Development of non-technical skills required by future global practitioners in MSE and corrosion engineering

Traditionally, engineers have been taught a subject specific curriculum that would have made them technically proficient in their specialist area. In this chapter, the author argues that currently a broader educational base is needed to prepare them for work in the global environment. Engineers need to become aware of, and be able to embrace, issues such as sustainability, ethics, human rights, social justice and at the same time develop their own skills through continuing professional development. They need to be able to continue keeping themselves technologically aware, take control over their own future career paths, and as their career progresses, they have to think strategically. The chapter covered the following subject matter: The Global Engineer, Strategic Thinking, Global Ethics (Engineering, Business, Social, and Environmental), sustainability, and career planning. It discussed the best approaches to deliver the materials on these topics to engineers from the author’s reflections on his own experiences.

Traditionally, engineers have been taught a subject specific curriculum that would have made them technically proficient in their specialist area. In this chapter, the author argues that currently a broader educational base is needed to prepare them for work in the global environment. Engineers need to become
aware of, and be able to embrace, issues such as sustainability, ethics, human rights, social justice and at the same time develop their own skills through continuing professional development. They need to be able to continue keeping themselves technologically aware, take control over their own future career paths, and as their career progresses, they have to think strategically. The chapter covered the following subject matter: The Global Engineer, Strategic Thinking, Global Ethics (Engineering, Business, Social, and Environmental), sustainability, and career planning. It discussed the best approaches to deliver the materials on these topics to engineers from the author’s reflections on his own experiences.