Typically growing up, I thought of engineering as a vocation that requires the routine use of math and physics concepts to solve real world problems. I did not understand what these real world problems were. Only after being inducted into this loosely defined profession have I understood what an engineer is. The best way one can describe an engineer is “The nexus between pure science and society”. Over the years engineering has been stereotyped into an individual that roams around with a pocket protector and a calculator to solve problems.
This may have been true a few decades ago. The profession has come a long way since. It is no longer about solving problems using math or sitting at a drafting table making those crucial blueprints. In a broader sense, the problems facing engineers are bigger than ever before. The evolution of technology and society over the past few years has forced a lot of factors to come to the forefront of engineering. Engineering is now as much about design as it is about problem solving. The engineer’s toolbox has expanded rapidly to include tools such as computer-aided design, simulation software and the Internet. This has raised the bar for expected output from a professional engineer. An engineer is no longer expected to know everything; they are instead expected to be able to learn and implement new methodologies fast.
This changing landscape of engineering forces an engineer to innovate every day. They are expected to come up with solutions to problems with a unique solution. This has prompted the new age enterprise comprised of engineers with bright ideas. This evolution accelerates the rate at which society progresses as a whole as evident from the several garage-to-billions stories that we are all accustomed to. As a profession steeped in tradition, it is important to recognize the changing environment of the profession.
Testimony to the role of creativity in the profession is the variety of IT and biotechnology enterprises that are spawning a new era. Hyperconnectivity to a degree not imaginable has been possible thanks to incremental improvements in technology by some really creative people. Furthermore, we can now predict the occurrence of otherwise life threatening diseases well before they are symptomatic. Progression of the engineering professional is now reliant on these creative solutions.
This is only possible with creative problem solving. This is something that most teachers are not geared to address. Creative people are often veered towards the arts. I think that it is about time creativity is reclaimed by the engineer. There is a general lack of recognition of the need for creativity in engineering. The problem is further propagated by the stereotyping of the role of engineers as unscrupulous puppets who work in the petroleum industry or as a cubicle worker solving complex problems on a computer. There needs to be increased awareness of the role of an engineer and the promotion of creativity in engineering.
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