Comparing engineering practice in South Asia with australia

Abstract

This paper presents empirical evidence confirming that engineering practice is significantly different between South Asia and Australia. These differences seem to explain large productivity differences. Low productivity in South Asia results in very high end user costs for essential services such as electricity supplies and drinking water. Engineering education, however, is remarkably similar in content with minor differences in course delivery, and graduates emerge with little understanding of engineering practice. While industry employers in industrialized countries complain that engineering graduates lack practical skills, this gap between education and practice is even more extreme in South Asia. Interviews and field studies in manufacturing plants have identified several dimensions of difference in practice. These studies and other evidence reveal an alarming picture in which engineering graduates emerge with inappropriate skills and knowledge and are therefore ill-equipped to provide real value for their employers. India and the rest of the developing world need huge improvements in energy efficiency and conservation to provide improved living standards at the same time as achieving large reductions in harmful atmospheric emissions. This paper argues that fundamental changes in engineering education will be needed to achieve these goals. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2008.