UNI

T-1

Dev
elopmentengi
neer
ing 

Dev
elopmentEngi
neer
ing

DevelopmentEngineeri
ng i
s an emer ging fiel
dt hatbr i
ngs togethercommuni t
ies,
businesses, st
udents, faculty, non- gover
nment al organizat
ions ( NGOs), and
governments,aswellasfor-andnon- profitor
ganizati
ons,wit
ht heintent
ionofwor
king
col
laborati
vel
ytosol
v egl
obal chal
lenges.

I
tis,bydesi
gn,amul
ti
disci
pli
nar
yfi
eldt
hatbr
idgesengi
neer
ingandsoci
alsci
ences
suchaseconomi
cs,publ
i
cheal
th,and genderst
udi
esand pl
acest
hem al
ongsi
de
busi
nessandent
repr
eneur
shi
pforsoci
etalbenef
it
.Int
hispi
ece,we’
l
ldi
vei
ntowher
e
t
henew f
iel
d ofdev
elopmentengi
neer
ing camef
rom,wher
eit
’sheaded,and t
he
chal
l
engesi
t’
sfaci
ngal
ongt
heway
.Dev
elopmentengi
neer
inghast
hepot
ent
ialt
o
addr
ess massi
vel
y compl
ex chal
l
enges ourwor
ld gr
appl
es wi
tht
oday
,and by
under
standi
ngi
tshi
stor
yandt
raj
ect
ory
,weexami
nehowdev
elopmentengi
neer
ingcan
cont
ri
but
etosoci
alchange.

Thehi
stor
ythatpav
edt
hewayf
ort
heemer
genceofdev
elopmentengi
neer
ing,aswel
l
ast
hedr
iver
sbehi
ndi
tandt
hecor
etensi
onsi
tcur
rent
lywr
est
leswi
th,wi
l
lal
lbe
expl
oredher
efr
om ourper
spect
ive:t
wocur
rentPhD st
udent
sint
he 
Dev
elopment
Engi
neer
ing 
progr
am atUCBer
kel
ey.Wehav
eseent
heacademi
csi
deofdev
elopment
engi
neer
ing wi
thi
nthe uni
ver
sit
y set
ti
ng as wel
las t
he ent
repr
eneur
ialsi
de,a
per
spect
ivebot
hofushav
egai
ned t
hroughr
unni
ng t
echnol
ogy
-based v
ent
uresi
n
heal
thcar
e.

Whatdev
elopmentengi
neer
ingi
sandhowi
t’
sdi
ff
erent

Al
soknownas“
humani
tar
ianengi
neer
ing”
,“engi
neer
ingf
orchange”
,or“
engi
neer
ingf
or
i
mpact
”,dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingi
saf
iel
dofr
esear
chandpr
act
icet
hatcombi
nest
he
pr
inci
ples ofengi
neer
ing wi
th economi
cs,ent
repr
eneur
shi
p,desi
gn,busi
ness,and
pol
i
cy—amongot
her
s—t
ocr
eat
etechnol
ogi
cali
nter
vent
ionsi
naccor
dancewi
tht
he
needsandwant
sofi
ndi
vi
dual
sli
vi
ngi
ncompl
ex,
low-
resour
ceset
ti
ngs.Whi
l
emostmay
associ
atet
heseset
ti
ngswi
th“
dev
elopi
ng”or“
thi
rd wor
ld”count
ri
es,dev
elopment
engi
neer
ing equi
ps pr
act
it
ioner
sto wor
k on soci
alpr
obl
ems wher
evert
heyexi
st,
whet
hert
hati
sCal
i
for
niaorBangl
adesh.Av
ari
etyoft
echnol
ogi
eshav
ebeencr
eat
ed
f
ordi
ver
se cont
ext
s,such as 
modul
argr
eenhouses 
foruse i
n Keny
a,a dev
ice
f
or 
cer
vicalcancerscr
eeni
ngeducat
ion 
i
nGhana,anda 
fi
lt
ert
oremov
ear
seni
cfr
om
gr
oundwat
er 
i
ntheUni
tedSt
ates.

Dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingi
sn’
tent
ir
elynew.Engi
neer
shav
elongbeenengagedi
npubl
i
c
ser
vice.Thef
ir
stcanonoft
he 
CodeofEt
hicsf
orEngi
neer
s st
atest
hat“
engi
neer
sshal
l
hol
dpar
amountt
hesaf
ety
,heal
th,andwel
far
eoft
hepubl
i
c.”Dev
elopmentengi
neer
ing
ai
mst
obui
l
dont
hepr
ofessi
on’
sser
vice-
ori
ent
edr
oot
sbyi
ntegr
ati
ngbot
hsoci
aland
t
echni
calconsi
der
ati
onsi
ntodesi
gnwor
ktoensur
ethatpr
oposedsol
uti
onssust
ain
i
ntendedbenef
it
sov
ert
ime.I
nthi
sspi
ri
t,dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingi
nter
vent
ionsmay
t
aket
hef
orm ofsol
uti
onst
hataddr
esssy
stemi
cpr
obl
ems.
 Onesy
stemi
cpr
obl
em
addr
essed bydev
elopmentengi
neer
sist
he l
ackofcont
ext
ualconsi
der
ati
on.For
exampl
e,medi
caldev
icesdonat
ed t
o dev
elopi
ng count
ri
esof
ten f
ailbecause t
he
equi
pmentdoesnotmat
chcommuni
tyneed,
 
nosy
stem f
ormai
ntenanceexi
sts,or
t
he 
usermanualbecomesl
ost
.Onepot
ent
ialdev
elopmentengi
neer
ingpr
ojectwoul
d
ai
mtocr
eat
emedi
caldev
icessui
tabl
eforusei
nadev
elopi
ngcount
ry,t
aki
ngi
nto
account
 r
elev
antf
act
ors 
suchasr
equi
reddur
abi
l
ity
,powersuppl
y,andav
ail
abi
l
ityof
spar
epar
ts.

Hi
stor
ical
l
y,engi
neer
ingt
rai
ningi
sof
tendeepl
ytechni e.
cal( g.
,l
ear
ningf
lui
dmechani
cs,
t
her
mody
nami
cs,
andadv
ancedcal
cul
us)andpl
acesl
essemphasi
soncommuni
cat
ion
and cont
ext
ualunder
standi
ng.Thi
sposi
ti
on i
sgener
all
yrei
nfor
ced byengi
neer
ing
pr
ogr
amsandf
acul
tyt
hatcal
ltheabi
l
ityt
owr
it
eorgi
veapr
esent
ati
ona“
sof
t”ski
l
l.
Howev
er,engi
neer
sar
ewel
l
-equi
ppedt
oexami
nepr
obl
emshol
i
sti
cal
l
y—t
radi
ti
onal
l
y;
t
heyl
ear
ntosi
mul
taneousl
yunder
standt
hedet
ail
sofasi
tuat
ionaswel
last
hebr
oader
pr
obl
em cont
ext
.Buti
npr
act
ice,t
hisof
tenmani
fest
sasunder
standi
ng,f
orexampl
e,
howt
hef
lowr
atesi
nawast
ewat
ert
reat
mentsy
stem r
elat
etot
otalsedi
mentr
emov
al,
andnothowat
elemedi
cinesy
stem canchangenat
ionalheal
thpol
i
cy.Engi
neer
ingwas
cr
eat
edasanappl
i
edsci
ence;dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingt
akesi
tonest
epf
urt
herby
br
oadeni
ngt
hepot
ent
ialappl
i
cat
ionsofengi
neer
ingt
oaddr
essr
eal
-wor
ld,pov
ert
y-
dr
ivenchal
l
enges.

Dev
elopmentengi
neer
ing hi
nges on t
he under
standi
ng t
hatcr
eat
ing sust
ainabl
e
sy
stems ar
ound a t
echnol
ogi
cali
nter
vent
ion r
equi
res mor
ethan j
ustengi
neer
ing
pr
owess—i
trequi
res knowl
edge ofaspect
sli
ke l
ocaleconomi
cs and busi
ness t
o
under
standf
inanci
alv
iabi
l
ityaswel
las 
ethnogr
aphy
 (i
.e.
,sy
stemat
icst
udyofpeopl
e
and t
hei
rbehav
ior
s and cul
tur
e) and i
nter
viewi
ng pr
act
ices t
o under
stand t
he
communi
ty.Whi
l
ethe t
radi
ti
onalf
ocuson “
har
d”ski
l
ls 
is changi
ng 
asengi
neer
ing
pr
ogr
amsev
olv
e,emphasi
zi
ngt
heneedf
orst
udent
stodev
elopcommuni
cat
ionand
ent
repr
eneur
ial
compet
enci
esi
scor
etodev
elopmentengi
neer
ing.

Tobecl
ear
,thi
sisnotabel
i
eft
hatengi
neer
sshoul
dbeexpect
edt
obeexper
tsi
n
et
hnogr
aphy
,geogr
aphy
,economi
cs,and engi
neer
ing.I
nst
ead,t
he hope i
sthat
engi
neer
swi
l
lbecomeabl
etot
ransl
ateconcept
sacr
ossdi
sci
pli
nesandunder
stand
t
her
ear
emany“
unknown”unknowns,orf
act
orsnoty
etconsi
der
ed t
hatmustbe
uncov
eredi
fat
echnol
ogi
cal
int
erv
ent
ioni
stobesuccessf
ull
yimpl
ement
edov
ert
ime.

Whydev
elopmentengi
neer
ingi
snecessar
y

Today
’scompl
ex,gl
obal
i
zedwor
ldi
sfi
l
ledwi
thpr
obl
emst
hatar
emessywi
thnocl
ear
sol
uti
ons.Pr
obl
emssuchassecur
ingaccesst
ofoodi
naner
aofcl
i
mat
echange,
pr
ovi
dinguni
ver
salhousi
ngami
dstr
api
dur
bani
zat
ion,
anddet
ermi
ningway
stopr
ovi
de
consumer
swi
thl
ow-
car
bonener
gysour
cesal
lrequi
rei
nnov
ati
vet
hinki
ngandact
ioni
f
pr
ogr
ess i
sto be made.As 
PaulPol
ak—a l
eaderi
nthe soci
alent
repr
eneur
shi
p
mov
ement
—st
ates,ov
er90 per
centoft
hewor
ld’
sdesi
gnef
for
tsar
eai
med at10
per
centoft
hepopul
ati
on.Thepeopl
ewhoneedgame-
changi
ngsol
uti
onsar
enot
engagedi
nthei
nnov
ati
onpr
ocesswhi
l
e,att
hesamet
ime,si
gni
fi
cantr
esour
cesar
e
bei
ngspenton 
sol
vi
ngt
hewr
ongpr
obl
ems,
ormor
epr
eci
sel
y,dev
elopi
ngpr
oduct
sand
pr
ocessest
hatmakemoneybutonl
yimpr
ovet
hewor
ldf
orasmal
lnumberofpeopl
e.

Unl
i
keanengi
neer
inghomewor
ksetwher
eal
lthenecessar
yinf
ormat
ioncanbef
ound
i
nat
ext
book,“
wicked”pr
obl
emsar
ethoset
hatar
eil
l
-def
inedandcompl
ex.“
Wicked”
pr
obl
emsar
eindet
ermi
nat
eandt
her
ear
en’
trul
esf
orhow t
ogener
ateandi
mpl
ement
sol
uti
ons t
othem.Sol
vi
ng “
wicked”pr
obl
ems r
equi
res i
nti
mat
e knowl
edge oft
he
pr
obl
em cont
ext
,apoi
ntt
hati
stooof
tenov
erl
ookedandcausesi
nit
iat
ivest
hatai
mto
i
mpl
ementt
echnol
ogywi
thi
ndev
elopmentpr
oject
s t
ofai
l.I
fwe,
asagl
obalsoci
ety
,ar
e
goi
ngt
ogai
ntr
act
iononsol
vi
ngcompel
l
ingandi
mmedi
atepr
obl
emswi
thcompl
ex
soci
etalandecol
ogi
caldi
mensi
ons,
weneedpr
ogr
amsl
i
kedev
elopmentengi
neer
ingt
o
t
rai
nthenex
tgener
ati
onofengi
neer
stobecomecr
it
icalt
hinker
sanddoer
s.Wi
thout
suf
fi
cientt
rai
ning,
student
sandpr
act
it
ioner
swi
thgoodi
ntent
ionsr
unt
her
iskoff
ail
i
ng
t
oachi
evet
hei
rgoal
sor
,wor
se,
doi
ng 
mor
ehar
mthangood.

Consi
der
,for exampl
e, a wel
l
-funded and publ
i
cly opt
imi
sti
c v
ent
ure t
o
i
nst
all
 
“Pl
ayPumps”
 i
nSout
her
nAf
ri
cat
oat
temptt
osol
vet
her
egi
onalwat
ercr
isi
s.The
Pl
ayPumpconnect
samer
ry-
go-
roundcont
rapt
iont
oawat
erpumpt
hatal
l
owspl
ayi
ng
chi
l
drent
opoweradev
icet
oext
ractandst
oregr
oundwat
er.Howev
er,
aft
eral
lthehy
pe
andt
ensofmi
l
li
onsofdol
l
arsf
undr
aised,t
hePl
ayPumpi
nst
all
ati
onsi
nMozambi
que
andSout
hAf
ri
cawer
esooni
noper
abl
e.Yeti
nor
dert
omeet
 donordemandsandl
iv
eup
t
othemar
ket
inghy
pe,Pl
ayPumpswer
einst
all
edi
nthousandsofl
ocat
ions,r
epl
aci
ng
t
het
radi
ti
onal
wat
erpumpsal
readyt
her
e,ef
fect
ivel
ytr
ansf
ormi
ngPl
ayPumpsi
ntoanot
onl
yaf
ail
edv
ent
ure,butal
soonet
hatbecame 
usel
essandexpl
oit
ati
ve 
byf
orci
ng
chi
l
drent
okeept
urni
ngt
hemer
ry-
go-
roundnonst
opi
nor
dert
opumpoutenoughwat
er
t
omeetv
il
lagedemand.

I
nst
eadofsol
vi
ngadi
rewat
ercr
isi
s,Pl
ayPumpsact
ual
l
ycont
ri
but
edt
owat
eri
nequi
ti
es
i
nSout
her
nAf
ri
cabyr
epl
aci
ngt
hewor
kabl
etr
adi
ti
onalwat
erpumpswi
thanexci
ti
ng,
butul
ti
mat
elydeepl
yfl
awed,wat
erpumpdesi
gn.Pl
ayPumpssucci
nct
lyi
l
lust
rat
ethat
gl
obali
ssuesdon’
tcomewi
thqui
ckf
ixesandt
hat
 engi
neer
scan’
tjustcasual
lyst
epi
n
t
ohel
p wi
thacommuni
ty’
sneeds.I
nst
ead,gl
obaldev
elopmentr
equi
resar
igor
ous
appr
oachf
orwhi
cht
echni
cal
l
ytr
ainedengi
neer
sneedt
ohav
eabet
terunder
standi
ngof
pr
obl
em cont
ext
s,ei
thert
hroughcol
l
abor
ati
onoramor
eroundededucat
ion.

I
nthi
svei
n,dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingcanaddsi
gni
fi
cantv
aluet
ogl
obaldev
elopment
by pr
ovi
ding a space f
ordi
ver
se par
ti
es wi
tht
he same goalt
o connect
,fi
nd
col
l
abor
ati
onoppor
tuni
ti
es,andshar
ebestpr
act
icesaswel
lasmi
stakesandf
ail
ures.
Al
thoughmanypr
act
it
ioner
smaybewor
kingont
hesamet
ypesofpr
oject
sindi
ff
erent
set
ti
ngs—orwor
kingondi
ff
erentpr
oject
sint
hesameset
ti
ng—t
heyar
en’
tal
way
stal
ki
ng
t
ooneanot
her
.Thi
scommuni
cat
ionbr
eakdownr
esul
tsi
nmi
stakesf
requent
lybei
ng
r
epeat
edandr
edundancyofef
for
ts.Dev
elopmentengi
neer
ing,howev
er,bui
l
dsamor
e
cohesi
vecommuni
tybybr
ingi
ngf
acul
tyf
rom di
ff
erentdi
sci
pli e.
nes( g.
,busi
nessand
engi
neer
ing)t
oget
hert
oco-
teachcor
edev
elopmentcour
sesandbyr
equi
ri
ngengi
neer
s
t
olear
n aboutpubl
i
c heal
th and economi
cs.Connect
ion among peer
s happens
t
hrough 
dedi
cat
edconf
erences,an 
open-
accessj
our
nal
,andacademi
ccent
erssuch
as 
theBl
um Cent
er,
whi
chser
veashubsf
ormeet
-ups,
classes,
andconv
ersat
ions.
Wher
edev
elopmentengi
neer
ingst
art
ed

Ther
oot
sofdev
elopmentengi
neer
ingcanbet
racedbackt
othet
imeofcol
oni
ali
sm and
i
mper
ial
i
sm.The er
a pr
ecedi
ng Wor
ld WarI
Isaw West
ern power
sint
he wor
ld
occupy
ing andexpl
oit
ing non-
West
erncount
ri
eswi
thl
esseconomi
cpower
.Int
he
1940st
heUni
tedSt
atesi
nst
it
utedt
heMar
shal
lPl
ant
opr
ovi
demat
eri
alai
dforWest
ern
Eur
opeannat
ionsaf
fect
edbyt
hedest
ruct
ionwr
oughti
nthewar
,whi
chr
epr
esent
edt
he
f
ir
sti
nst
anceoft
heUSgi
vi
ngai
dint
ernat
ional
l
y.Pr
esi
dentHar
ryTr
uman’
s 
inaugur
al
addr
ess 
i
n1949out
li
nedapl
ant
o“embar
konabol
dnew pr
ogr
am f
ormaki
ngt
he
benef
it
s of our sci
ent
if
ic adv
ances and i
ndust
ri
alpr
ogr
ess av
ail
abl
efor t
he
i
mpr
ovementandgr
owt
hofunder
dev
elopedar
eas,
”whi
chdev
elopmentcr
it
icGust
avo
Est
evar
egar
dsast
hei
nvent
ionofdev
elopment
.

Wi
tht
hebel
i
eft
hatunder
dev
elopednat
ionsneededt
obe 
“moder
nized”
, 
the1960ssaw
aper
iodofWest
ernnat
ionsgi
vi
ngt
echnol
ogi
est
ofor
mer
lycol
oni
zednon-
West
ern
nat
ions,assumi
ngsucht
echnol
ogyt
ransf
erwoul
dyi
eldf
astsuccess.Af
terf
ail
i
ngt
o
see pr
ogr
ess i
nthe way of economi
c or t
echnol
ogi
cal“
dev
elopment
”int
he
moder
nizat
ion er
a,t
he 1970s saw an al
ter
nat
ive appr
oach t
o ai
d.The r
ise of
“
appr
opr
iat
e”t
echnol
ogycoi
nci
dedwi
tht
hegr
owi
ngr
ecogni
ti
ont
hatf
ort
echnol
ogyt
o
beaccept
ed,
itneededt
obedesi
gnedf
ort
hei
ntendedusecont
ext
.Si
mpl
ytr
ansf
err
ing
at
echnol
ogydesi
gnedf
orWest
ernnat
ionst
oadev
elopi
ngcount
rywoul
dnoty
iel
d
desi
redpr
ogr
ess.Thi
snewappr
oach,whi
chemphasi
zedt
hei
mpor
tanceofi
ntegr
ati
ng
cont
ext
ualconsi
der
ati
ons i
n dev
elopment
,was f
ormal
i
zed att
he f
ir
stDesi
gn f
or
Dev
elopmentcongr
essi
n1979.Thecongr
essi
tsel
f,host
edbyt
heI
nter
nat
ionalCounci
l
ofSoci
eti
esofI
ndust
ri
alDesi
gn(
ICSI
D)andt
heUni
tedNat
ionsI
ndust
ri
alDev
elopment
Or
gani
zat
ion(
UNI
DO)
,repr
esent
edacr
uci
almomenti
nrecogni
zi
ngdesi
gn—acl
ose
cousi
ntoengi
neer
ing—asat
oolf
orgl
obaldev
elopment
,usef
uli
ncr
eat
ingpr
oduct
sand
ser
vicest
omeetsoci
alneeds.Thecongr
essal
so 
signedt
heAhmedabadDecl
arat
ion,
f
ormal
izi
nganew“
desi
gnf
ordev
elopment
”fi
eld.

I
nthe1980sand1990s,asdesi
gnandengi
neer
ingbecamei
ncr
easi
ngl
yempl
oyedi
n
soci
all
yconsci
ousset
ti
ngs,t
het
echboom connect
edt
hewor
ldonanunpr
ecedent
ed
scal
e.Howev
er,
theseconnect
ionscr
eat
eda 
“spi
ky”(
unequal
)wor
ld 
i
nwhi
cht
heur
ban
and weal
thy r
egi
ons r
api
dly out
paced t
he r
uraland poor
erar
eas i
n economi
c
dev
elopment
,innov
ati
on,andgener
alwel
l
-bei
ng.Dur
ingt
hesamet
ime,bot
hthose
wor
kingi
ndev
elopmentandi
ntendedbenef
ici
ari
esbecamedi
sil
l
usi
onedbyt
hepower
ofmul
ti
lat
erali
nst
it
uti
ons(
lar
geor
gani
zat
ionsf
undedbymul
ti
plenat
ions)l
i
ket
he
Wor
ld Bank and I
nter
nat
ional Monet
ary Fund (
IMF) t
o pr
omot
e i
nter
nat
ional
dev
elopmentand,consequent
ly,t
hatal
l
owedengi
neer
sanddesi
gner
stoi
mbuesmal
l
-
scal
eandl
ocal
i
zedpr
oject
swi
tht
hei
rtechni
cal
exper
ti
se.

At
tempt
ingt
ogai
nbackt
hegener
all
ylostt
rustofl
argemul
ti
nat
ionalor
gani
zat
ions,i
n
Sept
ember2000,t
heUni
tedNat
ionssuggest
edei
ghtgoal
s“t
orev
erset
hegr
indi
ng
pov
ert
y,hunger
,anddi
seaseaf
fect
ingbi
l
li
onsofpeopl
e”:t
he 
Mil
lenni
um Dev
elopment
Goal
s (
MDGs)
.Theseser
vedasacat
aly
stt
ofur
therencour
aget
hei
nvol
vementof
engi
neer
sanddesi
gner
sinaddr
essi
nggl
obalchal
l
engesbyengagi
ngi
nsmal
l
er,mor
e
l
ocal
i
zedpr
oject
s.Mor
eandmor
efundi
ngoppor
tuni
ti
esbegant
oar
isef
ordev
elopment
-
ori
ent
edpr
oject
sint
hewakeoft
hegr
owi
ngi
nter
nat
ionalcommi
tmentt
otheMDGs,
andwhatemer
gedwasanecosy
stem t
hatpr
ovi
dedsuppor
ttov
ent
ures,pr
oject
s,and
pr
ogr
amsatt
hei
nter
sect
ionofengi
neer
ingandi
mpact
.
Thecoal
esci
ngofamov
ement

Atuni
ver
sit
ies,st
udent
sandf
acul
tybegant
orecogni
zeamul
ti
-f
acet
edoppor
tuni
ty.
Eachsemest
eranewcr
opofst
udent
senr
oll
swi
tht
imeandener
gyt
owor
konaspect
s
ofi
mpor
tantand i
mpact
fulpr
obl
emsasopposed t
o,f
orexampl
e,spendi
ng t
ime
r
edesi
gni
ngpar
tofacarengi
ne.Pr
oject
-basedcl
assest
hatst
art
edas“
crazyi
deas”by
mot
ivat
edf
acul
tymember
sat
 var
iousuni
ver
sit
ies 
wer
eacknowl
edgedasbei
ngabl
eto
pr
ovi
despeci
fi
coppor
tuni
ti
esf
orst
udent
stoappl
ytheknowl
edget
heywer
elear
ningi
n
t
echni
cal
classest
owar
dthecausest
hatt
heMDGsf
ocusedon.

I
tdoesn’
ttakel
ongf
ort
hest
udent
stobehooked.Formanyengi
neer
sint
rai
ning,t
he
i
mpactofpar
ti
cipat
ingi
napr
oject
-basedcl
assf
ocusedonpr
obl
emsf
acedbyr
eal
peopl
eredef
inedt
hepossi
bil
i
tyof
 whatengi
neer
ingcoul
dencompass.Foruni
ver
sit
ies,
pr
oject
-basedengi
neer
inganddesi
gncl
assespr
ovi
det
het
rai
ningst
udent
sneedt
o
become 
nextgener
ati
onofengi
neer
s whowoul
dwor
ktoaddr
esst
hesei
mpor
tant
soci
ali
ssues.Suppor
tforcl
asses and pr
oject
sfr
om f
undi
ng i
nst
it
uti
ons such
as 
Vent
ureWel
l,t
heNat
ionalSci
enceFoundat
ion,andt
heUni
tedSt
atesEnv
ironment
al
Pr
otect
ionAgencyhel
pedt
oexpandenr
oll
ment
,tr
ansf
orm cl
assesi
n pr
ogr
ams 
and
cent
ers,
 
andf
urt
hercat
aly
zei
mpact
.

Amaj
ordr
aw oft
hesepr
ogr
amsamongst
udent
sist
heabi
l
ityt
oengagewi
thl
i
ke-
mi
ndedpeer
stheyot
her
wisewoul
dn’
thav
ewor
kedwi
thandt
oconnectwi
thpeopl
e
whoseexper
ienceoft
hewor
ldi
svast
lydi
ff
erentf
rom t
hei
rown.Per
haps,
howev
er,
the
bi
ggestappealt
ost
udent
soft
hesepr
ogr
ams,
 
par
ti
cul
arl
yMi
ll
enni
alsandGen-
Xer
s,i
s
t
hebel
i
eft
hatone’
sef
for
tsar
ecr
eat
ingr
eal
,neededi
mpact
.Asonest
udentf
rom 
Penn
St
ate’
sHumani
tar
ianEngi
neer
ingandSoci
alEnt
repr
eneur
shi
ppr
ogr
am 
not
ed,“
Many
t
imesIhav
ewant
edt
omakeadi
ff
erence,butIhav
enev
erknownhow.NowIhav
ethe
abi
l
ityt
ochangel
i
vesi
nar
ealpar
toft
hewor
ld.
”Whi
l
ethi
sismot
ivat
ingf
ormany
st
udent
s,i
thas had a pr
ofound 
inf
luence 
on 
femal
e st
udent
sin par
ti
cul
ar,who
ar
e ov
err
epr
esent
ed 
i
ndev
elopmentengi
neer
ingpr
ogr
ams.Thehopef
orpr
ogr
amsl
i
ke
our
sist
hatt
heywi
l
lhel
ptot
ransf
ormi
ndi
vi
dual
s’desi
ret
o hel
pout
 i
ntoanact
ual
abi
l
ityt
omakeasust
ainabl
edi
ff
erencei
nthel
i
vesoft
hei
ntendedbenef
ici
ari
es.

Ofcour
se,uni
ver
sit
iesar
e notdoi
ng t
hisal
one.An ent
ir
e subsetoft
he br
oader
dev
elopmentecosy
stem shar
es t
he cr
edi
tfort
he cr
eat
ion and gr
owt
h oft
he
dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingf
iel
d.Ther
ear
e mul
ti
plet
ypesofor
gani
zat
ions 
thatar
efusi
ng
t
echnol
ogy wi
th ot
her di
sci
pli
nes t
o cr
eat
e pr
oduct
s, 
prov
ide f
inanci
alser
vices,
and 
accel
erat
eheal
thi
nnov
ati
on,
 
incl
udi
ngf
or-
prof
itv
ent
ures,non-
prof
itor
gani
zat
ions,
f
oundat
ions,
gov
ernmentagenci
es,
andmul
ti
lat
eral
organi
zat
ions.Fundi
ngagenci
esar
e
al
so pl
ayi
ng a keyr
olei
n pr
ovi
ding suppor
tfor
 i
mpact
-or
ient
ed 
ent
repr
eneur
s and
v
ent
uresatbot
h ear
ly 
and 
middl
est
ages.Akeyf
underoft
hedev
elopmentengi
neer
ing
f
iel
d was t
he Uni
ted St
ates Agency f
or I
nter
nat
ional Dev
elopment (
USAI
D),
whose 
HigherEducat
ionSol
uti
onsNet
wor
k pr
ovi
dedsi
gni
fi
cantr
esour
cest
ogr
owl
abs
atsev
enuni
ver
sit
ycampuseswor
kingt
oev
aluat
eandst
rengt
henr
eal
-wor
ldi
nnov
ati
ons
f
ordev
elopment
.

Thef
utur
eofdev
elopmentengi
neer
ing

Thr
oughouti
tspr
oli
fer
ati
on,t
hedev
elopmentengi
neer
ingf
iel
dhasseensuccesses
i
ncl
udi
ngagr
owi
ngnumberofacademi
cpr
ogr
ams,i
ncr
easedbuy
-i
nfr
om f
undi
ng
sour
ces,
andagr
owi
ngbaseofpr
act
it
ioner
s.Howev
er,
ther
eisst
il
lmucht
obedoneas
t
hef
iel
dmat
uresandshapest
hebr
oaderdev
elopmentagenda.Gr
owi
ngpai
nsar
e
commoni
nanynewf
iel
dormov
ement
,butr
athert
hani
gnor
ingt
hem,
it’
simpor
tantt
hat
t
hey
’recal
l
edouti
nor
dert
ospurt
hought
fulconv
ersat
ionsandspar
kact
iont
omov
e
t
hef
iel
dfor
war
d.Someoft
hecent
ralchal
l
engesf
aci
ng dev
elopmentengi
neer
ing
cur
rent
lyi
ncl
ude bal
anci
ng academi
cincent
ives wi
thr
eal
-wor
ldi
mpact
,fi
tt
ing
communi
ty-
dri
venwor
kint
oinst
it
uti
on-
dri
venpr
ogr
ams,andbl
endi
ngt
echno-
cent
ri
c
andhuman-
cent
ri
cappr
oaches.

Fi
rst
,al
ackofal
i
gnmentof
tenexi
stsbet
weenacademi
cincent
ivesandt
hef
act
orst
hat
dr
iver
eal
-wor
ldi
mpact
.Att
hef
acul
tyl
evel
,thi
sisseeni
nthepubl
i
cat
ionsy
stem and
t
enur
e commi
tt
ees.As Vi
rgi
nia Tech pr
ofessor Mar
c Edwar
ds r
ecent
ly wr
ote
i
n Envi
ronment
alEngi
neer
ingSci
ence,“
Thegoalofmeasur
ingsci
ent
if
icpr
oduct
ivi
ty
hasgi
venr
iset
oquant
it
ati
veper
for
mancemet
ri
cs,
incl
udi
ngpubl
i
cat
ioncount
,ci
tat
ions,
combi
ned ci
tat
ion-
publ
i
cat
ion count
s.Quant
it
ati
ve met
ri
cs ar
e schol
ar-
cent
ri
c and
r
ewar
dout
put
,whi
chi
snotnecessar
il
ythesameasachi
evi
ngagoal
ofsoci
all
yrel
evant
andi
mpact
fulr
esear
chout
comes.
”Few i
ncent
ivesexi
stf
orf
acul
tyt
ospendt
heext
ra
ef
for
ttoengagewi
thcommuni
ti
esandmai
ntai
ndi
ver
separ
tner
shi
psandr
elat
ionshi
ps.

Fur
ther
mor
e,f
acul
tyar
ecompar
edagai
nstpeer
swhomayhav
ebeenpubl
i
shi
ngmor
e
whi
l
eani
mpact
-or
ient
edf
acul
tymemberwasdoi
ngt
heext
rawor
knecessar
ytocr
eat
e
change,i
ncl
udi
ngengagi
ngwi
thpol
i
cymaker
sandot
herst
akehol
der
s.Suchasy
stem
doesnotpr
omot
ethepur
sui
tofsoci
all
yrel
evantr
esear
ch.

Forst
udent
s,t
hedi
sconnectbet
weenacademi
aandr
eal
-wor
ldi
mpact
smani
festwhen
exami
ningwhatqual
i
fiesas“
wor
thy
”resear
ch.Of
ten,
dev
elopmentwor
kisper
cei
vedas
l
essr
igor
ouscompar
edt
oot
herf
ormsoft
echni
calwor
k.Thi
scant
ransl
atet
ost
udent
s
t
reat
ingdev
elopmentengi
neer
ingasanext
rat
hingt
hey
’redoi
ngr
athert
hant
hemai
n
obj
ect
iveoft
hei
rst
udi
es.Fur
ther
,thet
radi
ti
onalgoalofgr
aduat
eresear
chi
stobecome
anexper
tinanar
row f
iel
d,whi
l
edev
elopmentpr
act
ice,ont
heot
herhand,r
equi
resa
wor
king knowl
edge ofa br
oad r
ange off
iel
ds i
ncl
udi
ng pol
i
tics,economi
cs,and
psy
chol
ogyi
naddi
ti
ont
odeepl
ytechni
cal
engi
neer
ingt
opi
cs.

Si
mil
art
othe“
publ
i
shorper
ish”cr
isi
s,asecondchal
l
engei
sthatmanyacademi
csar
e
encour
agedt
oengagewi
thot
her
sint
ernal
l
y,wi
thl
i
ttl
eincent
ivet
ofor
m meani
ngf
ul
par
tner
shi
ps wi
th or
gani
zat
ions unaf
fi
li
ated wi
th a uni
ver
sit
y.The pat
h ofl
east
r
esi
stancei
nacademi
aisof
tent
otur
ninwar
d,t
oengagewi
thot
her
sofasi
mil
arl
y
academi
cmi
nd,andt
oav
oidbr
ingi
ngt
hehi
ghl
yabst
ractandt
heor
eti
calconv
ersat
ions
downt
oal
evel
ofact
ionabl
epr
ogr
ess.

Theot
hersi
deoft
hischal
l
engei
stheamountoft
imei
ttakest
odev
elopmeani
ngf
ul
par
tner
shi
ps,
under
standt
hef
ullext
entofasi
tuat
ion,
testi
deas,
rev
ise,
andi
mpl
ement
sol
uti
ons.Thel
onggest
ati
onper
iodofcommuni
ty-
dri
vendev
elopmentpr
oject
scanbe
atoddswi
tht
hei
ntensel
yconcent
rat
eduni
ver
sit
yset
ti
ngi
nwhi
cht
hesepr
ogr
amsexi
st.
St
udent
str
adi
ti
onal
l
yspendonl
yfoury
ear
sint
hei
runder
graduat
eeducat
ionandl
ess
t
hansi
xyear
sint
hei
rgr
aduat
eeducat
ionand,wi
tht
heev
er-
presentdemandsof
r
igor
oushi
ghereducat
ion,st
udent
sar
enotencour
agedt
opr
ior
it
izet
heneedsoft
he
communi
ti
est
heywor
kwi
thabov
ethei
rownneedst
obui
l
dar
esume,gr
aduat
e,and
f
indaj
ob.

Fi
nal
l
y,dev
elopmentengi
neer
ingai
mst
olev
eraget
echni
cal
resour
cesandr
igort
osol
ve
gl
obalpr
obl
ems,y
etl
acksaf
ormalpr
ocessf
orunder
standi
ngt
hescopeofi
mpor
tant
gl
obalpr
obl
ems.St
udent
sandf
acul
tybenef
itf
rom educat
ionandr
esour
ces,butmay
l
ackdi
rectexper
iencewi
tht
hepr
obl
emst
heyar
esol
vi
ng.I
nor
derf
ort
hepr
ivi
l
egedand
of
teni
nsul
ateddev
elopmentengi
neer
ingpr
act
it
ioner
stowor
konaddr
essi
ngpr
obl
ems
af
fect
ing t
he wor
ld’
simpov
eri
shed and di
senf
ranchi
sed peopl
e,t
heyhav
etol
ook
bey
ondt
hei
rownl
i
vedexper
ience.

Ant
hropol
ogy
,et
hnogr
aphy
,and,
mostr
ecent
ly,
human-
cent
ereddesi
gnpr
ovi
der
igor
ous
f
ramewor
kst
ounder
standandempat
hizewi
thpeopl
ewhohav
ecompl
etel
ydi
ff
erent
exper
iencesandper
spect
ives.I
nor
derf
ordev
elopmentengi
neer
stoef
fect
ivel
ysol
ve
soci
alpr
obl
ems,t
heyf
ir
stmustunder
standt
hecompl
i
cat
edf
acet
sandhumanf
aces
t
hatchar
act
eri
zet
hem.Thef
ocuscannotsol
elybeoncr
eat
ingr
esour
ce-
eff
ici
ent
,cost
-
ef
fect
ivet
echnol
ogi
es;i
tmustbe,f
ir
standf
oremost
,onunder
standi
ng 
thepeopl
e,
sy
stemsofpower
,and pol
it
icalenv
ironment
ssur
roundi
ng gl
obali
ssues.Wi
thout
consi
der
ingt
hepol
i
ticalandhi
stor
icalcont
ext
sinwhi
cht
heyar
ewor
king,
dev
elopment
engi
neer
srunt
her
iskofr
epeat
ingt
hedamagedonet
oimpov
eri
shedcommuni
ti
esby
col
oni
al,
imper
ial
,andneol
i
ber
alpol
i
ciesandappr
oaches.

UNI
T-2

Wor
ldPov
ert
yandDev
elopment
Wet hi
nksometi
mest hatpovertyi
sonlybeing hungr
y,naked and homeless.The
pov
ertyofbei
ngunwanted,unl
ovedanduncar
edforisthegreat
estpov er
ty.Wemust
st
art i
n our own homes t
o r
emedy t
his ki
nd of pov
ert
y.
St
.Mot
herTer
esaofKol
kat
a

Pov
ert
yist
hewor
stf
orm ofv
iol
ence.

Mahat
maGandhi

Theworl
disv
erydi
ff
erentnow.Formanholdsi
nhismortal
handst
hepowert
oabol
i
sh
al
lfor
msofhumanpoverty
,andallf
ormsofhumanli
fe.

JohnF.Kennedy

Hei
snowr
isi
ngf
rom af
fl
uencet
opov
ert
y.

Mar
kTwai
n

Wherejusti
ceisdeni
ed,wherepovert
yisenforced,
wherei
gnorancepr
evai
l
s, andwher
e
anyoneclassismadetof eel
thatsoci
etyisanorgani
zedconspi
racyt
ooppress,r
ob
anddegradethem,nei
therpersonsnorproper
tywil
lbesaf
e.

Fr
eder
ickDougl
ass

It
hankf
atef
orhav
ingmademebor
npoor
.Pov
ert
ytaughtmet
het
ruev
alueofthegi
fts
usef
ult
oli
fe.

Anat
oleFr
ance

Ther
eal
tragedyoft
hepoori
sthepov
ert
yoft
hei
raspi
rat
ions.

Adam Smi
th

Wal
kamileinmyshoes..
.SeewhatIsee,
HearwhatIhear
,FeelwhatIf
eel
..
.Then
may
beyou’l
lunder
standWhyIdowhatIdo..
.ti
l
lthendon’
tjudgeme.

Unknown

Whati spoverty?Doesi tonlyrefertohav i

ngal ow i
ncome,onet hatleadst odi ff
icul
t
l
ivi
ngcondi t
ions?How doespov ert
yr elatet ohumandev elopment ?Shoul df eatures
usedi nthemeasur ementofhumandev elopmentincludenotonl yincome,butal so
healthandeducation?Wher ear epovertyandunder developmentmostpr evalentint he
world?Canourecosy stemssust ainablysuppor tworld-widesoci al
ly-i
nclusi
vehuman
developmentand wel lbei ng? Can t he wor ld meett he chal l
enge ofsust ainable
developmentinthepresenceofpopul ation,resour
ceutil
ization,andpol l
uti
onincr eases?
Whatar ethefeaturesofcul t
ure,andchal lengesofwor kingi ncross-cult
uralset t
ings?
Whyi
siti
mpor
tantt
obegl
obal
l
ycompet
ent
?

Wor
ldPov
ert
yandDev
elopment

Whatistheengineer
’sroleinsust
ainabledevel
opment
?Whatchal lengedoy ouwantto
takeon?Whatar etechnologi
esthatcanbeusedt opromot ehumandev elopment
?
Usinganal
yti
calapproaches,canwel earnwhatiti
sli
keforverylow- i
ncomepeopleto
managef i
nancest o survi
veand av oi
dr i
sk?Canwel earnaboutt hedy namicsof
resour
ceuse,andhowdev elopmentandpopulati
onsizeincr
easesi mpactsustai
nabl
e
resour
ceuti
li
zati
on?

Wor
ldPov
ert
yandDev
elopment

Somet hi
nkofpov er
tyast hesi t
uationwher ebasichumanneedsar enotbei ngmet .
Whatar e“ needs”?Ther ei sawhol earrayofhumanneeds,wi t
hanear l
yquant if
icati
on
giveni nt he1940sbyMasl ow in( Masl ow,1943)as:1.Phy siological;2.Saf et y
;3.
Lov e/belonging;4.Est eem;and5.Sel f-actuali
zati
on.Maslow or der edt heneedssuch
thatt hemostbasi conei sli
stedf i
rst,andsoon.Phy siol
ogicalneedsi ncludeai r,water,
food,cl othing,andshel ter.Safetyincludessecur it
yfrom war ,crimi nalviolence,f amil
y
viol
ence, andchi ldabuse.Somewoul dincludeeconomi candheal thsecur it
y( protecti
on
agai nstailment sanddi seases).Lov e/belongingincludesf r
iendshi p,intimacy ,fami l
y,
etc.Est eem i ncludest heneedt ober espected,accepted,v aluedbyot her s,status,
recogni ti
on, f
ame, presti
ge, andattention.Italsoincl
udestheneedf orself-respect.Self-
actual i
zationneedsi ncludet heneedt or eali
zeone’sownpot ential.Somet imes,one
needemer geswhent heonebef oreitisfull
ysat i
sfi
ed.

Ther ear e,howev er,cr

itici
smst oMasl ow’ sviewasi tisnotgener allycult
ural
lysensi t
ive,
i
snotpr operlysetint hecont extofspeci fi
csoci eties( e.
g.,individuali
sti
corcol lecti
vist
societies),andi snotwel comi ngt ot hei ndividual’sownr ankingoft hei
rneeds.For
i
nst ance,t herear esomepeopl ewhor ankent ertainment ,spi ri
tual,orcult
uralev ent s
(e.g.,weddi ngsorf unerals)veryhi ghandi ndeedwi llsacrif
icesomebasi cphysiological
needsf orthese.Suchv iewsar et ober espect ed,ofcour se.Whatr ightdoesonehuman
hav et osaywhatanot herhumanneeds?Ofcour se,i faper sonisnotmeet ingsome
needsandt hi
sadv ersel yaffectssomeoneel se(e. g.,achi ld)thatcanbeapr oblem.
Also, i
fsomeonehasasev erement alil
lnessandcannott akecar eoft hemselves, t
hati s
alsoanot hermat ter.Toy amadi scussesanumberofaspect sofMasl ow’swor ki nthe
cont extofdev elopmenti n(Toyama, 2015) .

Pov
ert
yinI
ndi
a
Because 
Indi
a i
soneoft he 
fast
est
-gr
owi
ngeconomies 
intheworl
d,pov
ert
yhasbeen
onadeclineint hi
scountr
y,wit
hcloset
o44Indiansescapi
ngextr
emepover
tyever
y
minute,as pert he Wor l
d Pov ertyCl ock.I ndi
a has been abl et ol i
fta signif
icant
percent
ageofi tspopul ationoutof  pov ert
y,butmanyst il
lli
v einit
.Indiahad73mi ll
ion
peopleli
v i
ngi n 
extremepov ert
y  whichmakesup5. 5%ofi tstotalpopulati
on,according
totheBr ookingsr eport.InMay2012,t heWor l
dBankr eviewedandpr oposedrevisions
tot hei
rpov erty calculation met hodol ogy and purchasing powerpar it
y basisf or
[1]
measuringpov ert
ywor ldwi de.  Itwasami nimal3.6% int ermsofper cent
age.Asof
2016,thei ncidenceofmul tidi
mensi onalpov ert
yhasal mosthal vedbet ween2005–06
and2015–16, declini
ngf rom 54. 7per centto33.8percent.
 

Accordi
ngt oUni
tedNati
onsDevel
opmentProgrammeAdmi ni
str
atorAchi
m Steiner
,
I
ndialif
ted271mi
lli
onpeopl
eoutofpov
ert
yinjusta10-
yeart
imeperiodf
rom 2005/06
to2015/16.

TheWor ldBankhasbeenr evi

singit
sdef i
nit
ionandbenchmar kstomeasur epov ert
y
si
nce1990, wi
tha$2perdayi ncomeonpur chasingpowerpari
tybasisasthedef i
niti
on
i
nusef r om 2005to2013.  
Somesemi -
economi candnon-economi ci
ndiceshav ealso
beenpr oposedt omeasurepov ertyinIndia.Forexample,inor dertodeterminei fa
personispoorornot ,t
heMul ti-
dimensi
onalPov ertyI
ndexplacesa33%wei ghtont he
numberofy earsthatpersonspenti nschoolorengagedi neducationanda6. 25%
weightont hefi
nanci
alconditi
onofthatperson.
The differ entdef init
ions and under l
ying smallsampl e surveys used to det
ermine
povertyinI ndiahav er esult
edinwi del
yv aryi
ngestimatesofpov ertyfrom t
he1950st o
2010s.I n2012,t heI ndiangov er
nmentst atedthat22% ofi tspopul ati
onisbelow i
ts
offi
cial
 pov er t
ylimit. 
Basedon2005' sPPPsI nter
nationalCompar isonPr ogr
am, i
n2011,
theWor l
dBankest imat edthat23.6%ofI ndianpopul at
ion,orabout276mi ll
ionpeople,
l
ived bel ow $1. 25 perday on pur chasing powerpar i
ty. 
Accor di
ng tot he Uni
ted
Nation'
s Mi ll
ennium Dev el
opmentGoal s (MDG)pr ogramme,270mi l
li
onpeopleoutof
1.2bill
ionI ndians,roughl yequalto21.9%ofI ndia'
spopul ati
on,livedbelowt hepovert
y
l
ineof$1. 25i n2011- 2012.
From thel at
e19t hcent
uryt hr
ought heear l
y20thcentur
y,underBriti
shcolonialrule,
povertyinIndiaintensi
fi
ed,peakingint he1920s. 
Faminesanddiseaseski l
l
edmi ll
ions
eacht i
me. AfterIndi
againeditsindependencein1947,massdeathsfrom famineswer e
prevented.Since1991,rapideconomi cgr owthhasledtoasharpreductioninex t
reme
povertyinIndia.
 However,thoseabovet hepover
tyli
neli
veafragi
leeconomi cli
fe.
Aspert hemet hodologyoft he 
SureshTendulkar Commi tt
eer eport,thepopul ati
on
belowt hepov ert
ylineinIndi
awas354mi ll
i
on( 29.6%oft hepopul ati
on)i n2009-2010
and was 269 mi ll
ion (21.9% of t he popul ati
on) i n 2011- 2012.  
In 2014,
the Rangarajan 
Commi tteesai
dt hatthepopulationbel ow thepov ertylinewas454
mill
ion( 38.2% ofthepopul at
ion)in2009-2010andwas363mi ll
i
on( 29.5% ofthe
populati
on)i n2011-2012.DeutscheBankResearchest i
mat edthattherear enearly300
mill
ionpeopl ewhoar ei nt
hemi ddl
eclass. 
Ifthesepr evi
oust r
endscont inue,I
ndia'
s
shareofwor l
dGDPwi l
lsi
gni f
icantl
yincreasef r
om 7. 3% in2016t o8.5% by2020. 
In
2012,around170mi ll
i
onpeopl e, or12.
4%ofI ndia'spopulat
ion,l
iv
edi npover
ty(
defi
ned
as$1. 90(Rs123.5)
),animpr ovementf r
om 29. 8%ofI ndia'
spopulati
onin2009.I
ntheir
paper,economistsSandhy aKr ishnanandNeer ajHat ekarconcludethat600mi ll
i
on
people,ormorethanhalfofIndia'spopulat
ion,belongtothemi ddl
eclass.
The Asi
anDevelopmentBank  esti
matesIndia'
spopulati
ont obeat1. 28bill
ionwit
han
averagegr
owthr ateof1.3%f r
om 2010-2015.In2014,49.9%oft hepopulati
onaged15
yearsandabovewer eempl oyed.However,21.
9%oft hepopul at
ionstil
lli
vesbel
owt he
nati
onalpover
tyl i
ne.
 The Worl
dPov ert
yClock showsreal-ti
mepov ert
yt r
endsinIndia,
whicharebasedont helatestdata,oftheWor ldBank,amongot hers.Asperrecent
esti
mates,thecountryiswel loni t
swayofendi ngext remepov ert
ybymeet i
ngits
sustai
nabl
edevelopmentgoal sby2030.

Def
ini
ti
onofPov
ert
y
Economi
cmeasur
es
Therear esev eraldefi
ni t
ionsofpov ert
y,andscholarsdisagreeast owhi chdef i
nit
ioni
s
appropriate f or India. 
Inside I ndia, both i
ncome- based pov erty def i
nit
ion and
consumpt i
on-basedpov er t
yst ati
sti
csar einuse.  
OutsideI ndia,theWor l
dBankand
i
nstit
utionsoft heUni tedNat ionsuseabr oaderdef i
nit
iontocompar epov ert
yamong
nati
ons,i ncl
udi ngIndia,basedonpur chasingpowerpar i
ty( PPP),aswel lasnomi nal
rel
ati
v ebasis. Eachstat einIndiahasi tsownpov ertythresholdt odeterminehowmany
peoplear ebel ow itspov ert
yl i
neandt orefl
ectregionaleconomi ccondi ti
ons.These
dif
ferencesi ndef i
nit
ionsy i
eldacompl exandconf l
ict
ingpictureaboutpov ertyinIndi
a,
bothinternall
yandwhencompar edtoot herdevel
opingcount ri
esoft hewor ld.
AccordingtotheWor l
dBank,I ndi aaccount edf orthewor l
d'slargestnumberofpoor
peoplein2012usi ngr evisedmet hodologyt omeasur epov ert
y,reflecti
ngi tsmassive
populati
on.Howev er,inter msofper centage,itscoredf ai
rl
yl owert hanot hercountri
es
holdi
ngl ar
gepoorpopul ations.
 I
nJul y2018, WorldPov ert
yCl ock,aVi enna-basedthink
tank,report
edt hatami nimal5. 3% or70. 6mi l
li
onI ndiansl i
vedi next r
emepov ert
y
compar edto44%or87mi l
li
onNi gerians.Til
l2019,Niger i
aandCongosur passedIndia
i
nt ermsoft otalpopul ationearni ngbel ow $1.9aday .AlthoughI ndi aisexpectedt o
meett heUni t
edNat i
ons'  
SustainableDev el
opmentGoal s onext remepov er
tyindue
ti
me,av er
ylargeshar eofi tspopul ati
onl i
vesonl esst han$3. 2aday ,putti
ngIndia'
s
economysaf el
yi nt
ot hecat egoryofl owermi ddleincomeeconomi es.
Aswi thmanycountri
es, 
povert
ywashistori
cal
l
ydefinedandestimat edinIndiausinga
sustenancefoodstandard.Thi
smethodologyhasbeenr ev
ised.India'
scur r
entofficial
povertyrat
esar ebasedoni t
sPlanningCommi ssion'
sdatader ivedfrom so-called
Tendulkarmethodol
ogy. 
Itdefi
nespovert
ynotintermsofannuali ncome,buti nterms
ofconsumpt ionorspendingperindiv i
dualov eracer t
ainperi
odf orabasketofessential
goods.Furthermore,thismet hodologyset sdi ff
erentpov er
tyli
nesf orruraland ur
ban
areas.Si
nce2007, Indiahassetitsof fi
cialthresholdat ₹ 
26aday( $0.43)inruralar
eas
andabout ₹ 32perday( $0.
53)i nurbanar eas. 
Whilethesenumber sar elowerthanthe
Wor l
dBank's$1.25perday  income- baseddef ini
ti
on,thedef i
nit
ionissimi l
artoChina'
s
US$0.65perdayof fi
cialpovert
ylinein2008.
TheWor ldBank' sinternati
onalpov ert
yl inedef i
nit
ionisbasedonpur chasingpower
pari
tybasi s,at$1. 25perday . 
Thisdefiniti
oni smot iv
atedbyt hefactthatt hepr i
ceof
the same goods and ser vices can differsi gni
fi
cantly when converted intol ocal
curr
enciesar oundt hewor ld.A reali
sticdef ini
ti
onandcompar i
sonofpov ert
ymust
considert hesedi fferencesincost sofl iving,ormustbeonpur chasingpowerpar i
ty
(PPP)basi s.Ont hisbasi s,currencyfluctuationsandnomi nalnumber sbecomel ess
i
mpor tant,t hedefiniti
onisbasedont hel ocalcostsofabasketofessent ialgoodsand
serv
icest hatpeopl ecanpur chase.ByWor ldBank's2014PPPdef i
niti
on, I
ndia'spoverty
rat
eissi gnif i
cantl
ylowert hanprev i
ousl
ybel i
eved.
Mi
xed,
semi
-economi
candnon-
economi
cmeasur
es
Aswi theconomi cmeasur es,t herear emanymi xedornon- economi cmeasuresof
povert
yandexper tscont estwhi chonei smostappr opri
ateforIndia.Forexampl e,
DandekarandRat hin1971suggest edameasur eofpov ertyratethatwasbasedon
[
43]
numberofcaloriesconsumed.  In2011, Al
kir
eetal .suggestedapov er
tyrat
emeasur e
so-cal
ledMulti
-dimensionalPov er t
yI ndex(MPI),whi chonlyput sa6. 25% wei
ghtt o
assetsownedbyaper sonandpl aces33% wei ghtoneducat i
onandnumberofy ears
[
5]
spentinschool.  Thesenon- economi cmeasur esr emaincont r
over
sialandcontested
asameasur eofpov ertyrateofanynat i
on,i
ncl
udingI ndi
a

Compar
isonwi
thal
ter
nat
eint
ernat
ional
def
ini
ti
ons
Indiadet erminesi t
shousehol dpov ertylinebysummi ngupt hei ndivi
dualpercapi ta
pov ert
yl i
nesoft hehousehol dmember s.Thi spr acticei ssi mi l
art omanydev el
oping
count r
ies,butdifferentfr
om dev elopedcount riessuchast heUni tedSt ateswhoadj usts
theirpov ertyl i
ne on an i ncrement albasi s peraddi tionalhousehol d member .For
exampl e,intheUni tedStates,t hepov ert
yl inef orahousehol dwi thjustonemember
wassetat$11, 670pery earf or2014,whi lei twassetat$23, 850pery earf ora4-
memberhousehol d( or$5963perper sonf ort hel argerhousehol d). 
Therationaleforthe
diff
erencesar isef r
om theeconomi cr eali
ti
esofeachcount ry.InIndia,househol dsmay
i
ncludesur vi
vinggr andparents,par ents,andchi ldren.Theyt ypicallydonoti ncuranyor
signifi
cantrentexpensesev erymont hpar ticularlyinr ural I
ndi a,unlikehousingi nmost l
y
urbandev el
opedeconomi es.Thecostoff oodandot heressent ialsareshar edwi t
hin
thehousehol dbyi tsmember si nbot hcases.Howev er ,al argerpor ti
onofamont hly
expendi t
uregoest of oodi npoorhousehol dsi ndev elopi ngcount ri
es,
 whilehousing,
conv eyance,andot heressent i
alscostsi gnificantlymor ei ndev elopedeconomi es.
Forit
scur r
entpovertyrat
emeasur ement s,Indiacalculatestwobenchmar ks.Thef i
rst
i
ncludesabasketofgoods,i ncl
udingf oodi temsbutexcl udingtheimpl i
edv al
ueof
home,v al
ueofanymeansofconv eyanceort heeconomi cv al
ueofot heressentials
creat
ed,grownorusedwi thoutaf i
nanci alt
ransaction,byt hemember sofahousehol d.
Thesecondpov ert
ylinebenchmar kaddsr entv al
ueofr esidenceaswel last hecostof
conveyance,butnothingelse,tothef ir
stbenchmar k.
 Thispr act
icei
ssi milartothose
usedindev el
opedcountri
esf ornon-cashincomeequi valentsandapov ert
yl i
nebasis.
India'
spr oposedbutnoty etadoptedof fi
cialpovert
yl i
ne,in2014,was ₹972 (
US$14)a
mont hinr uralareasor  
₹1,
407  (
US$20)amont hincit
ies.Thecurrentpovert
ylineis$14
permont h( $0.46perday )i nruralareasand$17permont h($0.56perday )inur ban
areas. 
India'snationwideav eragepov er
tyli
nedi ff
ersfrom eachstate'
spov er
tyline.For
exampl e,in 2011- 2012,Puducher r
y had i
tshi ghestpov ert
yl i
ne of 
₹1,301 
(US$18)a
mont hinr uraland 1,309 (
US$18)amont hi nurbanar eas,whi
le 
Odisha 
hadt hel owest
povertythr esholdsof ₹695 (US$9.70)amont hforruraland ₹861 (
US$12)amont hfor
i
t surbanar eas.
Pov
ert
ypr
eval
enceandest
imat
es
The19t hcent uryandear l
y20t hcent ur
ysaw i ncreasingpov ertyi nI ndi adur i
ngt he
colonialer a. Ov ert his per i
od,t he col oni algov ernmentde- indust ri
alized I ndia by
reducinggar ment sandot herf inishedpr oduct smanuf acturedbyar tisansi nI ndi a.
Instead,t heyi mpor t
edt hesepr oduct sf rom Br it
ain'sexpandi ngi ndust ryduet ot he
many i ndust ri
ali nnov ati
ons of t he 19t h cent ury.Addi ti
onal l
y,t he gov er
nment
simul t
aneousl y encour aged t he conv ersion ofmor el and i ntof arms and mor e
agr i
culturalexpor tsf r
om I ndia. East er nregi onsofI ndiaal ongt heGanges  ri
verplains,
such as t hose now known as east ern  Uttar Pr adesh, 
Bihar ,
 Jhar khand  and West
Bengal , 
wer ededi catedt opr oduci ngpoppyandopi um.Thesei temswer et henexpor ted
tosout heastandeastAsi a,par ticul arlyChi na.TheEastI ndiaCompanyi nitiall
yheldan
exclusivemonopol yov ertheseexpor ts,andt hecol onialBrit
ishi nstituti
onsl at
erdidso
aswel l. Theeconomi cimpor tanceoft hisshi ftfrom indust r
yt oagr icul t
ur ei nIndiawas
l
ar ge; 
by1850,i tcr eatednear l
y1, 000squar eki lomet resofpoppyf armsI ndia'
sf ertile
Gangespl ai ns.Thi sconsequent lyl edt otwoopi um war sinAsi a, witht he secondopi um
war  
foughtbet ween1856and1860.Af terChi naagr eedt obeapar toft heopi um trade,
the col oni algov ernmentdedi cat ed mor el and excl usivelyt o poppy . 
The opi um
agr i
culturei nI ndiarosef rom 1850t hrough1900, whenov er500, 000acr esoft hemost
ferti
le Ganges basi nf arms wer e dev oted t o poppycul ti
vation. Addi tional l
y,opi um
processi ngf actoriesownedbycol onialof ficialswer eexpandedi n Benar es  and Patna,
andshi ppingexpandedf rom Bengalt othepor tsofEastAsi asuchasHongKong,al l
underexcl usi vemonopol yoft heBr iti
sh.Byt heear l
y20t hcent ur y,3outof4I ndians
wer eempl oy edi nagr i
culture,fami neswer ecommon, andf oodconsumpt ionpercapi ta
declinedi nev erydecade.  I
nLondon, t
hel ate19t hcent uryBriti
shpar l
iamentdebat edt he
repeatedi ncidenceoff aminesi nI ndi a,andt hei mpov eri
shmentofI ndi ansduet ot hi s
diversionofagr i
culturelandf rom gr owingf oodst aplest ogr owi ngpoppyf oropi um
expor
tunderor
der
soft
hecol
oni
alBr
it
ishempi
re.
Povertywasintensedur
ingcolonialer
aIndia.Numerousfami
nesandepidemicskil
l
ed
mill
ionsofpeopleeach 
Upperimagei sfr
om 1876-1879fami
neinSouthofBri
ti
shIndia
thatstar
vedandkill
edover6mill
ionpeople,
whilel
owerimageisofchi
l
dwhost arv
edt o
deathduringt
heBengalfamineof1943.

Thesecol onialpol i
ciesmov edunempl oyedar t
isansi ntofar ming, andtransformedI ndia
i
nt oar egionincr easinglyabundanti nland,unski ll
edl abour ,andl owpr oduct i
vi
ty.This
consequent lymadeI ndiascar ceinski l
ledlabour ,capi t
alandknowl edge. Onani nfl
at i
on
adjusted1973r upeebasi s,theav eragei ncomeofanI ndi anagr arianlabourerwasRs.
7.20pery earin1885,agai nstani nfl
at i
onadj ustedpov er tylineofRs.23. 90pery ear.
Thus,notonl ywast heav eragei ncomebel ow t hepov ertyl i
ne,butt hei ntensit
yof
pov ertywasal sosev ere.Thei nt
ensi t
yofpov ertyi ncreasedf rom 1885t o1921,bef ore
beingr ev ersed.Howev er,theabsol utepov ertyrat escont inuedt obev eryhight hr
ough
the1930s.  
Thecol onialpol iciesont axationandi tsr ecogni ti
onofl andowner ship
claims of  
zami ndars and mansabdar s,orMughaler a nobi l
ity,made a mi nori
ty of
fami l
iesweal t
hy .Addi t
ionally
, thesepol ici
esweakenedt heabi li
tyofpoor erpeasantst o
commandl andandcr edit.Ther esulti
ngr isingl andl essnessandst agnantr ealwages
i
nt ensifiedpov erty.
Sust
ainabl
edev
elopment
Is t he organi
zing pr i
nciple f
or meet i
ng human dev elopment  
goals whi l
e
simultaneously 
sustaining t
heabi l
ityofnatural sy
stemst oprovi
det henat uralr
esour
ces
and ecosystem ser vices based upon whi ch t he economy  
and society 
depend.The
desiredresultisast ateofsoci etywher elivingcondi ti
onsandr esourcesar eusedto
continuet omeethumanneedswi thoutunder miningt heintegrit
yandst abil
i
tyofthe
naturalsystem.Sust ainabledev elopmentcanbedef i
nedasdev elopmentt hatmeets
theneedsoft hepresentwi thoutcompr omisingtheabi li
tyoffuturegenerationstomeet
thei
rownneeds.
Whilet hemoder nconceptofsust ainabl edevelopmenti sderivedmost l
yf r
om t he
1987 Brundtland Repor t
,i tis also r ooted in earl
ierideas about sustainabl efor est
management  
andtwent i
eth-centuryenv i
ronmentalconcerns.Astheconceptdev el
oped,
i
thasshi ft
edt owardsf ocusmor eon  economicdev el
opment,
 socialdev elopment  
and
envir
onment alprot
ectionf orfuturegener ati
ons.Ithasbeensuggest edt hat" thet erm
'
sustainabil
ity'should be v i
ewed as humani ty'
st argetgoalofhuman- ecosy stem
equil
ibrium,whi le'sust ainable dev elopment 'referst ot he holisti
c appr oach and
tempor alprocessesthatl eadust otheendpoi ntofsust ai
nabil
it
y". 
Moder neconomi es
are endeav ori
ng tor econci l
e ambi tiouseconomi cdev el
opmentand obl igationsof
preserving 
naturalresour ces and ecosy stems,as t he two are usual l
y seen as of
confli
cting nature.Instead of hol di ng climate change commi tment s and ot her
sustainabil
i
tymeasur esasar emedyt oeconomi cdev el
opment,turningandl everagi ng
them int
o marketopport
uni
ti
es wil
ldo gr
eat
ergood.
 The economic dev
elopment
broughtbysuchorgani
zedpr
inci
plesandpr
act
icesi
nan economy 
iscal
ledManaged
Sustai
nabl
eDevelopment(
MSD).
Theconceptofsust ainabledev elopmenthasbeen,andst i
llis,subjectt ocrit
ici
sm,
i
ncl udingt hequest ionofwhati st obesust ainedi nsust ai
nabl edev elopment.Ithas
beenar guedt hatt herei sno sucht hingasasust ai
nableuseofa  non-r
enewable
resour ce,sinceanyposi ti
verateofexpl oit
ati
onwi lleventuall
yl eadtot heexhaustionof
earth'sf init
e st ock; 
this perspect i
ver enderst he I
ndust ri
alRev olution as a whole
unsust ainable. 
Ithas al so been ar gued t hatt he meani ng of t he concepthas
oppor tunisti
call
y been st ret
ched f rom ' conservation management 't o' economic
dev elopment '
,andt hatt heBrundtlandRepor tpromot ednot hi
ngbutabusi nessasusual
strategyf orwor l
ddev elopment,wi thanambi guousandi nsubst ant
ialconceptat t
ached
asapubl icrelati
onssl ogan.
Sustainabi l
itycan be def i
ned as t he practi
ce ofmai nt
aining world processes of
productivityi ndefinit
ely—nat uralorhuman- made—byr epl
acing resourcesused wi th
resourcesofequalorgr eaterv aluewithoutdegr adingorendanger i
ngnat ur
albi oti
c
systems.  Sustainabl e dev elopment t ies t ogether concer n f or t he 
car r
y i
ng
capacity of naturalsy stems wi ththesocial,pol
itical,
andeconomi cchallengesf acedby
humani ty. Sustainabili
ty Sci ence is the st udy of t he concepts of sust ai
nable
developmentandenv i
ronment alscience.Ther ei sanadditionalfocusont hepr esent
generations' responsi bil
it
yt or egenerat
e,mai ntainandi mproveplanetaryresour cesfor
usebyf ut uregener at
ions.

Cul
tur
eandGl
obal
Compet
ence

Peopleassumet hatbecausemysonshavegrownupinamul t
il
ingualandmult
icul
tur
al
homet heyarenatural
l
ycul t
ural
l
ycompet
ent
.Theyassumethatbecausemysonshav e
tr
avel
edwi thusar oundt heU.S.andt
oahal f
-dozenf
orei
gncount ri
esthatt
heyar e
natur
all
yglobal
lycompet ent
.

Thatmaybepar t
ial
l
ytrue,butmyr et
icencecomesf r
om theuseoft heseter
ms.What
dotheymean?Near lyever
yschoolintheUni tedStat
es,andfrom whatI’
veseenal
most
ever
yschoolar oundthewor ld,wantsgr aduatestoemer gewithcultur
alandglobal
competence.Again,
whatdot heymean?I sthereadiff
erence?

Iwor kedformorethant woy earsasCEOoft he Partnershi

pf or21stCentur
yLearning,
focusing inmyt enur
eoni mbuing ourFrameworkwi th 
new thinki
ng ar
ound global
compet ence.Wedr ew ourinspir
ati
onf rom t
hewor kbei ngdonei nNor thCar
olinaat
the 
Depar tmentofPubli
cI nstr
ucti
on,VIF(now Part
icipate)
 andthe gl
obalcompetence
framewor k 
devel
opedbyt he Asi
aSocietyandCCSSO.
We t ook a l
ong,hardl ook atthe Organi
zat
ion f
orEconomi c Cooper
ati
on and
Development(OECD) 
framework,which serv
es as t
he conceptmap forthe 2018
assessmentofgl
obalcompetencet
hatisnowpartofthePISAbatt
ery
.

Let’
sjumponesemant i
chur dl
e( t
hemeaningoft heword“competence”
)bef oreweget
start
ed.Accor di
ngtot he 
OECD,“ competenceisnotmer elyaspecifi
cski llbutisa
combi nati
onofknowledge,skil
ls,at
ti
tudesandv al
uessuccessful
l
yappliedt oface-
to-
face,vir
tualormedi
atedencounters.
”Developmentofcompetenceisali
felongprocess.

Thefol
lowi
nggl
obalcompet
enci
escompr
iseOECD’
s 
fourdomai
ns.Gl
obal
l
ycompet
ent
i
ndiv
idual
s:

 Canexami nelocal,
globalandi ntercult
ur al
issues
 Un derstandandappr eciat
edifferentper specti
vesandwor ldv
iews
 Interactsuccessf ul
lyandr espectfullywithothers
 Ta ker esponsibleacti
ont owardsust ai
nabili
tyandcoll
ecti
vewel l
-being.
Therearemi nordi f
ferences,most l
ysemant ic,amongt hev ar
iousframewor kssothi
s
defi
nit
ionwillserveasourdef aultunderstandingofgl obalcompetence.

Culturalcompetencei
sanothermatterandit’
snotonlytheeducati
onsectort
hathasan
abidinginter
est.I
fyoudigint
othet opi
cy ou’
llfindt
hatmanyoft hemostpopularuse
casescomef rom t
hefeder
algover
nmentandf ocusonthe 
medicalfi
eld.

TheNat i
onal Educati
onAssoci ati
on(NEA)shiftstheconversat
iont
otheclassroom with
i
ts Div
ersit
y Toolkit:Cul t
uralCompet ence forEducat or
s.I nthe NEA’s defini
ti
on,
cult
urall
ycompet entt eachingincorpor
ates“awar enessofone’sowncul t
uralidenti
ty
whilehavingtheabi l
i
tyt ounderstandgroupdiff
erencesthatmakeeachclassroom and
eveneachst udent,unique.”

TheNEA cult
uralcompetenceframeworki sdriv
enbyaskillsetthatt
eacher
scan
dev
elopf
orthepurposeofimprov
ingstudentsuccessi
ndi
ver
seclassr
ooms:

 Valui
ng Div ersit
y. 
Accepting and r especti
ng dif
ferences—diff
erentcul t
ural
backgroundsandcust oms,differentway sofcommuni cati
nganddi f
ferent
tr
adit
ionsandv al
ues.
 Being Culturall
y Self-
Awar e. 
Culture– t he sum t ot
alofan i ndi
vi
dual’s
experi
ences, knowledge,skil
l
s,beli
ef s,val
uesandinterest–shapeseducat ors’
senseofwhot heyareandwher etheyf itint
heirfamily,school,communi ty
andsociety.
  Dynami cs ofDi fference. Knowi ng whatcan go wr ong in cross-cul
tur al
communi cati
onandhowt orespondt othesesit
uat i
ons.
 Kn owledgeofSt udent s’Cult
ur e.
 Educator
smusthav esomebaseknowl edge
oft heirst
udent s’cul turesot hatstudentbehaviorscanbeunder stoodi nthei r
propercul t
uralcont ext.
Inst
it
utionali
zingCul turalKnowl edgeandAdapt ingt oDi v
ersi
ty. 
Cult
ural
lycompet ent
educatorsandt heinsti
tutionst heywor kin,cantakeast epf ur
therbyinsti
tuti
onalizing
cult
uralknowl edgesot heycanadaptt odi versi
tyandbetterservediver
sepopul ati
ons.
Examinet het woconst ruct s:Isonesubor dinatetotheot her?Subsumedbyt heot her ?
Canschool seasei niti
ati
v ef atigueandsemant icconfusi
onbyf ocusingonei t
hergl obal
compet enceorcul t
uralcompet ence?

Thedi ff
erence,itseems,i samat teroffocus.Globalcompet encepr epar
esstudents
andt eacherstol ookout wardtot hewor l
df orinspi
rat
ionandgui danceandt obring
those under st
andings back tot he classroom orwor kpl
ace.Cul turalcompetence
preparest eachers( mainly)and studentst olookinwar dtowar dt heclassr
oom or
workplaceandi dentify,under
stand,communi cateandcel ebr
atet r
aditi
ons,val
uesand
practi
cesthatcanenr ichtheexperiencesofall.

School
sneedt hem both,butaclearexplanati
onforteachers,studentsandparents
would be hel pful
. The r ecent focus on  soci
o-emot i
onal l ear
ning 
muddies
communicati
onaswel l
,soaschoolordist
rictwoul
ddowel ltoprovideonitswebsi
tea
pri
merthatst
atesanoffi
cial
posi
ti
onont heseimport
antconstructs.

TheEngi
neer
’sRol
e

TheNat ionalResearchCounci
lrecent
lyrecognizedtheneedf orimprovementinbot h
engineeri
ngdesignandengi neeri
ngdesigneducat i
on.Althoughtherearenumer ous
art
iclesonengineeri
ngdesi
gn,wewi l
lconcentr
ateont hei
nteract
ionbetweenengineers
andsociety.

Oneoft hefi
rstsourcesofconf usion,part
icularlyamongt hosewhoar enotengi neer sor
scienti
sts,ist hedi sti
ncti
onbet weensci enceandengi neer i
ng.Thepr i
mar yr oleof
sciencei st
odev el
opknowl edgeandunder standingofthephy sicaluniv
erse.Aspoi nted
outbyDav i
s andot hers,ani mpor t
antdi stincti
oni sthatt hispur suitofknowl edge
(science)mayoccurl argel
ywithoutregardt osoci et
alneed( ort osocietali
mpl icati
ons) .
Thedi recti
onofsci entif
icresearchhasbeendescr i
bedbysomeascur iosity-
based
researchwhi chi snotnecessar i
lydrivenbyt hev aluesofsoci ety.Societ
alv al
ues( and
resulti
ngpriori
ties)donotnecessar il
ydefinet hebounds, dir
ect ionorscopeofsci ent i
fi
c
curiosit
y. 
* 
Thisi snotacr i
ti
cism ofsci ence,f orsuchi st henat ur
eof" i
nquiring."
Furthermore,iti sof t
ennotpossi bl
et odet erminerelevanceofapar ti
cularf i
eldof
sci
ent
if
ici
nquirytot
hefutureneedsofsoci
ety.
 *
 Gi
v enthiscuri
osi
ty-
dri
venprocess,
the
baseofscient
ifi
cknowledgeaboutthephy si
caluniversemayber epr
esentedbyan
amoebae-
li
ke str
uct
ure uneven i
nitsextentint he var i
ousdir
ecti
onswi t
h curr
ent
sci
ent
if
icr
esearcheff
ort
sact i
ngtoext
enditscover
age( fig.1)
.

The ut il
ization ofsci ent i
fi
c knowl edge ov ert ime est ablishes t hatsome oft he
knowl edge i si mmedi atelyr elevantt o soci etalneeds whi l
e otherpar ts ar el ess
i
mmedi atel yrel
ev ant( soci etymaynev err ealizether elevanceofapar t
icul arscientifi
c
i
nqui ry)
.Whi l
et hecongr uenceofsoci etalneedwi t
hsci enti
ficknowl edgei smuchmor e
compl ext hanindi catedi nt hi
sar ticle,itmayber epresentedf ort hepur poseoft his
discussionbyaVenndi agram asseeni nf igure2.Theaut horsmai ntai
nt hati tisthis
overlapofsci ent i
fi
cknowl edgewi thsoci et alneed,mor especi fi
cally
,theappl icati
onof
scientif
icknowl edget ot heneedsofsoci ety, t
hatisthedomai nofengi neer ing( int
eralia)
(seebel ow) .Cl early,theext entofhumanent erpri
sei smuchmor ecompl ext hani s
represent edher e.If,forexampl e,itisint hei nterestofsoci etytoi ncreaseourst oreof
scientif
icknowl edge, thenengi neersandsci enti
stswhopl ytheirtradei nt hef rontier
sof
scientif
icr esear char ebot hser vi
ngsoci etalneed.Nev ertheless,ourcont entioni sthat
the cent ralf ocus oft he engi neer i
ng pr ofession ist he appl ication ofsci entifi
c
knowl edget omeetsoci etalneeds.
Thisanalogycanbeext endedbysuper imposingthedi sti
ncti
onoft hecr eat
iveversus
theanal y
ticalaspectoft hehumanent er
prise.Wecanr epresentthisaspectoft he
humani ntell
ectbyanot herVenndiagram showni nfigure3.Asi ndicatedinthediagram,
onemaypur suecreativeeffort
swi t
houtinvolvi
nganal yt
icalskil
ls,andonemayappl y
analyt
icalskill
swi thoutenteri
ngt hedomai nofcr eati
vit
y .Forexampl e,asengineers
applycommer ci
alsof t
waretot hesolut
ionofanengi neeri
ngpr oblem, theappli
cati
onof
analyt
icalskil
ls,perse, 
* 
mayi nvol
velit
tl
eornocr eativi
ty.

Onemaysuperi
mposethesetwoVennDi
agramsanduset
her
esul
ti
ngdi
agr
amst
o
exami
neengi
neeri
ngenter
pri
seasshowni
nf i
gur
e4.
Consider
ingt
heint
ersecti
onofsci
ent
if
icknowledgewithsociet
alneed(desi
gnatedas
thedomainofengi
neeri
ng),t
heaut
hor
swilldi
scussthr
eesectors,shownasA,B,andC.

SectorAr epresentstheintersect
ionofpur elyanalyti
caltalent
swi t
htheengineeri
ng
domai n.This maybe used t or epresentengineer
ing science,an abi
li
tyto model
compl ex systems and pr edict theirresponse tov ari
ous input
s under vari
ous
conditi
ons. 
* 
Thissegmentofengi neeringhas,ofcour se,beenthesubjectofint
ense
developmentov ert
hel asthal fcenturyandhasbenef i
tt
edmostdi r
ectl
yfrom the
avai
labil
it
yoff astdi
git
alcomput er
s.

SectorC,thei nt
ersect i
onofourcr eat
ivecapacit
ywitht heengineeri
ngdomai n,canbe
vi
ewedasr epresentingthosesuddeni ntui
ti
veleapsoftenresponsibl
eforrevoluti
onary
advancesint echnologycalled"si
gnifi
cantnovelt
y"bySpi er
 aswellasthoseaspectsof
engineer
ing,noty etf ul
lysupport
edbyengi neeri
ngscience,thatremainmor ear tthan
sci
ence.

Thet hirdsect or
,B( t
hei ntersectionofknowl edgeandneedwi t
hbot hcreati
veand
analyti
calcapabili
ty)canbeusedt or epresentengineeringdesignandmuch" realworl
d"
problem solving.Thi ssect ori ncl
udesact ivi
ti
esr angingf rom dev el
opi
ngi nnovat
ive
productsandpr ocesses,tocr eat i
ngani nnovati
v ebridgedesi gn,todevel
opinganew
controlprocessf orpetrochemi calpr oduction.Thisvisionofengi neeri
ngdesignast he
quadr i
l
ateralintersecti
on repr esent ed bySect ion B i s consist
entwi t
h statements
expressedbyPahl andBei tz
, Dixon, andPenny .

Currentappr oachestot eachingusedi nengineeringschoolshav ebeendesi gnedmor e

fordev elopinganal yt
icalskill
s(SectorA)t hancr eat
iveskil
ls.TheAccr edi
tationBoar d
forEngi neeringandTechnol ogy(ABET)i denti
fiesengineeringas" t
hatprof essi
oni n
whichknowl edgeoft hemat hematicalandnaturalsci
encesgai nedbyst udy,
exper i
ence,
andpr acti
cei sappl iedwi t
hj udgmentt odev elopway stout i
l
ize,economi call
y,t
he
materialsandf orcesofnat e"
ur f
ort hebenef i
tofmanki nd" (
emphasisadded) .ABET
fur
therr ecogni zesthat"asignifi
cantmeasur eofanengi neeringeducationi
st hedegr ee
towhi chi thaspr eparedt hegraduatet opursueapr oductiveengineeri
ngcar eerthatis
characteri
zedbycontinuedpr of
essionalgrowt h".Onecanconcl udethatanalyticalski
ll
s
areessent i
altoolsforengineers, 
* butarenotsuf fi
cientforacompl et
eengi neeri
ng
education.Aneducationthatonl yusescl assroom pr oblemsi nwhichallvariablesare
accuratelyknown and onlyonecor rectanswerexi stsnotonl ymi srepresent sthe
si
tuationsengineer
sencount erintheirjobs,butalsodoesl it
tl
et osti
mulatecreat i
vit
y.A
tr
endt owardusingopen-endedpr oblemsi nt heengineeri
ngcl assr
oom isaheal t
hystep
i
nt hedirecti
onofmor ecompl et
eandr elevantengineeri
ngeducat i
on.

Thisf our-ci
rcl
er epresentati
on ofhuman endeav or(fi
g.4)al so of fer
s a usef ul
perspectiveforot herenterpri
ses.Sect
or1,theinter
secti
onofanal y
ticalski
ll
swi th
societalneedsout sidetheboundsofsci ent
if
icknowledgemi ghtincl
udeeconomi cs
andphi l
osophywhi lesector3mayencompasst hearts.Sector2maybeusedt o
representthosesocietalneedsoutsi
detheboundsofscient
if
icknowledget hatr
equired
both anal yti
cal and cr eati
ve ski
ll
s,perhaps incl
uding publi
c pol icy
,busi ness
admi nist
rati
on,andmusi c.

Thev iew ofengineeri

ngpr esentedinthispaperdi ffersfrom thev i
ew of"method"
presentedbyKoen,andt henot i
onof" signif
icantnov el
ty"presentedbySpi er
.Spier
argues,"Ther
ei saproductthatresul
tsfrom theactivit
yofanengi neer"andi
nterpr
ets
theterm" pr
oduct"broadl
y(wepr esumetoi ncl
udepr ocesses).Ouremphasi s,
howev er
,
i
snotont heproduct
,buttheengineer
'si
nteractionwithsociety
.