aepronet_scholarship

The David W. Lakamp a/e Pronet scholarship deadline has been extended to June 11, 2014. Get your application in a soon as possible!

Two students, who best demonstrate strong interest in practice management, will each receive a $5,000 award. The scholarship is open to fourth year undergraduates and graduate students of architecture enrolled in a NAAB- accredited professional degree program. Submissions are reviewed by jury panel that consists members of the AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community (PMKC) and the a/e ProNet organization. Candidates must submit a copy of their transcripts, two letters of recommendation, and an essay on how they would resolve a project management dilemma.

For more information about the scholarship click here. To download the application click here .

You can also read about past scholarship winners on the blog.

School is back in session for Engineering students across the country. So, let’s talk about the future of Engineering. It is one of the oldest fields of study. It is also an industry integral to the everyday workings of our infrastructure. What can we expect of and for our engineers in the next two decades?

Recently, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers released a study on the future of the Mechanical Engineering profession, specifically. The survey included results from 1,200 engineers with a minimum of two years of experience in mechanical engineering-related positions. According to an article in Virtual-Strategy Magazine, “The study also revealed that early career engineers and students will play a major role in meeting global challenges over the next 10-20 years, especially in the areas of sustainability or renewable energy, bioengineering and biomedical fields, nanotechnology, green building technology, energy storage, smart grids and greenhouse gas mitigation.”

Other positive results from the survey showed that over the next 20 years:

  • The prestige of working as an engineer will increase
  • The financial rewards of working as an engineer will be greater
  • The number of engineers working in less-developed countries will be greater
  • The need for engineers to increase their ability to communicate more effectively, increase language skills and manage global teams will increase
  • Skills in motion simulation, animation and virtual prototype creation are needed

This is all great news, both for Engineering students still looking forward to beginning their careers, as well as for those who graduated in recent recession-hobbled years and may have struggled to enter the Engineering workforce.

But there is another trend in the Engineering industry that doesn’t quite jive with this expected uptick in demand, prestige, and reward. Even a cursory review of the enrollment figures for Top Engineering Schools indicates the presence of the problem. Continue reading “Conflicting Trends in the Engineering Industry”