Relationship between Engineering and Globalization - Assignment Example

Relationship between Engineering and Globalization Globalization is the development of processes that results into a situation in which people from different parts of the world are incorporated into a single world society. The growth of globalization has been necessitated by increased development of world economy and international trade, opening up new avenues and frontiers of doing business for internationally owned organizations. The interdependence between diverse economies of the world has catalyzed the increased growth and development of globalization and global trade. Globalization has opened a number of potentials for other countries and has opened the world market into one borderless world in which goods and services move freely. Trade liberalization and additional levels of economic liberalization have resulted into decreased trade safety and created a more liberal world trading system (O’Neill-Carrillo 25). The impacts of globalizations have been felt in various academic fields as a result of the various advances in communication, information technology and international trade agreements are executed. The advances in of the various disciplines of engineering have been influenced by the development and growth in globalization and this has provided a number of opportunities to engineers. The increasing expansion of engineering services in various spheres of the world economy and infrastructural development has opened various opportunities for engineers in the world. A number of challenges have also emerged due to the increased interaction of engineers from different cultural and educational backgrounds from different parts of the world (Korsinsky 12). In this paper, the impacts of globalization will be analyzed in relation to the engineering professional and how it affects the job potential and educational impacts of engineering. The paper will discuss the impacts of globalization to the different branches of engineering and how the professionals within this are have handled the pressures that arise from the frontiers opened by liberalization. The problems arising from globalization in relation to the engineering field will also be analyzed with specific emphasis given to the different nongovernmental and nonprofit engineering bodies that have worked on these issues. The impacts of these problems and the solutions that the nongovernmental organizations have proposed towards solving these problems will also be evaluated (Korsinsky 12). The increasing services of engineering as a result of globalization present a number of opportunities and challenges to engineers across the world. The increase in world population and the increased globalization has created a new frontier for engineers to develop and infiltrate different job markets in the world. The future job market of engineers looks promising due to the increased demand for engineering professionals by different sectors of the economy that are experiencing increased infrastructural development. The projected increase of the world population in the next 10 years by one billion will lead to increased demand for more infrastructure, housing, transport systems and health care facilities. The waste management approaches and the development of proper sanitation facilities as a result of increased population across the world will also increase the demand for engineering services. Engineers will therefore be needed to develop more innovative products and facilities to meet the increased demand for infrastructural facilities like hospitals, parks and schools. The globalization of engineering services will make it possible from engineers from different parts of the world to access these opportunities. Globalization is also characterized by the development and the legislation of different trade treaties that affect the operations of engineers across the world. These international treaties and laws as a result of increased globalization have a number of impacts on the general engineering profession and how international engineering practice will be conducted. International trade agreements include the North American free trade agreements and the general agreement on the trade in services which affects in a number of ways the development of international markets for engineers. As one of the fastest growing international trade services, these treaties define the nature of engagement of engineers from different parts of the world with their colleagues in the country of service. These treaties have opened new options for engineering associations to participate in the shaping of the nature of these treaties and how they will affect the engineering profession (Intriligator 5). Higher education and training in different countries differ as far as engineering is concerned and this is an important factor to consider when evaluating the impacts globalization. The accreditation requirements for practice in different parts of the country also differ significantly and this is influenced by the nature of education and training standards applied in the different countries. To be successful and develop appropriately as a global engineer, it is prudent for engineers to develop new skills that will suit the international requirements to practice as a global engineer. Global engineers have a number of roles and functions which may differ significantly from the home environment and this provides both an opportunity and a challenge to engineers. The accreditation board of the United States has made a number of proposals that will open new frontiers to the global engineering position and practice. The board has provided much emphasis to the engineering curriculum of different graduates from across the globe in an effort to develop a synchronized educational system for global engineers (Intriligator 4). The development of globalization has also resulted into the development of new challenges to engineers especially those with an eye on global engineering practice. These vary from ethical to educational curriculum variation in different parts of the world and how such has affected the level of globalization of engineering. Universities in different countries develop their curriculum independent of their counterparts in other parts of the globe; this does not reflect the principle of globalization that agitates for the development of uniformity and liberalization of not just the trading systems but also the educational curriculum. This has significantly slowed the impacts of globalization is one of the major reasons why the engineering accreditation board of the united states developed new curriculum frameworks to synchronies it with those done by other institutions in other parts of the world (Wust 8). Ethics, which is the expected code of conduct and behavior expected of different professionals in different parts of the world, has also reduced the progress of globalization to the engineers. Engineering ethics has a number of impacts especially with the current advanced level of technological development. There is thus need to consider the professional engineering behaviors with advanced globalization to oversee the changes in the expected responsibilities that engineers have to the society as a whole. To practice in diverse parts of the world, global licensing is important especially with increased globalization and the variation in the requirements for accreditation. For example, the United States engineers according to their curriculum are based placed to sit the nationwide professional engineering exam specific to each discipline within the engineering. To increase the ability of the professionals from different parts of the world to exercise in the country, the country developed the Washington accord. This has led to the mutual recognition of accreditation systems and professional engineers from different parts of world especially New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom (Wust 8). In order to help mitigate and solve some of these issues affecting global engineering, a number of nongovernmental organization and nonprofit bodies have been created in different countries. This section of the paper will evaluate the different inputs that these organizations have created to ensure these problems are addressed and globalization impacts of engineering felt. Engineers without borders are one such organization that was developed in line with the current emerging impacts of globalization on mind. It is registered in the United Kingdom and works towards helping up based students attain educational standards and work experience that can enable them develop into global engineers. The world federation of engineering organization is also a global organization that has been at the forefront to help provide solutions to the accreditation challenges that face global engineers (O’Neill-Carrillo 27). In order to accomplish this, the organization organized a world’s engineer’s summit in 2013 in Singapore to chart ways of ensuring uniformity in the educational and curriculum content of angering courses across the world. The world federation of engineering organizations is also one of such nonprofit organizations that is affiliated to the united nation educational, scientific and cultural organization and is geared towards improving the registration and accreditation processes in the world. The engineers against and poverty and engineering technology for the poor has also provided opportunities for other engineers from poor and developing countries to develop skills that can enable them achieve international accreditation and become global engineers. Works cited Intriligator, Michael. Globalization of the world economy: potential benefits and cost and a net assessment. 2003. Web. 19 Sept. 2013 Korsinsky, Alexander. Globalization, networking, and engineering technologies. Proceeding of the international conference of engineers and computer scientist. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2013 O’Neill-Carrillo, Efraín et al. Social, ethical and global issues in engineering. Mayaguez: university of Puerto Rico. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2013 http://www.fieconference.org/fie2008/papers/1201.pdf Wust, E.L. The effects of globalization on the civil engineering profession. Marquette University, civil and environmental engineering. 2003. Print. Read More