Portfolio Task 1: Evolving engineering

I feel that the revolution of engineering throughout the years stated in article 2 is important to the profession. Engineers are now being recruited by large corporations in banking, finance, logistics and commerce. This is due to the flexible and diversified engineering education system as stated by the former dean of engineering at NUS, Prof Seeram Ramakrishna. According to him, a majority of engineering-trained graduates will take up jobs in manufacturing and associated sectors while others venture into the service sector. Women too are getting more active in the engineering profession which was previously considered the bastion of males. Reports show that some engineering courses of study have female student enrolment of nearly 50 per cent, making their overall proportion increase(Ramakrishna, 2007). New challenges for engineering continue to exist as civilisation continues to advance and increase in threats to health, social and environmental issues. These challenges range from the capturing of energies from the sun to methods of preserving buildings(National Academy of Engineering, 2008). But to the article, the main issue is to spread the fruits of engineering throughout the globe. Examples include access to clean water and proper medical care. Hence, the diversified engineering profession with a greater pool of females coming along with new challenges marks the evolution of engineering.


National Academy of Engineering. (2008, February). Introduction to the grand challenges of engineering. Retrieved June 3, 2008, from http://engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221/.aspx

Ramakrishna, S. (2007, August 5). The expanding world of engineers. The Sunday Times, p. 25.