An investigation of the implications of major change in the future world of work for engineers and the consequences for educational practices

In an age of rapid global change the roles that engineers fulfil are also changing rapidly. This research programme seeks to establish the views of practising engineers about the future demands that will be placed upon them and then examines the views of engineering educators on the approaches that can be taken to prepare engineers for these future roles. The research focused upon related developments in engineering in two countries, Malaysia and the United Kingdom (UK), and in two engineering disciplines, civil and manufacturing engineering. The methodology employed in the first phase of the research was a scenario-based approach in which engineers were asked to assess the Implications for engineers of two major change developments, triggered by information and communication technology (IT); 'processes improvement' and 'globalization'. [Continues.]