As engineering societies find they have similar challenges, three common themes emerge

When the presidents and executive directors of 17 engineering societies from around the world met in China in November, they discovered a substantial amount of common ground in the challenges they face.

During the International Congress of Mechanical Engineering Societies, which was hosted by the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society (CMES), three common themes emerged from the reports given by each society: increasing the involvement of young engineers, how to make the best use of the new services available through the Internet, and the effect of globalization on industry, the engineering profession and each society individually.

ASME President John R. Parker, speaking on behalf of the ICOMES societies at the opening session of a CMES technical conference that was held concurrently with ICOMES, addressed more than 2,000 people.

Several of the challenges raised during the meeting — such as using the Internet to enhance member services and business opportunities, the quality of pre-college education, the availability of qualified teachers, and the demand for engineers in nontraditional engineering jobs — are already being addressed by ASME committees and boards.

Lu Yansun, chairman of the organizing committee of the 2000 ICOMES, meets with ASME President John R. Parker at the ICOMES meeting in China.

Maximizing the opportunities available through the Internet is the mission of ASME's e-commerce initiative, which Parker announced in June during the Society's Summer Annual Meeting. During ICOMES, Parker and ASME's Executive Director, David L. Belden, talked about some of the initiative's recent activities, such as the online availability of ASME's Codes and Standards.

Several societies reported that, in the job market, a widespread demand for engineers is contributing to a shortage of engineering candidates available for industry jobs. Many engineering graduates are being offered positions outside their field, particularly in information technology.

In the area of education, several attendees noted a decline in the quality of math and science teaching among pre-college educators. The remedy, several attendees suggested, is to offer better outreach programs to teachers to help them encourage students to pursue engineering careers.

In the United States, some legislation to provide funding for programs that would address teacher preparation related to math and science has been introduced to the U.S. Congress.

ASME and other professional societies are working closely with members of Congress to ensure the passage of that legislation.

Some issues related to the education of engineering students were also raised. Concerns were expressed about students' ready acceptance of answers derived using computer software and their lack of validation of results.

The challenge of increasing the participation of young engineers in society activities was mentioned by several participants.

Societies in the United Kingdom are considering offering free or discounted memberships to students as an incentive to join. ASME is currently exploring similar programs to increase membership among engineering students.

ICOMES, which meets every two years, will next be held in Paris in 2002. For more information about ICOMES, visit www.asme.org/icomes.

back to news & features