On the Cultivation of Innovative Engineering Talent

Abstract

A country working toward industrialization and leadership in the 21st century must cultivate and train the highest quality, innovative engineering talent in its population. In China, this investment is critical to ensure the best engineers help speed the pace of economic transformation and enable us to weather the uncertainties of the global economy. With numerous studies showing that innovative engineering talent is a key to economic success, the challenge for China – and for countries around the world – is in how we improve cultivation of engineering talent specifically trained for 21st century, complex problem solving.This must be done both through updating engineering education to become more broad-based and design-focused, as well as refining our ability to find, and train, the best and brightest as future engineering leaders.