THE ENGINEERING IDEAS INSTITUTE

ECL-USA’s Summit 9, The Engineering Ideas Institute, is in the books. Session 1 included an exploration of the complex entanglement between society and technology and the role that the engineering community can play in an emergent future to help society anticipate, untangle, and adapt. The theme of Session 2 was Environmentally Responsible Engineering: Building Capacities for Leading ERE Work / Leading the Change. This session explored what it takes to lead the work of ERE through the stories of the session provocateurs who are actively engaged in this type of work. Session 3 focused on the subject of Diversity Challenges: Exploring Barriers and Enablers for Women and Under Represented Minorities in Engineering. The session explored why the system is stuck with respect to the percentage of women and under-represented minorities in the engineering workforce and possible leverage points for unsticking it (removing barriers, fostering enablers, changing mindsets and unconscious biases, etc.). Session 4’s theme was Public Policy: Enabling Engineering Leadership in the Public Policy Arena. This session examined how engineering and science can be used to more effectively set policy and how engineers can move beyond simply providing technical advice and counsel to higher level engagement in public policy. Detailed reports on all four sessions will be available soon.