How Engineering Education can contribute to a Revival from the Economic Downturn

The economic downturn is causing recession in the industrially developed nations of the western world. Historic analysis reveals this phenomenon to be nothing new but in fact cyclic, as periods of excess, financed by perceived wealth and fuelled by debt, are followed by a long period of readjustment. We are entering such a period of readjustment, and despite the best efforts of politicians to have us believe that the good times are just around the corner, the historical evidence suggests we are in for a ten-year period of “readjustment”. The historical evidence also indicates that technological innovation driven by engineers will be the means by which the industrial nations will emerge from the deep recession. Along the way the social order within nations will be redefined and there will be a new world order amongst nations. This paper outlines how the quality of engineering education can be improved to produce graduates who will be capable of creativity and innovation in the new social and world order, and who will help lead us out of recession. It also outlines some of the problems with the current systems, and how these problems can be addressed