Educating the ‘new-model civil engineers’ needed for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Civil engineering has transformed the health, wealth and wellbeing of societies over the past 200 years but is also driving the global climate and environmental crises. This paper proposes the educational requirements for a ‘new-model civil engineer’, whose threshold knowledge of engineering fundamentals, outstanding connective skills and holistic systems thinking will empower them to be a responsible part of a more stable socio-ecological system. The approach represents a sea change in civil engineering education, which the authors believe represents the most exciting opportunity for the profession in two centuries.