PAPER 2

Fuller education and training of engineers

It now seems generally accepted that mankind is facing a further explosion of population, combined with a strong universal demand for higher standards of living.

All engineers, and perhaps more especially the civil engineers, in the broad sense of the word, will be called upon to provide the vital elements of civilized life on an ever-increasing scale: power, water, roads, railways, docks and harbours, and of course, buildings of every kind. Shortage of food and raw materials from the traditional sources will lead to exploitation of ocean beds and of solar energy.

Wha t should the civil engineer's education be to enable him to tackle all these immense problems, and to be in the lead of the modern developments? In my opinion, it is not feasible or even desirable to produce, during the normal university education period, engineers with really expert knowledge of the many specialized branches, and this part of education is probably best left to postgraduate training and continuous further selfeducation. This, however, is not the normal European way, where university education lasts for five to six years. Table 1 shows some typical timetables for the education of chartered engineers.1