Educating civil engineers for the twenty-first century: The ‘new-model engineer’

The “new-model engineer” will break free from the “bounded rationality” that characterizes the traditional siloed approach to education. Instead, they will develop a holistic understanding of civil engineering as part of a broader socio-environmental system. This change will be enabled by rebalancing teaching across the three learning domains, valuing skills and behaviors, and pure technical knowledge.

“New-model” engineers will know engineering fundamentals, outstanding connective skills, and holistic systems thinking, empowering them to be a responsible part of a more stable socio-ecological system. The approach represents a sea change in civil engineering education, which the authors believe represents the most exciting opportunity for the profession in two centuries.

The paper is published in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Civil Engineering journal.