Can we make engineering sexy?

National Academy
National Academy
@national-academy-87258j • Oct 25, 2024

Okay, maybe "sexy" is a stretch (though the popular Science Cheerleader blog does have a page devoted to sexy scientists and engineers...#-Link-Snipped-#.)

The National Academy of Engineering recently put out a report - which you can read #-Link-Snipped-# - on improving public understanding of engineering....we can make it sexy like the medical profession or law, right?

The next phase of this project is to develop, with significant engineering community input, an online “toolkit” which would have messaging-related resources, community-building applications, the ability to facilitate dialog between organizations that have developed implementation strategies for the new engineering messages, etc. etc.

All of you are have made it at least to this message board and may have some facility with "social media" and web 2.0. We would love to get your input on what this "toolkit" would look like...what site would work well...Ning? Google Wave? Friendfeed? What type of site would work well? What would you want to see on it if you were to use it or try to help "sexy up" the profession to the general public.

Thanks...as you all represent the engineering community, we hope you can help!

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  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk • Oct 29, 2009

    Well, I believe we can. I personally believe it can be best achieved by creating role models in bulk. I grew up watching my dad fixing up everything - from TVs to Car like a magician. He'd explain how stuff worked and that really formed an impression in my mind that engineering IS sexy indeed 😀

    CE is evolving. We do not want to be a social network for engineers. However, we do have few of the social networking features on CE [ PM, visitor messages, chatroom (CE Conference) etc.].

    As far as the toolkit is concerned, I'm quite sure CEans would have lot of great ideas. What say you, folks? 😁

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  • viggnesh90
    viggnesh90

    @viggnesh90-qb6R0t • Oct 29, 2009

    I agree with Mr. Big K. Engineering is really an enthralling field of the study. People who really commit themselves to engineering find nothing else interesting. There lies the specialty of it.

    The online toolkit would be really an awesome idea.

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  • sarveshgupta
    sarveshgupta

    @sarveshgupta-txtmu5 • Oct 29, 2009

    Seems good...

    Can you pour in some more explanation of the purpose of the toolkit?

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  • Prasad Ajinkya
    Prasad Ajinkya

    @prasad-aSUfhP • Oct 30, 2009

    If the toolkit can effectively show the real talent and abilities of the engineers - not as functional beings, but as people who make a difference, then I think the image of an engineer might change for the better.

    I read through your abstract, and it would help if more of this information were shared (the abstract had barely any data on which I can base my inferences).

    But a social network is a good idea, like Ning. A Facebook is too trivial for this, possibly a collective which can become a movement ... a movement of people who can get things done if they come together, along the lines of FOSS.

    The problem still lies in one purpose which ties everyone's purpose together.

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