Professionalism in engineering practice
J. Szpytko, J.Lis
AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave 30, PL 30059 Krakow, Poland
E-mail: szpytko@uci.agh.edu.pl, lis@agh.edu.pl
Abstract
Professionals with an engineering and technology orientation form are an important ethic group of
knowledgeable workers in the innovation in general. Their learning interaction and tacit knowledge transfer
are influence by individual and collective thinking styles, mental dispositions and cognitive science. The
cognitive styles of engineering and technical knowledgeable workers are significant issues for systems of
innovation. The paper is discussing base on the known knowledge the following topics: professionals with
an engineering and technology orientation and future engineering education.
Keywords: engineering, quality assessment, business needs, perspectives in education
1. INTRODUCTION
Quality assessment, employability and innovation in engineering are possible express through the
professionalism in engineering practice. Developing and assessing the global competence for engineers is an
emerging field of inquiry [11, 21]. Because of a fact in the globalization period engineers needs:
a broader multidisciplinary base of knowledge, such as international commerce and world market,
environmental systems and research and technological innovation,
more refined and diverse interpersonal skills, particularly in global collaborations,
the ability to live and work comfortably in the transnational engineering environment.
The above results with urgent needs with increase effectiveness of practical results utilization of scientific
investigations. This is possible as result of stronger industry including to the education process and realization of
scientific investigations dedicated into market needs. The engineer fulfilled and will play still in future the
stimulus functions of civilization development and shaping of man prosperity.
2. PROFESSIONALS WITH AN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ORIENTATION
With the increasing commercialization of education and a very wide choice of study destinations, a student needs
help to make an informed decision as to where he/ she should invest his/ her time, effort and money [19]. There
is no doubt that by studying in a brand name university (signifies quality and standard product) any student will
have an added advantage.
Professionals with an engineering and technology orientation form an important ethic group of knowledgeable
workers in the innovation economy paradigm [3]. Their learning interaction and tacit knowledge transfer are
influence by individual and collective thinking styles, mental dispositions and cognitive science. The cognitive
styles of engineering and technical knowledge workers are significant issues for systems of innovation. Based of
the investigation results done on group of 49 management staff in industry in South Africa [2] is possible to
conclude, that the cerebral thinking styles are most preferred for engineering and technical knowledgeable
workers of the innovation economy paradigm. From an education and training viewpoint, the question remains
as to how to develop, enhance and/ or impart such psychological skills during the teaching and learning process,
as this may require a significant shift from traditional teaching approaches based mostly on the commands and
control dictum. This probably calls for new methods of curriculum delivery to ensure that future engineering will
achieve appropriate behavioral preferences, as today middle-aged engineering evolve from the production
economy to the knowledge and learning paradigm of the innovation generation.
Professionalism relies increasingly on an ability to respond quickly and effectively, and in a global context, to
technological and organizational change, as well as to changing market conditions, client requirements,
government policies and national and international regulations [8]. Among these is the need for engineers to be
prepared to understand and deal with organizational change on engineering work, as a result of globalization
impact on organizational change, e.g.: after a merger when companies came together, bringing different
corporate cultures together and different models for the organization of work [12].
In 2004, the National Academy of Engineering published a report [14, 15], which concludes that engineers must
adapt to new trends, and educate the next generation of students to arm them with the tools needed for the world
as it will be, not as it is today. The study focusing on developing global engineers resulted in four
recommendations [7, 13]:
1. a key qualification of engineering graduates must be global competence, transnational mobility for
engineering students,
2. researchers and professionals needs to become a priority,
3. global engineering excellence critically depends on a partnerships, especially those that link engineering
education to professional practice,
4. urgently research needs in engineering in a global context.
The attributes of an engineer
Technical
Personal
Ability to think mathematically
Best established early, developed as necessary
Sound knowledge of appropriate basic
science
Good knowledge of a specific discipline
Best established early, underpins other knowledge
Maintenance of current knowledge and
practice
Ability and willingness to learn
Appreciation of limits to knowledge
Good communication skills
Professional
How attributes might be developed
Introduced during first cycle and developed during
career
Essential
Developed during initial education
Developed during initial education, but continues to
be refined
Essential and requires constant development
Appreciation of international dimensions Awareness raised early – requires constant
development
Commitment to high standards
Constantly developed during educational process
Appreciation of personal and ethical
responsibilities
Ability to handle uncertainty
Introduced as a student developed professionally
Ability to communicate effectively
Essential but needs constant development
Essential for non-English speakers,
Managerial
Ability to communicate effectively in
more than one language including
English
Ability to work in a team
Others
Appreciation of management concepts
and issues
Ability to lead and manage personal,
financial and technical resources
........................................
Introduced as a student
Foundations can be laid as a student, but best
developed in a work environment
Introduced during first cycle – requires experience
then executive programmers to develop
Best developed through experience and executive
programmers
..........................................
TABLE 1. Groups of attributes of a professional engineer [9]
With the beginning of the 21st century, society has become more aware of its rapidly expanding stockpile of
information, knowledge and technology. In fact, there is so much information that no one person can hope to
learn all of it. The new technologies require new knowledge of the surrounding world and skills that have not
been consider before. During any person's working life, he or she generally has a few careers and several
employers. Therefore, while a student should focus on a specific area of study, an education, which provides a
broad base of knowledge in addition to in-depth study in a major, is the best preparation for an occupation and
other endeavour. Groups of attributes of a professional engineer have been present in Table 1.
Engineering is now practice in a global, holistic business context, and engineers must design under constraints
that reflect that context [23]. In the future, understanding other cultures, speaking other languages, and
communicating with people from marketing and finance will be crucial. The academic communities are calling
for more extreme measures that would set higher bars for engineering accreditation - making it so that students
would not become accredited engineers until they obtain what we now call a master's degree [18].
3. FUTURE ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Rapid changes in the worldwide engineering enterprise are creating a compelling rationale for us to rethink how
we should educate future generations of engineers [5, 16, and 20]. According to The Engineer of 2020 [14, 15],
tomorrow’s engineer graduate will need to collaboratively contribute expertise across multiple perspectives in an
emerging global economy that is fueled by rapid innovation and marked by an astonishing pace of technological
breakthroughs. The principal changes taking place in business conditions have been present in Table 2.
From
demand for services
advertising: professionals as suppliers of
products and service
differentiation in terms of technical expertise
short term opportunism
adversarial client relationships
the professionals as technical expert
To
over supply of providers
marketing: understanding, uncovering and satisfying
client needs
differentiation in terms of quality services
medium/ long term accountability
partnership client relationships
the professionals as technical and business consultant
TABLE 2. Changing business conditions [10]
The US Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology has defined 11 educational outcomes that should be
a part of every engineering programme [1]:
an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering,
an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data,
an ability to design a system, component or process to meet desired needs,
an ability to function on multidisciplinary team,
an ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems,
an understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities,
an ability to communicate effectively,
the board education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and social
context,
a recognition of the need for, and ability to, engage in life-long learning,
a knowledge of contemporary issues,
an ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
Engineering education has traditionally concentrated on preparing students for professional careers in
manufacturing and construction, but now those industries employ fewer engineers than ever [22]. In view of this
changing employment pattern, there should be a re-examination of education for engineers to make both
education and engineers more relevant to the post-industrial world. For example:
agricultural labor in the US has declined from 84% in 1810 to 2.5% in 2002. This dramatic re-structuring
occurred as a result of prodigious improvements in productivity,
the share of laborers in US industry rose from 8% in 1810 to a peak of 34% in 1965, and then declined to
21% by 2002.
The primary goal of a liberal education is to broaden intellect, instill inspiration, achieve enlightenment, and
prepare leaders. The education of engineers is traditionally design to train students for manufacturing and
construction occupations, and curricula are design to teach them how to manufacture useful artifacts and operate
machinery for the benefit of people. However, in the future, engineering careers will be more in services than in
manufacturing goods. Employers in the service sector already employ more than half of all engineers, and value
their ability to reason quantitatively, to apply the scientific method to solve complex problems, and to manage
systems with multiple objectives and criteria.
Industry need in order student (as future employ) to be profitably employed right away [17]: business may
speculate that the costs for education could be reduced considerably because all topics not considered directly
useful can be stripped from the curriculum; as a consequence students will have to go back to universities to get
new training form time to time. Lifelong learning is not necessary for us; it is just a reality. We learn for
ourselves, we learn from our professional environment, and we learn from the students. Educating an engineer
means providing him with knowledge, understanding and insight on a broad base, which means formatting the
minds of the students. The keyword for excellence is not knowledge; it is challenge in all directions: students,
teachers, and business. We must also be ready to be challenge by them, and we must challenge ourselves.
Unavoidable effect of such a policy will be that educated people disappear, so question is in which way to keep
and protect knowledge society [6].
It is a fact that many organizations already recognize the importance of international experience for students and
professionals and many educational institutions are working to offer opportunities to study abroad or get
internships [4]. Authors are reporting that some skills are necessary like the knowledge of a foreign language is
important, but more than that is the willing to learn and make efforts to understand others culture to take the best
of the experience. International experience shows to be one of the best ways to teach at the present conditions
once mobility is higher, as well as communications are easy and accessible for the majority of the world
population. The world has been and now more than ever where engineers can find inspiration, knowledge,
employability and opportunities. However there is no formula but it worthies the search for the best way to form
the engineers not for the present but for the future. Authors finally are concluding that is clear is that science and
technology is the future.
4. FINAL REMARKS
The history shows that the underlying foundation of innovation must largely come from the field of engineering.
It is the fact that most of what the engineering profession undertakes is for the benefit of other professions and
society. The engineering profession results with stronger join cooperation and meaningful partnerships the
engineering profession with various professions. Moreover, due to the advent of information and communication
technologies, the transfer of information and sharing of expertise from one part of the world to another is
becoming increasingly possible and effortless. Professionalism in the engineering practice is more and more
strongly widely overlooked.
The paper is a starter only for discussion on professionalism in engineering practice, which is important for
future innovation and change, as well as for research work. The personal contribution of authors to the subject of
professionalism in engineering practice and education in higher education institution will be the subject of the
coming paper.
The higher engineering institutions have come out ahead in defining its role as a catalyst for innovation and
change. Engineering are vital actors in the processes of knowledge acquisition, creation, diffusion, transfer and
commercialization [19]. It is possible to conclude that good business needs good engineering and good
engineering needs good business.
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