 Engineering in the modern society  Professional profile of a modern engineer  Engineer as a key personality in the technological and social progress

 Philosophy of engineering looks at engineering from a philosopher’s perspective.  Standing outside the actual practice, it reflects and contemplates on engineering, conceptualizes important aspects of it and calls into question some background premises previously unnoticed inside the practice.

 It operates in the dimension of the conceptual, and its project is to make something that is implicit to become explicit.  It can shed light on many significant issues the practitioners themselves might have overlooked. Philosophy of engineering is essentially what results when the methodologies and concepts of philosophy as an academic discipline are applied to the field of engineering.

 By engineering philosophy we refer to the mindset and general orientation of an agent that seeks out an improvement in some identified part of her environment with a conviction that an improvement-generating solution to a problem at hand does exist, as well as possibility of working out the improved state of affairs.

 An engineering philosophy might not be explicit or articulated. It might involve instincts, feelings and aspirations and might rely heavily on human sensibilities as well as on objective knowledge.  It might not impress an academic philosopher as being “philosophy” in the first place.

 It is out there to change the world for the better, and everything else is secondary, including the legitimacy of the improvement-attempt in question.  As a mindset of systematic impact-seeking action, engineering philosophy reigns far beyond the field of pure engineering.

Engineering Rationality- based steps produce improvement Philosophy Is possessed with accurately describing the world Design sciences Are aimed at producing desirable change

 (a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering;  (b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data;  (c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability;  (d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams;  (e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems;

 f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility;  (g) an ability to communicate effectively;  (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context;  (i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning  (j) a knowledge of contemporary issues;  (k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

 Knowledge and Understanding: they must be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, theories and principles of their engineering discipline, and its underpinning science and mathematics.  They must have an appreciation of the wider multidisciplinary engineering context and its underlying principles. They must appreciate the social, environmental, ethical, economic and commercial considerations affecting the exercise of their engineering judgement.

 Intellectual Abilities: they must be able to apply appropriate quantitative science and engineering tools to the analysis of problems. They must be able to demonstrate creative and innovative ability in the synthesis of solutions and in formulating designs. They must be able to comprehend the broad picture and thus work with an appropriate level of detail. 

 Practical skills: they must possess practical engineering skills acquired through, for example, work carried out in laboratories and workshops; in industry through supervised work experience; in individual and group project work; in design work; and in the development and use of computer software in design, analysis and control. Evidence of group working and of participation in a major project is expected. However, individual professional bodies may require particular approaches to this requirement.

 General transferable skills: they must have developed transferable skills that will be of value in a wide range of situations. These are exemplified by the  Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Higher Level Key Skills and include problem solving, communication, and working with others, as well as the effective use of general IT facilities and information retrieval skills. They also include planning self-learning and improving performance, as the foundation for lifelong learning/CPD.

 In some cases, this impact has been clearly positive, such as in the case of house appliances and water purification.  In others, the impact has been negative, as in the case of bombs with ever-increasing destructive power. In many cases, the impact of engineering products has been both positive and negative, as in the case of automobile.

 Engineers usually give the proper attention to the safety and cost of their products, two aspects that affect all users of engineering products and, therefore, society as a whole.  More recently engineers have also become more sensitive regarding the environmental impact of their products.

 On the other hand, there have been many cases where the engineers involved in the creation of a particular solution, constrained with a limited view of the situation they were trying to address, were not aware or could not possibly imagine the impact that their product would later have on society as a whole (for example, CFCs that have wrecked the ozone layer).

 In the era of market and workforce globalization, engineers need to have a solid understanding of the impact that their products will have locally, as well as globally, so that they can make a sound evaluation of the pros and cons.

   Australian Engineering Competency Standards. Engineers Australia, Engineering House, 11 National Circuit Barton ACT ISBN:  Martin, Mike & Schinzinger, Ronald: Ethics in Engineering, 3rd Ed. McGraw Hill.  1.htm/ 1.htm/

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