Reflective Essay on Engineering Practice: ENEG20001, Term 2, 2018

This reflective essay, submitted for the Australian Engineering Practice unit (ENEG20001) in Term 2, 2018, examines the historical impact of engineering on society, encompassing various innovations and their multifaceted consequences. It delves into the positive contributions of engineering, such as advancements in IT, mechanical systems, and transportation, while also addressing the negative impacts like cybercrime, pollution, and the ethical considerations surrounding automation and chemical weapons. The essay further explores the importance of engineering professionalism and ethics within the Australian context, emphasizing adherence to ethical codes, public safety, and continuous professional development. The author reflects on the societal expectations of engineers, the need for sustainable solutions, and the importance of social impact assessments to guide future engineering projects. The essay concludes by highlighting the need for engineers to partner with the government to address societal needs and to promote sustainable practices in their work.

© Dr Kalam Azad
Australian Engineering Practice
Unit code: ENEG20001
Term 2, 2018
Reflective Writing Task 1
Student Name:
Student ID:
Week of Submission: …………..
Date of Submission: 22/03/2018
School of Engineering and Technology
Central Queensland University

© Dr Kalam Azad
Learning Outcomes 1: Explain the historical impact of engineering on
society
What?
Hereinafter, a reflective look at the impact of engineering in the society is undertaken;
discussions on various engineering innovations that have tremendously shaped the society are
examined.
So What?
These innovations came to the fore with little consideration to the other side of its effects on the
society. For example, with the creation of the information technology systems, companies have
tremendously improved their business operational efficiency and even boosted profitability
(Elrabaa, 2018).
However, negative effects such as cyber crimes have led to some companies incurring huge
losses due to online theft of data and even money via hacking. To respond to such social vices,
software engineers are on top of the game to have the security systems water tight such that
safety of private data can be maintained. This has seen technologies such as cloud computing
gaining momentum in the software engineering world.
Mechanical engineering has also greatly changed the world. According to Elrabaa (2018), some
of these innovations occur when the innovators had only a limited view of the solutions they
were developing but later it impacted the world beyond their expectation. For example, Elrabaa
(2018) opines that the impacts of climate change could have been avoided if the innovators of
the CFC coolant could have thought twice about the effects of this coolant on the ozone layer.
Additionally, Mechanical engineers are also directly involved in the design and development of
sustainable energy generation systems. Notably, the introduction of wind turbines in most parts
of Europe changed the climatic condition of the continent as the free natural flow of air was
interfered with leading to noticeable high temperatures as natural heat path was changed by
these man-made obstacles. Although it ensured the energy being harnessed was clean;
substantially, it has lowered the carbon footprints however in the long run, it interfered with the
natural heat transfer systems.
In the automobile industry, engineers designed and developed automobiles to solve the
transportation problems. From the era of companies like Ford to the Toyotas of today, this field

© Dr Kalam Azad
has seen tremendous growth courtesy of mechanical engineering. There has been increased
mobility and exchange of goods between markets and the households thereby contributing to the
growth of the world economy.
However, engineers have also been blamed for the harmful effect of some of these solutions.
Admittedly, cars are one of the major contributors to urban pollution. This has increased
concern for public safety and health. Besides, they have caused more accidents and contributed
to loss of lives and properties.
Secondly, robotics and automation is being viewed as a threat to existing work cultures. For
example, most modern industries are now replacing the human worker with robots and
automated systems in managing a string of operations (Engineering Weekly. (2018).
Consequently, the work environment is gradually changing to that of virtual reality.
In Chemical Engineering, destruction of civil order and harmony in most countries has been
encouraged more by readily available chemical weapons. Additionally, there are concerns in
Genetic Engineering in which case it is being viewed as an unnatural field and may lead to
irreparable damage in the society as they may cause defects in organism make up. Besides, there
is often life threatening experiments in genetic engineering. Lastly, Software engineering often
contributes to loss of critical information, data and even money due to online manipulation and
bullying by hackers (UConn Today, 2018).
What else?
Additionally, one of the modern technologies being fronted is the use of driverless cars. These
cars provide superior features of driving control and communication with their environment.
From the numerous test outcomes, it is promising to solve some of the challenges that have
come up as a result of the traditional cars. Combined with the electric car technology, this would
be the next big thing globally. The integrated approach in its design makes it a noble idea and
much-needed car in the 21st century.
However, as a result of the complexity in technological advancements, engineering education is
expected to be at par with the happenings in the industry and corporate world. There has to be a
shift from the traditional learning approach which encourages ‘a plug-and-play’ strategy
yielding straight jacket techniques (Hajshirmohammadi and Zarei, 2015). Rather, engineering
training should inculcate more of iterative approaches that generate multifaceted solutions. In
other words, the training should encourage flexibility in the application of the classroom

© Dr Kalam Azad
learning to the real world systems via continuous improvement of projects and researches
(Howard Education, 2018).
What Now?
The modern society is striving towards sustainability in all of its undertakings. There are many
challenges that engineers are expected to address hence the need to link engineering education
and training with sustainable innovative solutions. However, these solutions must be preceded
by social impacts assessments of the existing technology. These assessments are used by
governments to gage the extent of their proliferation. For example, how much impact has
renewable energy system had over the last decade? What are specific gaps that can be
identified? In fact, this is often done so that some funding can be diverted towards provision of
sustainable solution in those areas
Learning Outcomes 2: Explain engineering professionalism and ethics in
the Australian contexts
What?
Engineering plays a pivotal role in the society as it shapes how people live and interact with the
world system. In the same breadth, regulation of the industry by adopting universally accepted
standards is a key requirement for smooth interactions and professional growth. In Australia,
The Institution of Engineers Australia constitutes a body determined to maintain professional
quality standards by adopting and continuously revising them to fit the emerging issues. Thus
there is need to regulate the industry and profession at large.
So What?
One of the ethical responsibilities of engineers is that they must at all times safeguard public
trust and safety through their actions and deeds (Engineers Australia, 2018). This means that in
the event of conflict of interest, public interest overrides private interest. For instance, in
preparation of tender documents, engineers are expected to be truthful and honest to the project
partners by communicating both orally and in writing so that honor and dignity is maintained at
all times in the profession. They must not participate in illicit behaviors like bribery and
corruption lest they become a disgrace to the profession and society at large.
Additionally, they are required to work on areas in which they have undertaken formal training
and are competent on (Texas Education, 2018). This must be preceded by proven work skill and
wherewithal. Moreover, they must be willing to advance their knowledge base and skills so as
to be at par with the changing professional landscape. In a nutshell, the society greatly expects

© Dr Kalam Azad
engineers to be in tandem with the tenets of professionalism and ethics in the course of
discharging both their professional and technical mandate (Texas Education, 2018). I find this a
great professional responsibility on my side that would require me to adjust my attitude to be in
tandem with the expectations. For instance, I would be required to work harder and smarter in
navigate the complex world of projects management. In a situation that requires me to make
tradeoffs, I will be guided by the tenets of the professional code of conduct.
What else?
As mentioned earlier, Engineering has been used to propel the society to the next level. Notably,
virtually in every industry, Engineers bear one of the most critical roles in the society such that
establishment and maintenance of systems and order can only occur in their discretion.
Engineers have also penetrated the building and construction industry. With the quest to create
sustainable systems, there have been a dozen of innovations in the industry as far as mechanical
engineering is concerned. For instance, in Australia, due to increased demand for energy in the
residential areas, engineers have designed small wind turbines to meet the needs of the
residential dwellings such that owners may necessarily not depend wholly on grid power. This
has been facilitated by increased funding by Australian government and the legislative reform
package in the private power purchase agreements (Total Energy Australia, 2018).
What Now?
Therefore, it can be noted that engineers greatly bear the responsibility to continuously make the
world a better place through their actions in the innovation, project implementation and
technical engagements. They must therefore understand the needs of the society better so as to
create systems and programmmes that meet these needs with minimum negative impact on the
society. As mentioned earlier, to identify the priority areas to work on, they will need to partner
more with the government of the day so as to undertake rigorous social impact assessments
prior to project undertakings (Parsons and Moffat, 2014). Therefore, in moving forward, more
sustainable engineering solutions are needed to solve the emerging problems in the society.

© Dr Kalam Azad
REFERENCES
Elrabaa, M. 2018. Impact Of Engineering Solutions on Society: Retrospect, Reflections &
Lessons.
Engineering Weekly. (2018). Positive/Negative Impacts - Engineering. [online] Available at:
http://engineeringtsa.weebly.com/positivenegative-impacts.html [Accessed 8 May
2018].
Engineers Australia. (2018). Code of Ethics | Engineers Australia. [online] Available at:
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/resource-centre/resource/code-ethics [Accessed
21 Mar. 2018].
Hajshirmohammadi, A. and Zarei, N. (2015). Incorporating Experiential Learning in Lower
Division Engineering Courses. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education
Association.
Howard Education. (2018). Learning Outcomes | Howard University - Chemical Engineering.
[online] Available at: http://www.che.cea.howard.edu/learning-outcomes [Accessed 21
Mar. 2018].
Parsons, R. and Moffat, K. (2014). Integrating impact and relational dimensions of social
licence and social impact assessment. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 32(4),
pp.273-282.
Texas Education. (2018). Professional Responsibility: The Role of Engineering in Society.
[online] Available at: http://www.me.utexas.edu/~srdesign/paper/ [Accessed 21 Mar.
2018].
Tomory, L. (2016). Technology in the British Industrial Revolution. History Compass, 14(4),
pp.152-167.
Total Energy Australia. (2018). Power Purchase Agreement Australia |. [online] Available at:
http://www.totalenergyaustralia.com.au/power-purchase-agreement/ [Accessed 21 Mar.
2018].
UConn Today. (2018). The Social Impact of Engineering - UConn Today. [online] Available at:
https://today.uconn.edu/2014/12/the-social-impact-of-engineering/ [Accessed 8 May
2018].