Science and Engineering Provide the Most Effective Solutions to Humanity's Foremost Problem

摘要

The foremost problem facing humanity today is sustaining human development and preserving the planet. Science and engineering provide the most effective solutions to these problems. This can happen only if there are a sufficient number of qualified professionals in these disciplines. Effective partnership consisting of all stake holders in science and engineering is important to establish sustainable human development and preserve the planet. There is currently a shortage of qualified professionals in these disciplines. The global shortage of well qualified scientists, engineers, and technologists can be solved by a partnership consisting of governments, policy makers, and educational institutions with the goal of educating and training people to work in these disciplines. The partnership should establish life-long training at all stages of people's professional lives to significantly improve their professional competencies and innovative capacities. Governments should increase funding of these efforts while working synergistically with other stakeholders. Science and engineering education should be modified to focus on innovation and problem based interdisciplinary learning that responds to the changing needs of the industry. Capacity building in these sectors should be significantly increased to achieve sustainable development. Partnerships should also occur at a global level, working to significantly strengthen gender and geographical diversity in science and engineering. Special focus must be employed to ensure and encourage participation of women and people from Least Developed Nations. These partnerships are necessary to not only increase the number of professionals available to identify the problems but also to design and implement sustainable solutions.