Friday, 6 July 2007
A Global Vision for Civil Engineering
I recently returned from my trip abroad where I had the opportunity to meet with civil engineering leaders in Japan, China and Taiwan. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to speak with professors and students about education and the future of the profession. I told them that there are a lot of current challenges, but I wanted to talk to them about what keeps me up at night. And that is the notion that we American civil engineers must be global technology leaders if we are going to be competitive and worth what we should be in 2025. I believe we all must do everything we can to embrace the extensive civil engineering knowledge throughout the world so that we can truly be the leaders of this profession on a global scale.
These discussions made me think of ASCE's commitment to preparing the civil engineering profession for tomorrow's world. ASCE recently released The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025, which will serve as a guide for the future development of policies and plans within our civil engineering community today. The report provides direction to achieve the vision's goals and prepare for the profession's future. Vision 2025 envisions the civil engineer as a global leader entrusted by the public and we need to work hard to earn public trust. Additionally, we need to work as leaders in order for effective change to happen to better our civil engineering profession around the world. This made me think of a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. which says "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." It is clear to me that this initiative, along with Policy 465, shows that ASCE is leading the way as a molder of consensus.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on the differences between searchers and molders of consensus. How are you developing your skills to mold consensus?