A new paradigm for engineering education

Engineering educators today must teach academic fields which encompass a greater range and depth of technology than ever before. Engineering graduates, on the other hand, are expected to combine detailed understanding of a sub-specialty with the flexibility to adapt to new technologies, interdisciplinary challenges and a changing marketplace. A solution to this apparent dilemma can be found by considering a new paradigm for education which places specific engineering fields within the context of scientific progress. This paper recommends incorporating same scientific history at the individual course level. An understanding of scientific history allows students to connect their particular field of study to the underlying sciences, to other fields of engineering and to a larger historical and intellectual context. Additionally, incorporating the historical context lends insight into the human element inherent in engineering. By presenting engineering knowledge in this framework, educators could provide students with a more flexible, relevant and permanent understanding of engineering