Widening the scope of engineering thinking and practice

The authors begin with the problem of declining numbers of students in engineering degree courses and with a number of suggestions to solve it. The claim is that the extension of engineering thinking and practice into nontechnical fields, the new knowledge which it entails and the involvement of existing knowledge such as linguistics, logic, certainty theories etc. in addition to aspects of engineering knowledge, should stimulate the intellect. The authors have outlined a theoretical scheme leading to analysis and design of natural, technical, living and human activity scenarios and their conceivable mixture intended to put the claim into practice. The introduction of design as an integral part of a curriculum should make studies more relevant and interesting.