Engineering Diversified

So far, diversity in engineering has been discussed only along these formats:

The Reservation Argument: For x number of centuries, people of y category
have been deprived of chances. So it is necessary to promote them or lower the
standards overall, so that they get a chance. Y can stand for caste, religion,
race, or region. This argument is bereft of logic as the current y didnt
suffer for x centuries. Can you imagine Obama becoming the President of the US
through quotas?

The Need Argument: This goes something like this. Based on current numbers
and trends in population growth, we believe there will be less number of
engineers from towns and cities in 2050, which will push the country back to the
state it was in the 1980s. So, women and people in rural areas need to be
encouraged to join engineering to supplement the number requirement, so that our
growth levels dont fall back in 2050. Therefore, we need to change policies and
offer incentives to encourage others to join engineering. This is too
simplistic, and while it may be true, there is a need for more women and
underrepresented people based on demographics, it still doesnt mean diversity
in this field.

The Comparison Argument: China has x number of engineers, and they have
built m power plants which will generate n watts of power in 2050. Since
most companies that provide the x power plants are Indian, we need to get them
to build the same, or go in for nuclear power plants from A or B countries; so
that we can sustain our growth level. Otherwise, we will fall back severely in
2050, compared to China which will become a superpower. Therefore, we need to
get as many people as possible in engineering. So, we should encourage or
subsidize engineering in rural areas and create SEZs, so that our growth level
is maintained. Planning for the future just to outdo a competitor(s) doesnt
promote diversity in engineering. The comparison argument is based on the logic
might is right, and that staying at par with China is the only goal for a
diverse country like ours!

While the above three arguments seem to make sense, they are based on vote
bank politics, playing up on peoples insecurity and real fear. While some of
the statements arise from genuine concern, they arent based on logicthe
primary platform for engineering.

Many people ask me, if Im refuting their arguments, then how diversity in
engineering can be promoted? Some ask why there should be diversity in
engineering in the first place.

First, let me clarify what I mean by diversity. Diversity is not based on
demography.

Engineering is a creative profession, despite the automaton like qualities
people tend to associate with it. Most people do not think of engineering as
creative, as it is not obvious like painting or drama, or a movie. But consider
the seven wonders of the worldancient and newwithout engineering and
technology, none of them would have been possible. Look at all the inventions
from the cave era to the computer erait has been engineers who invented,
designed, and made improvements. All humans on earth and in space are affected
by technology developed by engineers, be it the television at home, Internet, or
the ability to map planets, and space travel. Engineers have been primarily
responsible for all of it, as creativity itself is defined as generation of a
new idea which engineers have constantly come up with.

If we are so great at it, why do we need diversity in engineering? Because
only with diversity, new ideas and ways of thinking come up and each new
improvement is made possible.

India is currently stagnating, as we have got too comfortable with the way we
do engineering. While there is great work done in universities by students, once
these students get into a plush corporate office with a hefty salary, invention,
and innovation goes down the drain. Their concentration shifts to finishing the
work kept before them, and not in creating new products or processes. This is
why we simply cannot go on as before. What exactly do I mean by this?

Like every creative profession, what we churn out is based on the problems we
confront or experience in everyday life and how we solve it. We are limiting our
potential because currently, engineers in corporate offices think alike. The set
of ideas and experiences are way too similar, and this result in new products
not being designed or built, and new processes not being invented. Most
importantly, this extends to limiting our own thinking as we live in similar
environments facing similar problems. The best we can do is adapting a western
solution to our condition. This is not innovation but adaptation, like making
the missing glass slipper in Cinderella into a missing funky mobile in todays
fairytales. This results in missing several opportunities and not making new
products which translates to a real and tangible economic cost. This is why we
need diversity in engineering.

If we have a great engineering base then I would like to ask you to ponder
over the following questions:

Why are we still importing most of our defense equipments from abroad, when
we should be making them in our own country? Cost is not a factor, as it is
cheaper to make these equipments here. We are talking about the security of our
country, and while we have the intelligence and capability to manufacture it
here, we dont. Why?

• Why is our telecom network compromised, as most communications equipment
  and in case of PSUs, even our network software is imported from Southeast
  Asian countries and China?
• Why are we not building enough power plants to satisfy domestic capacity,
  and instead manufacturing power plants for countries in the Middle East and
  China? This includes energy corporate giants in the private sector and the
  government-run businesses like BHEL.
• Name one engineering marvel in India built in the late twentieth or early
  twenty-first century which awed you because it is environment-friendly or
  designed so well that it utilizes space to the maximum without wasting
  resources.
• Any engineering marvel that you can think of that is so innovative that it
  not only solves a problem, but also is aesthetic to look at?
• What gadgets have we come up with that can give our sports persons an edge
  over others that helped them earn Olympic medals?

This is why we cannot go on as before, and we need diversity in engineering.
Diversity here means thinking differently and not adapting or modifying existing
solutions as each country faces unique problems just as each individual is
unique.

We can achieve true diversity in engineering by following these simple steps.

• The syllabus of schools and colleges should be changed. We need one hour
  in schools, where it is a DIY class where students make environment-friendly
  or useful gadgets using e-waste that gets graded or one semester in college
  where a student or teams of students have to solve a local problem using
  available technology or come up with a new idea and process that leads to a
  new way of living.
• There should be more corporate-school interaction. Instead of just
  placements, students in schools and universities should be encouraged to
  develop their products or ideas.
• Product creation contests should be developed via media along the lines of
  singing and dancing.
• Each school and university should set up a product development center.
• Students who come up with new products to solve local problems should be
  recognized and honored along the lines of the Innovator Awards in the US.
• Reward and recognize engineering creators, as we do with celebrities.

To achieve diversity in engineering, we need to think differently and invent.
As techies, are you up for the challenge?