Engineers of the future have their work cut out for them. They’re going to be called upon to solve highly complex problems of critical importance to the health and well-being of humanity and the planet.Michael Lalich
Engineers of the future have their work cut out for them. They're going to be called upon to solve highly complex problems of critical importance to the health and well-being of humanity and the planet. It isn't going to be enough to be technologically adept, says Dr. Ishwar Puri, dean of engineering at McMaster University. There is no template for approaching issues like energy and food security, climate change and poverty, war and terrorism.
"These are new problems that are going to require new solutions, and in order to find them future engineers are going to have to be nothing less than engaged citizen scholars who will transform the world," says Dr. Puri. "If you produce classical engineers who think only of technology without considering the social implications of what they are doing – how it may affect other vital functions such as water quality and disease – you run the risk of not only missing your own target but making the overall situation worse for both human beings and the environment."
To solve the problem, McMaster is shifting its approach to engineering education. Although its programs will always provide students with the fundamentals, it is retiring the "sage on the stage" model of teaching and replacing it with a problem-solving model that encourages inquiry, understanding and community engagement.
"You present scenarios to students where they have to build their own protocols, methodologies and technologies," explains Dr. Puri. "They may never have to solve those particular problems upon graduation, but what they will have is a skill set that allows them to approach and solve a wide variety of both existing and emergent problems, ever mindful of the impact their work has on society and the environment."
To foster the creation of citizen scholars, McMaster is developing The Hatch Centre, a student-focused community space amenable to peer-to-peer learning and, eventually, says Dr. Puri, the incubation of new ideas destined for commercialization. In addition, McMaster Engineering's Invest for Excellence initiatives strategically direct resources into a variety of areas – ranging from scholarships to community spaces for students.
Dr. Puri notes that a model for the new citizen scholar is assistant professor Kevin Dunn, a chemical engineer and course instructor who is both a product and proponent of the kind of experiential and problem-based learning McMaster is championing. This approach to teaching not only produces engineers better able to solve social and technological problems, says Mr. Dunn, it teaches them to maintain their own relevance. "The turnaround in knowledge is very rapid," he says. "In order to avoid becoming redundant, engineers need to be able to identify shortcomings in their knowledge and then have the ability to find the resources they need to fill those gaps."
Mr. Dunn is also the developer of McMaster's first massive open online course, or MOOC, available through the Internet, free of charge, to anyone in the world via the online education provider Coursera. The course is designed to teach students from any discipline how to find and utilize solutions to real-world challenges in their own communities. In its first offering, the course attracted 14,000 students from 159 countries. "The great thing about this kind of online resource is that it is open to anyone who has the drive to learn," he says. "I can't be everywhere, but anyone with a computer and an internet connection can attend my classes, at no charge."
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail's advertising department, in partnership with McMaster. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.