From ending gender bias to confronting climate change, engineering is ready to face the biggest challenges, write Engineers Australia National President Dr Nick Fleming and CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans.
As 2022 unfolds, we are gaining a clearer picture of how we will move forward in uncertain times. March is an important month for Engineers Australia, when we mark World Engineering Day and International Women’s Day.
The focus of International Women’s Day, on 8 March, is “Break the Bias”.
As an organisation representing a profession that continues to work hard to attract women, Engineers Australia recognises the valuable contribution
It is only through equal representation that we will know the full power of engineering to address limitations in development, design and technology.
Women have a wealth of knowledge and skills to bring to the profession, yet still, in Australia less than 12 per cent of working engineers are female.
At Engineers Australia, it is our priority to challenge the common bias that many hold about women in engineering. We continue to promote engineering and STEM to women and girls to help counteract the existing skills shortage and make engineering the best it can be.
On 4 March, we mark UNESCO World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development.
The biggest drivers of economic shift and industrial development that underpin modern life have come from engineering: bold leaps in research, innovation and collaboration that space, under the sea, and into the very cells we are made of. As a society, we have learned to learn ever more sophisticated concepts so that frontiers that once seemed insurmountable are now the next challenge.
This has brought us longevity, connection, stimulation and creativity. But it has not come without cost.
Today we face greater challenges, perhaps, than at any other point in human history, with climate change threatening our planet.
Global warming, disrupted weather patterns and rising sea levels mean there is no time to waste to address the wicked problem of carbon emissions. As engineers we must take the lead to prevent us moving beyond a climate change tipping point.
UNESCO’s “Build Back Wiser” theme for World Engineering Day is one that resonates strongly with Engineers Australia.
In this edition of create, we showcase some sustainable homegrown innovations, scalable technologies with commercial applications and shareable intellectual property to bring us closer to Net Zero.
It is through such innovations that engineers are working to advance society. By confronting climate change and addressing the shortcomings of historical practices, we are supporting the future of our planet.
Engineers are taking their place in history by helping to change the world for the better.