Communication and collaboration have always been vital skills for engineers – but in tomorrow's world, as the problems facing humanity become even more pressing, they will be of paramount importance.
In a world shaped by automation, soft skills will set humans apart from skilled machines. But unless they’re granted hands-on experience in a dynamic workplace, engineering students may find they’re better at solving technical problems than interpersonal ones. Some academics have advocated for the introduction of a STEAM paradigm, which inserts an “a” for “arts and humanities” into the traditional STEM subjects.
STEAM education does not focus fully on scientific methods and concepts. It approaches related enquiries through problem-solving and the creative process. While this shift is mainly discussed in the context of earlier education, it has obvious resonances in undergraduate classrooms and beyond. If engineers learn how to work with diverse, multidisciplinary teams, with a focus on communication and mutual understanding, they can create value in a way that a siloed team can’t.
Fruitful collaboration
“Communication and collaboration skills will become makers or breakers,” predicts Professor Mohamed Abdel-Maguid from Canterbury Christ Church University. “People from different disciplines are going to be working together, and they have different passions and priorities. If people don’t learn to embrace and understand this, what chance of a fruitful collaboration are you going to have?”
The challenges facing tomorrow’s engineers can't be tackled in a vacuum. Now, more than ever, engineers must commit themselves to lifelong learning and cross-disciplinary cooperation. The tools they will use to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems will change (for instance, programming languages and software are ever-evolving). However, the attributes of a good engineer – curiosity, ingenuity and a desire to make the world better – will remain the same.
Case study: Caitlin McCall, Swansea University
It goes without saying that a mastery of technical concepts and competencies is part and parcel of an engineering doctorate. However, taking this specialised knowledge and using it to help others is hardly a simple feat. But when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Caitlin McCall, who is completing her engineering doctorate in printed electronics at Swansea University, knew she had something to offer.
McCall was able to use her skills in 3D printing to design and produce face visors to address the shortage of personal protective equipment for key workers in South Wales. And it wasn’t the first time she’d taken on responsibility under pressure. McCall recalls taking a year out in the middle of her degree to work for a diesel engine company, which was forced to make redundancies only a few months into her placement. “We were still producing the same number of engines,” she says. “So, as a placement student, I was given incredible responsibility, because they had to utilise every resource they had.”
She counts the experience among her best learning opportunities, owing to the steep learning curve involved. “Suddenly I was chairing meetings for departments that I had to organise, and dealing with workshop staff. I wasn’t just having to apply manufacturing skills, I was also having to negotiate with people that were looking at me as a 21-year-old and thinking, what is she going to offer? That’s a different set of skills that university just doesn’t teach you.”
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.