Global Engineering, necessity for Engineers of today

Week 4 blog

Global Engineering, necessity for Engineers of today

The English Channel tunnel is without a doubt one of the greatest engineering marvel. It has become a bridge between France and England and according to the “chunnel video “clip” it is becoming of economic value to both of the country.

This is a good example on how engineers from two different cultures came together in order to complete an engineering feat. By putting their usual rivalry aside, the neighbouring English and French have succeeded in constructing this tunnel. This is an example of a somewhat global engineering. Two groups of engineers came together to form one team, despite their respective differences in mind set and way of thinking.

What I found interesting is that the French engineers always have the need to have a plan, to proceed in a very methodical and structured way, while the British engineers preferred taking a more “laisser-faire” attitude, a more laid-back way of working.  Notice how according to Paul Bell, these two mindsets complement each other.

The British are able to work in situations involving constant problem solving and change. According to the video, despite wrong geological information that led to the crippling of their TBM, the British still manage to bore the tunnel. However, the French, in my opinion, thanks to the conception of a plan would have been able to prepare for this kind of problem. Nevertheless, as the author of “The other side of the tunnel points out”, if all plans fails, the French side would crumble and fail.

This is where Global engineering gains its importance. If as future engineer, we are able to mix different way of thinking into one global team, the possibilities and potential would be endless. I think this is where the US who concentrates more on training a more culturally diverse population, gains an edge over other global competitors.