Competencies Beyond Countries: The Re-Organization of Engineering Education in the United States, Europe, and Latin America

For over two centuries, the competencies that engineers have been expected to gain from engineering education have been associated with countries. Increased mobility in the workplace is generating pressure to expand competencies beyond countries. A key indicator of changing expectations is found in efforts by engineering education organizations to extend themselves beyond countries. This article compares the transformation of engineering education organizations in the United States with those in Europe and Latin America. In the U.S., organizations are attempting to expand directly from the country to the globe, relying upon prior acceptance of a redefinition of required competencies. In Europe, the redefinition of engineering competencies is taking longer to develop as participating organizations have worked first to define a new regional identity in terms of continental mobility and economic competitiveness. Finally, in Latin America, the redefinition of competencies awaits a resolution of a competition between alternative models of the region. This study of the expected competencies of engineers contributes to the research area of engineering epistemologies. Overall, the contemporary re-definition of competencies in engineering education is not a universal phenomenon but depends upon success in defining identities that extend beyond the country.