This article talks about a positive shift in engineering education and applied sciences in global educational institutions such as Harvard. In the past, students at universities such as Harvard suffered due to lack of emphasis on engineering education; however, this has changed now with funding from outside. The roots of engineering professionalization are to be found in France, where as early as 1675, the government organized a corps of military engineers to oversee construction of fortresses and harbors. In 1985, the academic year preceding Prince Charles’s condescending remarks, Harvard awarded only 38 undergraduate degrees in engineering science, plus six master’s degrees and eight doctorates. The boost in the funding for engineering programs brings hope for the students in Harvard at the least.
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January 2016
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Harvard and Engineering Education
Engineers Used to Suffer from the Elite’s Anti-Technology Bias. No Longer.
Samuel C. Florman, a civil engineer, is chairman of Kreisler Borg Florman General Construction Co. He is the author of The Existential Pleasures of Engineering and six other books. In 1995 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Mechanical Engineering. Jan 2016, 138(01): 42-45 (4 pages)
Published Online: January 1, 2016
Citation
Florman, S. C. (January 1, 2016). "Harvard and Engineering Education." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. January 2016; 138(01): 42–45. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2016-Jan-3
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