In this world that is a concrete, steel and wood jungle, civil engineers prove to hold the might in transforming urban and rural communities. Every infrastructure built – some already destroyed – since the flourish of civilizations is a product of intricate design, planning and construction that continues to serve mankind in all its glory and purpose. Not so much can be done with the civil engineering aspect of what is already erected but glorify its makers and builders for producing such wonders. The challenges now for civil engineers are to replicate the projects in the future, maybe improve design and construction technologies and techniques, and transform the world while answering the most pressing problems that hit societies.
A congregation of more than 60 thought leaders composed of civil engineers, engineers from other disciplines, architects, educators, and other leaders, wants these challenges to be established by developing the Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 with the help of the premier organization American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The gathering seeks to answer what the civil engineering world will be like in about 10 years from now and what roles will civil engineers play in that radically transformed world.
Civil engineers are held to higher bar in the meeting of the minds, entrusted to have the mandate of achieving a sustainable world and raising the global quality of life. The aspirational Vision 2025 has instituted five key areas for mastery that put civil engineers into a whole new level of leadership and professionalism:
Planners, Designers, Constructors, and Operators
Just like the old times. Civil engineers along with the working professionals in the field have to co-exist in order to produce infrastructures that run the economic and social engines. But in 2025, a wide range of knowledge and skill base will be needed as the technical aspect of civil engineering evolves. As the field expands, civil engineers will be given leadership roles that are more defined and work which is more inter-disciplinary than what it is today.
Stewards of the Environment
The future of civil engineering is not merely just to build – but to do it with utmost consideration and care for the built and natural environment. Several new approaches in concern of our mother nature might come out that will change the conventional practices and standards that civil engineers presently enjoy. Through technologies, techniques and financial methods, civil engineers by 2025 should aim for sustainable planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure.
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Innovators and Integrators of Technology
Discoverers manning laboratories from around the world will improve the way we build and construct things by developing cutting-edge technology that will help the field of civil engineering. In 2025, their research and products are already perceived to be a norm, which will redefine the role of civil engineers as innovators and integrators of technology. It is up for the civil engineers to adjust necessarily on how to use improved equipment and techniques.
Managers of Risk
Part of the mandate of civil engineers is to assess and manage risks that will limit the effects of natural and man-made disasters. It starts with every project through safety-related decisions ranging from its design up to the implementation of the infrastructures. These efforts of civil engineers need to transcend whenever the presence of risk is already there. They should work.
Leaders in Public Policy
Much of the work given to civil engineers still has restrictions of policies from the government and private entities. To remove this hurdle, they need to be involved in policy discussions – great opportunities in dismantling some plagues that have long hurt civil engineering.
These five are what we should expect once we get there. The Vision 2025 will be a process, which first step is the framework called “Achieving the Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025: A Roadmap for the Profession” developed to drive action among civil engineers around the globe. There are already 17 civil engineering organizations from around the world which signed endorsements of the Vision.
