Programs
Given the world’s current population, the increasing effects of climate change, dramatic shifts in social and political structures, and the growing inequalities in access to resources — be they financial, technological, medical or of basic sustenance — it is painfully obvious that the present arc of our global civilization now faces challenges that threaten its sustainability, if not its very existence. These challenges, which are well-documented, have now become more acute and exacerbated by the recent pandemic, underscoring not only the inherent fragility of our exceedingly complex systems but our equally inescapable connection and dependence on one another, regardless of how geographically remote we may appear to be. In short, like it or not, we are all of us humans in this together.
But within every crisis lives the seeds of opportunity. Indeed, the unprecedented global scope of the COVID-19 virus has forced us to reconsider nearly all of the systems that have built, enabled and sustained this civilization. And, in turn, this planetary “reset” now demands that we reimagine a future which provides for a more equitable distribution of resources, recognizes the indelible dignity of any human, and sees stability and peace not as unrealistic dreams, but as concrete and achievable goals. In other words, we now have the chance to collectively rewrite the global story with a far more promising outcome than the calamitous predictions that pervaded even a few months ago.
To fully seize this unexpected opportunity, we must of course first rethink the educational structures and approaches that have brought us here. It was, after all, engineers who designed and built all the prevailing systems and infrastructure that now exist. Why then not task today’s — and tomorrow’s — engineers with embracing a new approach where their skills and efforts must not only ensure durability and financial gain, but account for the sustainability, interdependency and equitable distribution of all resources and the systems that produce them? Rather than limiting their focus to undertakings that are merely “doable and fundable,” why not take this opportunity to expand those realities to teach engineering peace where “doing good” is no less essential or critical than “doing well”? What have we to lose by adopting such an approach? Except perhaps … everything.
Just as we must — all of us — accept responsibility for the world we have made and allowed, we must now accept the responsibility for setting it right and fixing it. We owe this not only to ourselves, but to the promise of future generations who will soon enough inherit this planet, and the story we give it.
