DOHA: The World Congress on Engineering Education (WCEE 2013) concluded here on Thursday with a call for more and better engineers.
In closing remarks to the congress delegates and speakers, Dr Karan Watson, President of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and provost and executive vice-president for Academic Affairs at Texas A&M University, said: “The world is in need of more and better engineers.”
He added: “As we think about the engineers we educate and prepare for the challenges they are facing and will face, we cannot stand by our old routines if they are uninspiring and do not nurture the new generation.
“We must close the gap between the old and new generations,” he added.
The congress was organised by Texas A&M University at Qatar and sponsored by Maersk Oil Qatar.
Silatech Chief Operating Officer Raed Al Emadi commented that “it is important at this stage to wonder about whether or not we are doing the right thing. Usually, people have the luxury of learning from their mistakes.
“However, there is a lot of competition regionally and globally, and not only in the hydrocarbon industry, but also in other industries that push accelerated development.”
The Texas A&M at Qatar Dean and CEO, Mark Weichold, who chaired the congress, said:
“Texas A&M at Qatar is grateful for the generous support of our dedicated industry collaborator Maersk Oil Qatar.
“It would have been impossible to host this influential event without their steadfast partnership and collaboration and without the passion and expertise of the congress delegates and distinguished speakers.”
Lewis Affleck, Managing Director of Maersk Oil in Qatar, said, “Maersk Oil Qatar recognises the importance of nurturing and developing local talent and are pleased to work with Texas A&M University on WCEE 2013, which will help share good practices in engineering education, and therefore benefit educational institutions, and future engineering students in Qatar.”
National Academy of Engineering member Dr Christine Ehlig-Economedies said of WCEE: “Meetings like these bring together people you wouldn’t see normally anywhere else. Here, I was able to attend a session on global competencies and I hadn’t thought about it in the way the panel members put it.”
Dr Phillip R Westmoreland, President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, said that “this congress brings together the different engineering disciplines, and reflects on the commonalities and the differences that create fruitful new opportunities and new technologies for society to use.”
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