Are Engineers Losing Control of Technology?: From ‘Problem Solving’ to ‘Problem Definition and Solution’ in Engineering Education

Educators in chemical engineering around the world are now working hard to reimagine the field in response to rapid technological change. Real concern exists about the possible loss of cohesion and identity. The main responses focus on restructuring its engineering science core. This concern and attendant strategies are also found in other engineering fields. Might rapid technological change be posing a fundamental challenge to the jurisdiction of engineering work? This analysis reviews the engineering emphasis in different countries on technical problem solving and outlines four contemporary challenges to the corollary claim of control over technological innovation. Responding to these challenges may require abandoning the goal of broadening engineering education, for they indicate not that technical education in engineering is too narrow but may be incomplete. An alternative strategy for adjusting the jurisdiction of engineering work is to formally include the activity of problem definition. The analysis concludes by analysing four characteristics of a model of engineering as Problem Definition and Solution and outlining three types of strategies for integrating problem definition into engineering education.

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