Understanding of Global Issues Becomes Increasingly Important to Engineers
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) hosted its penultimate public event of the season, a signature lecture on “Predictive Failures in the Global Economic Crisis,” featuring a former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, the Deputy Director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF (IEO-IMF) and the Canada Research Chair in Globalization and Governance. CIGI is a non-profit, independent think tank on international governance.
Ruben Lamdany of the IEO-IMF had an especially critical perspective as he presented the failings of global institutions in predicting the recent economic crisis. Among the main culprits were a lack of direct accountabilities and a culture of stifling dissenting opinions while promoting positive viewpoints without question. It was a sobering reminder of the importance of questioning authority with critical analysis rather than accepting existing dogma.
This reminder is especially relevant to future professionals such as engineering students. Any engineer will often be submitting designs to more senior employees, or be asked to evaluate or double-check existing policies and projects. In this instance, much of the fault lies with those who designed economic models, and it is clear that engineers model and analyze important challenges such as financial markets on a routine basis. We must remember our obligation to society to provide fresh perspectives and challenge established thought.
Such critical analysis, with such noteworthy presenters, is not uncommon at CIGI and it’s all just a short walk across the park from the University of Waterloo, at the corner of Erb and Caroline. The final public lecture of the season will be on June 21st about “Muzzled Media-The Global Challenge.” A new season begins in October with a discussion on the economics and econometrics of a financial crisis.
Furthermore, all past webcasts are available online, so we can experience the expert analyses from the comfort of our own homes. This expertise is also available in series of less public conferences and workshops. Such events are also available on the website, along with weekly podcasts, policy briefs and social media fields. Given the growing uncertainty and challenges facing governments here and around the world, third-party think tanks such as CIGI play a critical niche in developing and promulgating policy solutions to the public and government officials.
However, the nature of our streamlined education system often means the policy thinkers work in isolation from technical experts. Alison Lee, a former co-op research assistant, says, “While many CIGI experts have international policy expertise, there is certainly a shortage of technical and scientific knowledge. It is critical to understand the interface between scientific study and the corresponding policies. Only then can we claim to have thoroughly analyzed a problem and confidently make decisions.” There is a significant role for engineers to play in helping evaluate, analyze and design solutions, especially when working with financial and development models or environmental and energy challenges (all among the key priorities of CIGI).
As computers take over more and more of the technical computation grunt work, the role of engineers as ambassadors of technology becomes more critical. Globalized systems create ever-more complex challenges for engineers to address. As such complexity increases, we must consider the policy implications of our technological design. Similarly, technological development can dictate significant political results; understanding the impacts of our work can both provide motivation and direction for our studies.
Most of the greatest challenges facing our globe, such as infrastructure, poverty and energy, have a technical component but are not solely technical challenges. The world needs thinkers who are comfortable in the realms of policy, technology and the interplay of the two. Engineers should think seriously about the benefits of learning from CIGI and similar institutions.
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