The problems the world faces are multidisciplinary in nature and their solution requires an integrated, multidisciplinary approach, i.e., science + engineering + business + society + managing complexity. This is not the way engineers are educated, nor the way companies function. Only through innovation can these problems be solved. But what is innovation? It is hard to define, but one knows it when one sees it!
Innovate or perish is a mantra I have heard over the past decade in industry throughout the world. Companies that have heeded the warning have flourished, while others have vanished. Silos and comfort zones are the biggest impediments to innovation. Eliminating them requires changing culture--attitude and behavior--and instilling ownership of the challenge. Innovation is local, not imported but created, and is a way of thinking, communicating, and doing. The same mantra applies to engineering education.
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