<\/p>\n
The world is in need of engineers. Year after year, published statistics indicate that despite the global abundance of engineering jobs, the positions can hardly be filled with the number of current graduates.<\/p>\n
Although engineering is associated with technologic acceleration and the conception of radical solutions, this role is grounded in fundamentals beyond the technical level. Understanding engineering in this context, can aid anyone who aspires to follow this path in developing a holistic approach to engineering competency.<\/p>\n
The 2016 Create the Future<\/em> report, commissioned by the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, ranked the engineering profession as the most vital for economic growth, ahead of physicians, teachers and even corporate leaders. A recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering also revealed the strong correlation between a country\u2019s economic development and engineering capacity. If we take a step back and analyse engineering via the large scale effects it yields, we understand that it is not a mere technical job; it is a societal vocation. As Professor James Trevelyan states in his book, The making of an Expert Engineer<\/em>: \u201cIn engineering, the social and technical are intertwined, inseparable realities of practice.\u201d<\/p>\n During my first year, I asked Professor Trevor York at the end of a lecture, whether one can become a competent engineer if they are not socially conscious. He replied: \u201cIf you gain knowledge, you transform yourself. If you apply it for the common good, you transform the world.\u201d<\/strong> As engineers not only we design and build the world but we also shape its socioeconomic future through our cumulative efforts.<\/p>\n This raises the question, what skills beyond technical and scientific should one seek to acquire?<\/p>\n Although this deserves a whole article of its own in order to deliver a complete answer, it is worth focusing on the most important one, which can be developed during your time as an undergraduate: communication<\/strong>. Yes, the world is short of engineers, but society is always in need of people who can speak and think. A historic retrospection will reveal to you that the greatest engineers were massively capable communicators with the ability to clearly articulate their ideas, explain their designs and ultimately inspire others to choose this path. Even from a corporate perspective, you will find that the smartest engineers who lack in expression are always deemed inferior to decent ones who have taken a step towards improving themselves in this area.<\/p>\n Undergraduate years are a truly unique period. You are given the respectable identity of a University student and as much freedom as you will ever have in your life in order to invest your time productively. You are provided with access to tools, databases and libraries with the concentrated knowledge and writings of people who are articulate and intelligent beyond comprehension. It is your duty to go the extra mile as an engineering student and make the most out of this exceptional period by educating yourself in areas outside the standard curriculum.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t the usual set of modules already too demanding? Why learn all this extra stuff?\u201d I hear some of you asking. In University, knowledge is obtained with a certain goal: to get good marks, to get a degree, to get a job. But I encourage you not to strive to become just knowledgeable; set the goal of being educated. There is nothing more powerful than an individual who is articulate, who can think and speak. You come to University to craft your highest skills and one of those is to be found in articulated speech and writing. It is important to cultivate and perfect your engineering skills, but if you transform yourself into a person who can converse effectively and efficiently, opportunities will be presented to you due to your proactive decision to better your communication skills. The ability to be a good speaker will be evident immediately during job interviews and no other skill listed on a CV can compensate for that.<\/p>\n To be a successful engineer, it is of vital importance to apply your abilities within a group, let it be a professional one, or society itself. The most important factor that determines the productivity of that group is not just the competence of its constituent members, but their ability to aggregate their efforts.<\/p>\n This is the reason I encourage you to obtain more than mere technical knowledge. Communication is power, respectability; it creates a positive feedback loop that helps everyone manifest the best version of themselves. It is said that if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. If you however surround yourself with the knowledge of intelligent and articulated people, you will never find yourself in the wrong room.<\/p>\n Rhodes<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To keep\u00a0up with Rhodosthenis blogs click on his name in the tags below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During my first year, I asked Professor Trevor York at the end of a lecture, whether one can become a competent engineer if they are not socially conscious. He replied: \u201cIf you gain knowledge, you transform yourself. If you apply it for the common good, you transform the world.\u201d As engineers not only we design and build the world but we also shape its socioeconomic future through our cumulative efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,44,17,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-student-experience","7":"tag-3rd-year","8":"tag-rhodes","9":"tag-rodosthenis","10":"tag-undergraduate","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n