The CTC Blog

With support from the United Engineering Foundation, the NAE has been working this year to find ways to better reach the engineering community about Changing the Conversation. One of the things we’re doing, with help from National Engineers Week Foundation, is develop a train-the-trainer curriculum. Engineering organizations will be able to use the training module to conduct face-to-face or virtual education sessions with employees and members. And these folks will then be equipped to take the message about messaging to broader audiences.

The training has been pilot tested twice so far, once face to face at a Future City Coordinator's retreat and a second time by webinar for members of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). The training reviews what is known about public understanding of engineering, summarizes the demographics of the field, and highlights the results of the 2008 Changing the Conversation report. It also provides examples of how engineering ...

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If you've got a story to tell about your own work making creative, empowering materials that get people interested in engineering, or if you know someone who has, let us know.  CTC project staff will get in touch to discuss whether it make sense to create a formal case study for the website.

On Feb. 8, President Obama addressed a meeting of the Deans Council of the American Society for Engineering Education in Washington, D.C. “For every Steve Jobs, we need 10,000 engineers who maybe are working a little more quietly but nevertheless are able to create the kind of products and services that improve people’s lives and also make sure our economy goes well,” he said. 

The challenge, the President added, is attracting more young people into the field. “How can we reach into communities that currently aren’t producing a lot of engineers?" In these brief remarks, the president revealed a deep understanding not only of what engineers do and their value to society but also of the need to boost awareness and opportunities for girls and under-represented groups to participate in the field.

In other, more public speeches, including the recent State of the Union address, Mr. Obama has called out engineering as essential to addressing some ...