the engineer and the future

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENTAn Agency of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology

1

THE ENGINEER AND THE FUTURE:

Making Impact in a Globlalised World

Egbetokun, A. A. and Isola, O. O.

National Centre for Technology Management

Ile-Ife, NIGERIA

Presented at IEEE, OAU, Ile-Ife

February 12, 2010


Protocols

Appreciation to the conveners of this gathering for

inviting me to present at this assembly

Acknowledgment of dignitaries

the Vice Chancellor,

the Dean of the Faculty of Technology,

the Chairman and members of the Local Organising

Committee,

Sponsors,

Partners, and

Distinguished participants

2


Outline

Introduction

Concepts

The Engineer

The Future

Globalisation

Agenda for Action

Concluding Remarks

3

I have found that all ugly

things are made by those

who strive to make

something beautiful, and

that all beautiful things

are made by those who

strive to make something

useful.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900, Anglo-Irish playwright, author, The Value of Art in Modern Life, 1884).

11 February 2010 4


© NACETEM 2009

Concepts The combination of Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation

(SETI) are required for a nation to achieve meaningful growth and

development.

SCIENCE = organised or systematic knowledge of empirical

phenomena with the main goal of directing or forecasting these

phenomena using the understanding acquired through systematic

inquiry.

ENGINEERING = the application of science to the optimum

conversion of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind.

TECHNOLOGY = the totality of knowledge-based activities directly

applicable to the production and improvement of goods and services.

INNOVATION = the process by which firms master and implement

the design and production of goods and services that are new to

them 5


© NACETEM 2009

The Engineer

"able to solve problems, generally engineering but

increasingly multi-disciplinary, through applying a deep

understanding of mathematics and scientific

principles.’’

o Jamie Goggins Engineers Journal I Volume 62: Issue 9

November 2008

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…today

“…Engineering schools beget engineers. Engineers beget ideas. And

ideas beget companies.”

- Guy Kawasaki, Reality Check (2008)

“…Today’s engineer is on a different planet. He or she faces of life of

multiple project assignments with an almost interchangeable array of

employers, clients, start-ups and established firms; these assignments

require an extraordinarily broad set of technical, business, and

interpersonal skills performed as part of ever-changing and shifting

interdisciplinary teams.”

- David Goldberg, The Entrepreneurial Engineer (2006)

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© NACETEM 2009

…and then, globalisation

the process whereby, in the interest of free trade,

nation-based legal, regulatory, fiduciary, logistical and

technical barriers are progressively reduced (Locke,

2005).

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© NACETEM 2009

…The Future will intensify

Abundance of knowledge

Virtual division of the new global economy based on

access to knowledge and ability to exploit it

Economic activities shifted from largely domestic affairs

to more complex international relationships

Unprecedented cross-border transferability of

information and the removal of trade barriers

Significantly increased occurrence of externalities

within nations

Global employment challenges

9


© NACETEM 2009

Youth Unemployment 15-24 age group (2000-2008)

10

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Nigeria Ghana SA


© NACETEM 2009

Youth Unemployment 25+ age group (2000-2008)

11

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.02

00

0

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

Nigeria Ghana SA


DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

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EMERGING ECONOMIES

DEVELOPED ECONOMIES


Development Status Report (1)

Country Human

Developmen

t Index

ranking

Per Capita

GDP (PPP

USD)

% population

below $1/day

% population

below $2/day

Singapore 25 24481 - -

South Korea 27 17971 <2 <2

Chile 39 10274 <2 9.6

Malaysia 56 9512 <2 9.3

South Africa 94 10346 10.7 34.1

China 87 5003 16.6 46.7

Nigeria 136 1050 70.2 90.8

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Development Status Report (2)

29% of children ages of 0-5 years are underweight.

Less than 40% of the population connected to the national

electricity grid

Agricultural contribution to GDP has fallen consistently to

about 40% in 1987 and 33% in 2005

Average capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector still

less than 50%

Manufacturing accounted for just 9.6% of the non-oil GDP

in 200514


ON THE MARCH TO THE FUTURE

What we need to do

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Action Points

Know your subject by reading, tutelage and

study

Learn to write/communicate: English and

not EngliS!

Learn to read and understand data

Contacts: you’re only as good as your

network16


Action Points

Immerse yourself in the right groups: no

point standing out if you’re in the wrong

audience

Openness/Team spirit: the best things are

done by TEAMS

That’s why more people would watch

Champions League than Grand Slam!

FOCUS17


Are you a flash light ?... Very bright at the on set

Travels far with white light

Lacks focus and concentration

When seen from afar can not tell whether it is head

lamp for bike, bus, truck.

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Focused from beginning to the end

You must be able to use your strength to mask

your weaknesses.

…or an Infra Red ray?


Technical Fundamentals are Key…

It is impossible to address any technology-based

challenge, no matter how ‘small’ without strong technical

fundamentals, such as thermodynamics, circuits, quantum

theory, physical properties of solids, optics, fluid

mechanics, physiology, and molecular biology.

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…but

The electrical engineer of today who has confined his

work entirely to theoretical fields has, comparatively

speaking, very little chance in competition with his

brother worker who, in addition to much practical

experience, has been trained in commercial ways…

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Build Capacity Widely The statement so often made that the electrical

profession is overcrowded is absolutely untrue…there

are dozens of positions waiting and there always will

be, for the demand exceeds the supply, many, many

times.

Amateur Works Magazine http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-

mechanics/Amateur-Work-6/index.html

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http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-mechanics/Amateur-Work-6/index.html








3 Core Requisites for the Future Engineer

Ability to analyse (technical as well as business issues)

Ability to translate important concepts and conclusions

into the language of different constituencies (e.g., your

boss, investors, non-technical colleagues, reporters)

Ability to perceive new opportunities - connecting

disparate ideas from different disciplines in new ways

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Concluding remarks

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THANK YOU!

Comments

&

Questions

the engineer and the future

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