IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019 - 72

6) Ability to listen, observe, and question
It is essential to leave aside the old idea that, as a
qualified professional, one always knows, by default,
what is best in each case. This deaf and blind attitude
may bring about decisions that diverge greatly from
what people really need. Instead, an attitude more
open to listening, observing, and questioning may be
significantly beneficial for both sides. This is just
another way of recalling that professionals should be
open and willing to reconsider their ideas about how
things should be, especially when sensible petitions
do not come from colleagues. Engineering education
plays a central role here. Global engineering requires
a new education approach oriented to engaging students by stimulating new ways of learning, different
from the old teacher-student pattern based on authority, repetition, and dull acquisition of some packaged
knowledge [12]-[13].

Unexpected problems may occur
when a technological product or
system is transferred to a setting for
which it was not designed.
7) Ability to integrate in interdisciplinary teams
Multidisciplinary collaboration can be distinguished
from interdisciplinary collaboration in the sense that the
former is about being able to cooperate in teams made
up of specialists from different fields, where each one
deals, alone, with their specialty. In interdisciplinary collaboration, on the other hand, it is expected that the different specialties, without giving up their approaches
and goals, try to converge in a constructive way to arrive
at, perhaps unexpectedly, richer and more integrated
solutions. Sometimes, multidisciplinary collaboration is
still perceived as unavoidable, a lesser evil. Instead,
interdisciplinary collaboration opens up a creative
opportunity that should always be welcome. For
instance, interdisciplinary collaboration is at the core of
sustainability research [14].

8) Sensitivity to social, cultural, and natural diversity
One of the non-quantifiable assets humanity possesses is diversity in social, cultural, and natural areas.
Valuing and protecting this diversity benefits our individual and collective health. Engineering can also contribute to the defense of diversity through recognition
of the necessities and different ways of living adopted

by communities and territories. For engineers, learning can be something more than mastering new
sophisticated tools and techniques. It can mean discovering how the engineer's capacities can be adapted to the specific requirements of particular societies,
instead of applying standard patterns, which are generally insensitive to circumstances. Moreover, engineers also have to consider and avoid certain biases
in their algorithms and designs against cultural or
social groups.

9) Attention to global change and innovation
Change is no longer surprising news. Continuous transformations, induced or spontaneous, are the norm
every day, everywhere. Independently of the engineering field, being sensitive to changing dynamics makes it
possible, although not always easier, to take advantage
of circumstances and opportunities that may arise.
Engineering innovation is not limited to improving the
design of new tools, machines, and techniques to be
used in advanced societies. It should be also open to
gaining a broader scope, to meeting, in a creative way,
both old and current necessities from different groups
and countries.

10) Femininity features
Engineering is still a profession dominated by men.
According to [14] the 2014 U.S. percentages of women
working in engineering compared to men are low. The
percentage of women engineers in the U.S. by specialty
in 2014 was: civil 16.5%, aerospace 15.6%, computer
hardware 15.3%, chemical 13%, and electric and electronics 12.3%. Masculinity features impose themselves
over femininity ones, and the result of this bias greatly
impoverishes the possibilities of engineering. Moreover,
this discriminatory setup often goes unnoticed and
consequently remains protected and uncriticized [15].
Some masculinity features we could name at this point
are: results-oriented procedures, hierarchical relationships, and strength and competition, among many
others. The femininity features that could offer a counterbalance would be process-oriented procedures,
interpersonal relationships, and support and collaboration [16]-[18]. This shift is certainly difficult because it
depends on many social factors (gender is a social construction). New integrative visions at all levels of education and stronger legal regulations should be part of the
required change.
It is worth remembering that engineering usually
needs both engineers and organizations. In this sense,
sustainable engineering seems to require mindful engineers working in mindful organizations. Exploring features and roles of mindful organizations is the goal of
much recent research [19].

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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SEPTEMBER 2019

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019