Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING: ISSUES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT Warsaw University ofTechnology.© Polish Federation of EngineeringAssociations (NOT)modified by preparations for the European Football Championshipin 2012. The most important part of the preparationshas become the building of new transport routes in accordancewith the most modern engineering standards. Nevertheless,the need for housing, communications and informationtechnology still remain social and engineering priorities.In view of the national strategy, the Polish PFEA sets as its primarygoal to continue to provide a high level of support fortechnological progress in small- and medium-sized businesses(which employ two-thirds of the workforce in Poland). ThePFEA has taken on the constant task to strive towards a rapidincrease in the level of engineering initiative, especially aimedat achieving a high rate of innovation among all engineers, particularlyamongst its members, for the benefit of all society.The leading motto of all Polish engineers, in both good andbad periods of Polish history, has remained, ‘Here and now nota day goes by without progress – for the country of our fathers,for the Polish nation and for all the people of Earth.’5.3.5USACharles VestThe Americas and CaribbeanEngineering fuelled the United States’ rise to global economicand geopolitical leadership during the latter half ofthe nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century.Engineering research and practice led to the creation of technologiesthat have increased life expectancy, driven economicgrowth and improved the quality of life of U.S. citizens andpeople around the world. The products, systems and servicesdeveloped by U.S. engineers are essential to security, publichealth and the economic competitiveness of American businessand industry. In the future, the U.S. engineering enterprisewill generate technological innovations to address challengesin the areas of economic recovery – affordable healthcare, sustainableenergy sources, sufficient water supplies and globalsecurity.The strength of engineering enterprise in the U.S. has severalhistorical roots. The production demands of two world warsand the massive government works projects during the 1930scontributed to the rapid growth of engineering capability inboth practice and research, in addition to its contribution tothe U.S.’s burgeoning industrial strength and economic dynamismprior to 1945. In the aftermath of the Second World War,the American government invested in basic science, engineeringresearch and in higher education. It combined this withlarge-scale government expenditure on applied research andon advanced technology development and procurement. Thiswas mainly to meet national security needs. This approachaccelerated the growth of the U.S. engineering enterprise ina large, diverse, distributed and open national innovation system,populated by a vast number of universities, governmentlaboratories, private non-profit laboratories as well as privatecompanies.The role of higher education and research in the U.S.A particular contribution to the engineering prowess of theUnited States was the excellence and effectiveness of its highereducation system. This consists of a diverse array of institutions,ranging from two-year community colleges through tosmall liberal arts colleges and to research-intensive universities(both public and private). Such diversity provides a wealthof environments and opportunities for students to select aschool that best matches their needs and capabilities, and alsorepresents a wide range of funding sources. This strength wassubstantially leveraged by a tremendous expansion of accessto higher education subsequent to the Second World War. Itwas a means to provide useful activity and skills training toa large number of returning soldiers, it supported economicdevelopment in the growing western states, and it supportedthe continued research and development needs of governmentand industry. This government–university partnershiphas transformed American universities, has been remarkablyproductive, and has made the country a world leader inresearch-intensive engineering and science education.Strengths of the engineering workforce in the U.S.In addition to the strength of engineering education and theproductivity of American research universities, several otherfactors have contributed significantly to the high quality,mobility, accessibility and entrepreneurial nature of the USengineering and technical workforce. These include:■■■A highly individualistic, entrepreneurial culture nurturedin U.S. industry and in many U.S. research universities byprivate practices, public policies and various institutionalmechanisms, such as technology business incubators andventure capital firms that encourage risk-taking.A history of regulatory and other public policy commitmentsconducive to high-tech start-up companies, includingthe competition-oriented or technology diffusion-orientedenforcement of intellectual property rights and antitrustlaw (competition policy), as well as a relatively risk-friendlysystem of company law, particularly bankruptcy law.A strong indigenous talent base that has been continuouslyand richly augmented by a large and diverse supplyof talented scientists and engineers from other countries.The openness of U.S. campuses, laboratories and companiesto talented men and women from other nations in sci-236