Emerging Significance of Competencies and Attributes of Global Engineers

With Globalization becoming a reality in almost all spheres of our lives, the concept of a Global Engineer has been gaining in importance. This paper first illustrates the globalization of the Engineering Profession. The importance of preparing Global Engineers and details of a couple of studies on Global Engineers are next described. The global competencies and attributes of global engineers are next identified. The formats of global engineering partnerships and the challenges and obstacles to participating in international experiences are indicated. The importance of global research partnerships and international curricula are highlighted. In recent times, globalization is among the criteria for determining the quality of higher education institutions. A partial list is provided of higher education institutions worldwide which focus on global education. Finally the results of an ongoing survey by ASEE of Global Competencies are included.