A few years ago, when I was but a weee little lad, ready to face the world and enter the world of engineering, I got the rummy idea that university was the way to go. And so, full of optimism and passion, I popped in the application form, went through the ‘do you have the highest grade’ rat race, got out a substantial loan and made my way into the University (the University in question shall remain unnamed). I was excited! Thrilled! I was in the exciting and riveting field of the then massively popular and over inflated subject of … computer engineering … yes, you heard it right computer engineering … yes yes .. I know, you’re probably asking: “What were you THINKING?!” … hey, didn’t I mention that I was just a weee little lad? … me liked computer games.
… little did I know at the time, the University wasn’t in the business of teaching. We pesky undergraduates, despite our fat wallets, were mere numbers! NUMBERS! Nuisances to be dealt with only when we were a sufficient nuisance. And while many a great teacher had passed through the illustrious halls of the University … few made it as far down field as the new and riveting field of computer engineering. Standards of good teaching were bleak. We had one horrendously bad professor plague us through four fundamental courses without even the rudiments of teaching skills and, more so, without the knowledge of the subject. In fact, the best teacher we had was a post graduate student teaching a subject on digital design.
But you know, such is life. Professors have it tough … there’s research to be done. And, at least by superficial appearances, the University barely dedicated time (and money) to encourage good teaching. So I thought to myself, maybe its my fault, I’m just not taking interesting enough courses. So I went off to the registrar’s office with a list of more interesting courses … and well, you know what happened? My courses weren’t part of the program, I wasn’t allowed to take them. And slowly .. slowly .. slowly my motivation died. The tragic tale of many a student … I was an empty soul-less zombie … walking dead. Sigh.
Everything we did was academic. We solved useless academic word problems and did useless labs with no practical contextual explanations. And I thought to myself: “We’re engineers DAMN IT!” We should be building things solving real problems. Our training should be practical, with theory designed to compliment … not poorly taught theory with random haphazard practicals of no explained significance. But there you go. Of-course, life is not so simple. It’s a difficult thing running a good quality program and navigating the shores of uncertain bureacracy – a bureacracy that is part and parcel of large organizations. So be kind to your professors – they have it tough.
But here’s the crux of the matter. Since then I moved on to another University and other institutions, all of whom had one thing in common. None of these institutes encouraged students to learn hands on. Machine shops were strictly closed doors. After all, its far too dangerous to operate machines – no no no! Too many health and safety and liability issues. And so entire generations of engineers are now going through the motions of engineering education. This is in universities. Imagine this same issue in secondary schools. Academics without practical experience.
Yes, I agree … academic learning and theory are important and absolutely essential. But practical experience empowers and motivates students. It gives students an understanding and mind set that opens up worlds of possibility. Instead, our education systems – and believe me, this is not the problem of any one set of countries – makes students afraid of trying to build things with their own hands … more over, they lose sight of the supply chain. They lose sight of where things come from and what things are made of. And that can be dangerous. “Why?”, you ask.
Well, when I decided to venture along the practical path, I started (and continue) with a very modest budget and had no clue how to go about building anything. But I realized that I could not go for big fancy expensive gadgets, I had to use materials and tools that were cheap, easily accessible (which means local) and fairly easy to work with. For the first time in my life, I started to truly undersand the value of recycling. I collected items that we throw away and reused them. I looked for scrap metals, woods, motors, wires and you name it. Sometimes I had to make the tools I needed. I tried to make use of things that I could not, at first, see a use for. And that’s when I truly became empowered. And that’s when I truly started to appreciate my fore-fathers and the ingeniuity of design and engineering. And that’s when I stopped taking some things for granted. And that’s when the huge folly of how we use and abuse the resources of our planet came to the fore front of my mind.
It is these realizations that are fundamental to changing the way we as a society interact with our environment. It is this that can change and reverse global warming. We need to stop looking for someone else to solve our problems. Its easy to blame schools and institutes for our problems and difficulties – yes, the irony is not lost on me! I know I was just doing that! – But, these institutes are made of individuals and it is us, as individuals, that must change our mind sets. And so fellow engineers, don’t just look for a good high paying job and parrot the academic line. Do something imaginative, practical … go out there and take risks … and well, the world could be your oyster. Change is in the air … may as well join in and enjoy the ride before its too late.