Engineering: Issues and Challenges for Development

This is the first ever international report on engineering from UNESCO. It

• Identifies issues and challenges facing engineering
• Encourages better public understanding of engineering and its role in society, and
• Highlights ways of making engineering and engineering education more attractive to young people, especially women

Engineers create knowledge, technology and infrastructure – our knowledge societies and economies were built by engineers and much of the history of civilisation is the history of engineering, which is perhaps the oldest profession.

Engineering is so successful and pervasive; however, that it can be taken for granted and is often overlooked by the public and policy makers. At the same time, less young people in many countries are going into engineering, and there are worldwide concerns about declining human capacity and the consequences for poverty reduction and sustainable development. Reports of shortages of engineers in key sectors are common. This is compounded by the brain-drain of engineers from developing countries and out of engineering. These issues are linked and provide an opportunity for change: the public perception of engineering reflects the changing needs for engineering, and need for engineering to change, and young people are concerned about global issues and attracted to engineering as a means to address them.

Click here to download the entire report (PDF)!