Educating civil engineers for the twenty-first century: the ‘new-model engineer

Civil engineering has transformed the health, wealth and well-being of societies over the past 200 years but is also driving the global climate and environmental crises. This paper proposes the educational requirements for a ‘new-model engineer’, whose threshold knowledge of engineering fundamentals, outstanding connective skills and holistic systems thinking will empower them to be a responsible part of a more stable socio-ecological system. The approach represents a sea change in civil engineering education, which the authors believe represents the most exciting opportunity for the profession in two centuries.