This article was written with the aim of pointing out the changes required in the formation of the engineer in the 21st century.

1. 1
THE FORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE ENGINEER IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
Fernando Alcoforado
Abstract - Abstract - This article was written with the aim of pointing out the changes required in the
formation of the engineer in the 21st century.
Keywords - Proposals for changes in the teaching of Engineering; The training required for the engineer
in the 21st century.
1. Introduction
This article was elaborated with the objective of pointing out the changes required in the
formation of the engineer in the 21st century. One of the goals of education system is to
plan the preparation and recycling of people for the labor market. It is incumbent upon
education system planners to identify the role of engineers in the future with intelligent
machines to make a broad revolution in engineering education by including the
qualification of teachers and the structuring of teaching units to prepare their students
for a world of work where engineers will have to deal with intelligent machines.
Engineering education programs must be deeply restructured to achieve these goals.
This article presents the methodological assumptions of engineering education in the
21st century. At first, it considers that the classical teaching of engineering has been
developed in a single axis - the content. Education from the point of view of classical
teaching is seen as the transmission of knowledge. Within the context that has been
designed for the next century, it is not justified to limit education to the mere
transmission of knowledge, either because the content can be accessed by means other

Fernando Alcoforado, 79, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System,
member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional
Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of
strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is author of the
books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem
Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000),
Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de
Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento
(Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos
Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the
Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável-
Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do
Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social
(Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática
Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas,
Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo
Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de
Imprensa, Salvador, 2018, em co-autoria) and Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora
CRV, Curitiba, 2019).

2. 2
than the teacher's exposition in the classroom, or because the content has validity
limited by the speed with which new knowledge is generated. It is concluded that new
axes should be added to the pedagogical approach. In addition to "what to teach?"
(Content) question, should we emphasize "how to teach?" (Methodology), and "where
to teach?" (Learning space).
2. The necessary changes in Engineering teaching
In the question of content it is necessary to recognize that it is not possible to teach
everything. So teaching students to learn new subjects on their own seems to be more
reasonable than simply trying to put knowledge into their minds. Developing
communication skills, oral and written expression, group work, foreign language
learning, seems to be a growing trend in structuring new engineering curricula. With
regard to methodology, on the other hand, it is necessary to break with the idea of
teaching basic science before the technical disciplines. Such an attitude has already
proved ineffective, since mathematical and physical concepts, for example, are
approached, as a rule, without connection with the practice of engineering. The idea is
to focus content by relating it to real-world problems and develop theoretical knowledge
from a practical problem in which students can learn by actively doing and participating
in the process.
The traditional school without realizing created an aberration. It has separated the
teaching into theory and practice, while creating classrooms for theory and laboratories,
for practice. It is not surprising that the students have so much difficulty to relate them,
since if in their eyes everything happens without time-space relation. It is necessary to
transform the classrooms into a Renaissance workshop, that is, a space of coexistence,
where the doing and the reflection about doing can happen at the same time. The
learning space must be an environment where practice and theory can be developed in
parallel, complementary, in the form of a praxis. In such an environment, group work,
the development of interpersonal skills can happen and interdisciplinarity ceases to be
theoretical discourse to be concrete reality. The proposal put forward here is to
transform the classroom into a workshop, equipped with resources so that students can
investigate and build their own understanding. The role of the teacher in this context is
that of a guide of the process of construction of knowledge.
3. Conclusions on the formation required for the engineer in the 21st century
The proposals for changes in engineering teaching in Brazil presented in the articles O
perfil desejável do engenheiro para o século XXI (The desirable engineer profile for the
twenty-first century) by Jarbas Milititsky, O engenheiro dos novos tempos e as novas
pautas educacionais (The engineer of the new times and the new educational
guidelines) by Maria Candida Moraes, O engenheiro do século XXI: o profissional de
uma nova renascença? (The engineer of the XXI century: the professional of a new
renaissance?) by Marcos Banheti Rabello Vallim and O ensino de Engenharia no
Brasil do século 21 (Engineering teaching in Brazil of the 21st century) by José Sérgio
dos Santos were analyzed.
From these proposals, it is verified that the engineer's profile for the 21st Century
should have the following characteristics: 1) a good foundation of engineering science
fundamentals; 2) understanding of processes and projects; 3) understanding of the

3. 3
social, economic, political and environmental context in which engineering is practiced;
4) communication capacity; 5) ability to think creatively and critically, independently
and cooperatively; 6) flexibility, ability and self-confidence to adapt to large and rapid
changes; 7) curiosity and desire to learn for life; and, 8) ability to work as a team. The
engineers of the 21st century should have: 1) capacity for synthesis; formulating,
analyzing and solving problems, understanding that the formulation itself is part of the
solution to the problem; 2) understanding complex systems and uncertainties; 3)
sensitivity in interpersonal relations and mastery of languages, not to mention respect
for cultural differences, within the country and among other countries; and, 3) initiative,
capacity to manage, make decisions, master smart technologies and create opportunities.
The formation of the engineer who will live and work in the 21st Century must pay
attention to costs, deadlines, quality, safety, social and environmental repercussions of
projects. This means that the engineer can no longer consider purely technical solutions.
The student has to be surrounded by techniques that develop his ability to communicate
and work in teams, from participation in groups to solve problems. All this through an
interaction with companies, regular and planned. And, of course, with a very explicit
awareness of the need for continuing education. The engineer of the 21st Century will
be in the process of permanent formation throughout his life. And for this, it is
necessary that its learning be active, joining theory and practice, with intensive use of
the laboratories and integration to the research activities, especially those made based
on real cases of the industry.
The role of the University - and that of the School of Engineering - can only be to build
the capacity for continuous and permanent learning of its graduates. In addition to
taking on the fantastic responsibility of meeting the demand for retraining of a
contingent of professionals who are in the market and need a systematic and constant
updating. Engineering Schools should strengthen relationships with design and
construction companies as well as industries to assist in the training of 21st century
engineers. The university has to have good and motivated teachers, good facilities and
the conditions to offer a proper education. It must be able to foster the learning and
continuous innovation of its faculty and its technicians, be they support or
administrative.
In January 1998, the Polytechnic School of Engineering of USP (POLI / USP)
commissioned a survey of companies in the state of São Paulo, financed by the
Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), in order to know the ideal
professional profile of a new engineer that would be required by the labor market of the
year 2002. The research sample consisted of 17,518 commercial establishments in the
state of São Paulo, and the survey was carried out from December 1997 to January
1998. In the conclusions of the aforementioned report requested by POLI / USP, it was
observed that, out of a set of 72 characteristics, the 10 attributes most valued by the
labor market were highlighted as follows:
First - individual committed to quality in what makes
First - the ability to work in team
Second - the ability to live with changes

4. 4
3rd - clear vision of the consumer role
3rd - initiative for decision-making
3rd - user of basic computer tools
4th - domain of English
5th - faithful to the organization in which you work
6th - values professional ethics
6th - professional ambition / will to grow
7th - qualified for planning
7th – view of market needs
8th - values dignity / has personal honor
9th - overview of the profession
9th - the ability to save resources
10th - concerned about safety at work
10th – the ability to drive men
Some attributes obtained the same score and were classified according to the data
presented above.
Of the proposals on the profile of the engineer in the twenty-first century mentioned
above is the recommendation that it is necessary to rethink the curriculum of the
Engineering course, transform it into something with a little more sense and a greater
commitment to human needs. A curriculum where everything is related, recursively
interconnected, in process of transformation.
Note: This text served as a basis for suggestions presented by author of this article at the
public hearing held at the Engineering Club in Rio de Janeiro on November 21, 2018 on
the National Curricular Guidelines of the Engineering degree course in Brazil.
REFERENCES
ALCOFORADO, Fernando. A revolução necessária ao sistema de educação do Brasil.
Available on the website
<https://www.academia.edu/30431049/A_REVOLU%C3%87%C3%83O_NECESS%C
3%81RIA_AO_SISTEMA_DE_EDUCA%C3%87%C3%83O_DO_BRASIL>, 2016.
MILITITSKY, Jarbas. O perfil desejável do engenheiro para o século XXI, Disponível
no website

5. 5
<https://www.lume.ufrgs.br/bitstream/handle/10183/143092/000318634.pdf?sequence=
1>, 1999.
MORAES, Maria Candida O engenheiro dos novos tempos e as novas pautas
educacionais. Available on the website
<http://www.ub.edu/sentipensar/pdf/candida/ingeniero_novos_tempos.pdf>, 2015.
SANTOS, José Sérgio dos. O ensino de Engenharia no Brasil do século 21. Available
on the website <http://www.tqs.com.br/tqs-news/consulta/58-artigos/1057-o-ensino-de-
engenharia-no-brasil-do-seculo-21>, 2012.
VALLIM, Marcos Banheti Rabello. O engenheiro do século XXI: o profissional de uma
nova renascença? Available on the website
<http://www.abenge.org.br/cobenge/arquivos/20/st/t/t153.pdf>.