; once all these factors are integrated in finding the suitable solution, engineers must have considerable understanding of all those three disciplines. To solve other grant challenges like political obstacles and uneven distribution of “engineering’s gifts to civilization” ([1]) also requests engineers to have systematic and critical thinking minds to combine their political, social and economic talents together with their engineering profession. On the other hand, the expanding working areas of engineers proves that one of the most important qualities of engineering is cross-industrial capabilities. Current trend of engineering education is so flexible and diversified that many engineering students are also recruited in non-engineering fields, such as banking, finance, logistics, management and service sector ([2]). Future engineers must be cross-industrial capable with systematic and critical thinking minds, otherwise, they will not be qualified once employed into a non-engineering working area.
All in all, to be the future qualified engineers, the most crucial quality that we must be equipped with is the systematic and critical thinking mind. We must be able to combine our multi-disciplinary knowledge with the reality as well as to integrate our methods with the desires of all fields
References:
[1] National Academy of Engineering, “Introduction to the grand challenges for engineering,” [Online document] Feb. 2008, [2008 Jun 3], Available at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221.aspx
[2] S. Ramakrishna, “The expanding world of engineers,” The Sunday Times, 5 Aug., pp. 25, 2007.
The importance of “systematic and critical thinking minds” can be illustrated from two aspects, the challenges of engineering and working areas of engineering students. On one hand, the grant challenges of engineering require engineers’ highly cross-disciplinary capabilities. Engineering, as traditional understanding implies, is to provide solutions for the “broad realms of human concern”; however, different from what is tradition, engineers now must consider all influential factors synthetically instead of merely providing technical solutions. For example, in solving the problem of new energy sources, engineers need to balance technical problems, environmental issues as well as economic feasibility; once all these factors are integrated in finding the suitable solution, engineers must have considerable understanding of all those three disciplines. To solve other grant challenges like political obstacles and uneven distribution of “engineering’s gifts to civilization” ([1]) also requests engineers to have systematic and critical thinking minds to combine their political, social and economic talents together with their engineering profession. On the other hand, the expanding working areas of engineers proves that one of the most important qualities of engineering is cross-industrial capabilities. Current trend of engineering education is so flexible and diversified that many engineering students are also recruited in non-engineering fields, such as banking, finance, logistics, management and service sector ([2]). Future engineers must be cross-industrial capable with systematic and critical thinking minds, otherwise, they will not be qualified once employed into a non-engineering working area.
All in all, to be the future qualified engineers, the most crucial quality that we must be equipped with is the systematic and critical thinking mind. We must be able to combine our multi-disciplinary knowledge with the reality as well as to integrate our methods with the desires of all fields
References:
[1] National Academy of Engineering, “Introduction to the grand challenges for engineering,” [Online document] Feb. 2008, [2008 Jun 3], Available at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221.aspx
[2] S. Ramakrishna, “The expanding world of engineers,” The Sunday Times, 5 Aug., pp. 25, 2007.
