Engineering Education Reform
CHAPTER SEVEN
The 21st-Century
Engineer: A Proposal
For Engineering
Education Reform
By Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D.,
P.E., F.ASCE
This month the asce Press will publish The
21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal for Engineering Education Reform, by
Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., p.e., f.asce, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Nielsen-Wurster Group, Inc., and a former president of asce. In her book Galloway contends that the existing system for educating engineers must change, and she proposes a new master’s degree in professional engineering management. In this groundbreaking manifesto Galloway explains the global changes that are leaving many engineers unprepared and outlines a proposed master’s program—a master of professional management. Chapters 7 and
8 are excerpted here.
46
0885-7024-/07-0011-0046/$25.00 per article
Engineering
Education
Reform
I
n the 21st century, an ever-increasing need will emerge for a holistic breed of engineer—one who can work across borders, cultural boundaries, and social contexts and who can work effectively with nonengineers. As the trend toward a more global and more knowledge-based society continues, the practice of engineering must be changed, and this change must be accomplished through engineering education reform. The engineering curriculum can no longer remain as it has for essentially the past 40 years. The subjects of globalization, diversity, world cultures and languages, communication, leadership, and ethics must constitute a core component of the overall engineering education just as physics and mathematics do.
For nearly 20 years, numerous journals, articles, reports, and studies have been prepared by the American Society for Engineering Education, the National Academies Press, the National Science Board, the National Science Foundation, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (asce) that discuss the critical need for change in engineering education (Task Committee on the First
The 21st-Century
Engineer: A Proposal
For Engineering
Education Reform
By Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D.,
P.E., F.ASCE
This month the asce Press will publish The
21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal for Engineering Education Reform, by
Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., p.e., f.asce, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Nielsen-Wurster Group, Inc., and a former president of asce. In her book Galloway contends that the existing system for educating engineers must change, and she proposes a new master’s degree in professional engineering management. In this groundbreaking manifesto Galloway explains the global changes that are leaving many engineers unprepared and outlines a proposed master’s program—a master of professional management. Chapters 7 and
8 are excerpted here.
46
0885-7024-/07-0011-0046/$25.00 per article
Engineering
Education
Reform
I
n the 21st century, an ever-increasing need will emerge for a holistic breed of engineer—one who can work across borders, cultural boundaries, and social contexts and who can work effectively with nonengineers. As the trend toward a more global and more knowledge-based society continues, the practice of engineering must be changed, and this change must be accomplished through engineering education reform. The engineering curriculum can no longer remain as it has for essentially the past 40 years. The subjects of globalization, diversity, world cultures and languages, communication, leadership, and ethics must constitute a core component of the overall engineering education just as physics and mathematics do.
For nearly 20 years, numerous journals, articles, reports, and studies have been prepared by the American Society for Engineering Education, the National Academies Press, the National Science Board, the National Science Foundation, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (asce) that discuss the critical need for change in engineering education (Task Committee on the First