Nurturing the next generation of engineers

17/11/2011 Written by: Professor Mike Cook No comments

With our planet under increasing strain from population growth, hunger for scarce resources and the impact of global warming, there is no doubt that the world needs more engineers. For they are the people who understand the forces of nature and how we can harness these forces in the long term for the service of man and the planet. But to do this we need engineers who are truly innovative and creative in the way they apply their knowledge. They need to have vision and passion to see things through.

This is why the newly launched Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering is so very exciting and significant. It signals a clear recognition of the importance of engineering and engineers for social good. This message needs to impact powerfully on the schools and universities from which our new generations of engineers will spring. We need to do more to help teachers at all levels to inspire young people into the creative world of engineering:  the great works of engineers are all around us and these provide a natural platform for us to show young people what they could achieve in their own lifetime and the positive impact they could have on other people’s lives too. To do this we at the forefront of industry will need to play our part in education too.

At Buro Happold we take the development of young talent very seriously. Around the world our engineers are engaged in teaching at schools and universities, and in joint research projects that invent amazing new products and services. For over 15 years the Happold Trust has been pursuing a mission to create future leaders in engineering, providing diverse opportunities for young people to take part in exciting, mind-stretching opportunities within the engineer’s world. This is something our practice is committed to supporting  and we see it as an important contribution that we can make – helping inspire young people into engineering by giving them opportunities to test it out across the globe.

The Queen Elizabeth Prize is a great British initiative but the reach of the prize is international and this is important: the issues that confront us are global and we need creative engineers everywhere. So we have to hope that this new initiative creates ripples across the world and helps energise the engineering renaissance that we are beginning to see and that is so vital for our continued survival on earth.