Beyond technology-renaissance engineers

Beyond Technology—Renaissance Engineers T O compete in newly emerging international markets, industry must be committed to technological change and innovation. Today's power brokers must make an attempt to keep pace with rapid changes in technology, which is somewhat like trying to change the oil in a car while it is traveling 70 mi/h down the highway. In this super-charged atmosphere, engineering is no longer solely about technology. In addition to traditional technical activities, engineering is about reasonable risk taking, teamwork, change management, nontechnical decision making, cost accounting, and marketing. These nontechnical aspects of engineering dictate the need for engineering education to be viewed from a transdisciplinary perspective. Transdisciplinary education shifts the focus away from transient technological facts to developing the ability to collect, analyze, and synthesize data into information—skills that do not become obsolete. Transdisciplinary education leads students to look at the context of the problems they are attempting to solve. Problems have become much more complex, and the solutions to these problems may require knowledge of several scientific disciplines, business skill to acquire funds required to execute the solutions, and cultural knowledge to work with contributors from the global community. Most engineering degree programs focus on solving today's problems with today's technologies, but this information is quickly outdated. Instead, students need to learn how to evaluate changing technologies, make appropriate choices, and integrate these changes into their organization. Skills such as the ability to identify resources and to recognize and eliminate waste are true discriminators in today's market. Knowing how to find the right data has become as important as the data itself. Asking the right questions is more critical than knowing the answers. General problem-solving skills are more important than being able to solve specific problems. The problem is not the problem—dealing with the problem is the problem. Technical skills are still essential, but poor communication and interpersonal skills, inability to work in teams, and lack of creative thinking can limit opportunities. Although technical skills may aid an engineering graduate in getting a job offer, other capabilities frequently determine career success. In addition to being able to address technical problems, those who receive recognition are also adept at establishing in-terpersonal relations, managing change, balancing their life, and maintaining an enthusiasm for learning in the workplace. The pace of technological change contrives to limit expertise to a narrow band, resulting in a need for engineers with diverse capabilities to …