Engineering education and industrial research and development-the promise and the reality

The author observes that the social fabric of engineering, the support infrastructure of the profession, and the political and economic systems of the world are undergoing shifts that affect what engineering is, how it is accomplished, and what it should do. He asks what these changes mean in terms of the educational system and explores a few of these issues that lie between academia and the industrial environment beyond. He discusses the engineering curriculum as seen from industry, the role of continuing education, research in academia.<>