Want to get rich? You need to study engineering

We are an engineering nation, but the subject is a mere afterthought in our national deliberations

The tantalising headline caught my eye some weeks ago: "What degree should you study to become a billionaire? The result might surprise you." But it was not at all surprising to read that a study of the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest, just like previous studies of top chief executives, revealed their most common field of study, by some margin, was engineering.

For these people and many others, an engineering education, designed to deliver creative, versatile and numerically adept problem-solvers to the most dynamic sectors of the economy, was a springboard to success. More broadly, there are countries that have built and sustained much of their wealth and reputation on a bedrock of engineering talent. They are rightly proud of this resource, they are aware of its importance and they work to strengthen it.

We in Ireland have not traditionally thought of ourselves as an engineering nation. Is it time we started to do so?

The country’s development in sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, software and medical devices since the 1980s has been nothing short of extraordinary, taking us from a standing start to an envied role on the world stage. At the heart of all of these sectors are engineers: designing, creating and innovating. They do this in multinational and indigenous enterprises from Leixlip and Westport to Ringaskiddy and the heart of Dublin.

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Their activity was a substantial contributor to our unprecedented economic growth, and to sustaining the economy through more recent years. From the Quark chip, the first Intel product developed from inception here, to Dairymaster's fully computerised milking parlour, the impact of their innovation is growing.

Irish engineers shine internationally, where the requirement for technical know-how, creativity and cross-cultural people skills seems to play to national strengths. David O'Reilly of Chevron and Martin Naughton of Glen Dimplex, both engineers, are among the most successful business leaders to have emerged from this country. Analog Devices, one of the first multinationals to establish a significant presence in Ireland, now has a University of Limerick engineering graduate as president and chief executive. Many more Irish engineers have risen to the top tier in the world's most successful companies. Others are driving forces behind some of our most successful start-ups and SMEs.

Dynamism and agility

There are reasons to be confident that we have managed to deliver something sustainable in Irish engineering. As a country we have succeeded in riding recent waves in technology without losing our competitive edge. We may have largely missed the

industrial revolution, but we came of age during the latest revolution, and are adapted to its pace. There is a dynamism and agility to our profile that is less evident in longer-established engineering nations. Some countries seen as competitors for investment are starting to lose their sheen.

However, there is a danger in the fact that engineering does not figure, other than as an occasional afterthought, in our national deliberations. We have no visible national champion for the sector. Those not involved in the profession have little awareness of it, or link it solely with construction, even as the diversity of engineering innovation further enriches our lives and underpins our economy.

The considerations of this vital sector should be front and centre in all relevant areas of public policy debate. If not, we could lose our competitive position simply through not paying attention.

We need to make sure our education system, at all levels, understands the needs of engineering. We need strong vocational training as well as graduate and postgraduate degrees. Recent changes to maths at secondary level have de-emphasised topics of most relevance to engineering. The Leaving Cert engineering curriculum is a very distant relative of the modern profession. We can do better.

There is an insatiable appetite worldwide for the best engineering talent. We need to incentivise the inflow and retention of this talent at all levels, from students to industry leaders. By attracting women into the profession in greater numbers, we can improve our pool of talent and the diversity of our ideas.

We need to ensure we have agile and responsive instruments to support innovation in start-ups, SMEs and multinationals. Great engineering has delivered a lot for Ireland. With a little attention, it can deliver a lot more. Orla Feely is vice-president for research, innovation and impact at University College Dublin, orla.feely@ucd.ie