Modern media to develop the civil engineering profession
"The Civil Engineering Channel"

Ideas for a European research/learning development proposal
Stephen Vincent, 30th September 1998

1. Educate the public

• Website for school kids – where teachers can suggest that children look for information on anything from water supply to environmental issues.
• Authoritative source of quality information about the infrastructure which supports our society. (BBC quality + Discovery Channel/National Geographic Channel standard of content)
• Balanced perspective – civil engineers who both understand the problems and have the technical understanding to achieve solutions – not just the bad guys who create environmental problems.
• Links to educational games, examples and exercises, with explanations and real world comparisons – eg Sim City, virtual worlds etc.
• International case studies and examples – links to appropriate web sites as well.
• Media delivery – probably a web channel with video/multi-media/virtual reality delivery as well as conventional web pages. Maybe multimedia CD products, video cassettes or satellite/cable airtime as well.

2. Educate the profession

Information to encourage culture change – address attitude and motivation issues
Many mid/late career civil engineers are unfamiliar with the potential to strengthen and improve the profession through a proper understanding of the power of:

• Lifelong learning – an individual responsibility
• Working with the public and stakeholders from the start – openness and transparency
• Media skills – communicating with people, facilitating proper discussions, developing consensus, avoiding confrontation
• Devolving decision making and reducing management overhead
• Process thinking – focussing on the end result, and the process of getting there efficiently
• Removing unnecessary bureaucracy, and paperwork
• Flexible teamworking and partnering – rather than contractual cubicles
• Free exchange of information through technology
• Technology capabilities and limitations:
  Implement widespread, international, low cost, learning opportunities through the Internet and new media technologies – make Europe the intellectual centre of modern best practice and thinking.
• Disseminating information:
  An international news channel about the developing fabric of our society. Initial Internet delivery – maybe other delivery mechanisms in the future.

3. Support the profession

Improvement of the way the profession itself operates

• Eliminate paper communication as far as possible
• Extend electronic information organisation systems to all professional activities
• Electronic events – meetings extended by modern media to the workplace or home

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