Engineer Nurit Weitz is Vice President of the Forum “Young People in Engineering and Business” of the World Congress and Exhibition of ENGINEERING 2010-ARGENTINA: “Technology, Innovation and Production for Sustainable Development”. Engineer Weitz is a Resource Planning Analyst at the firm Supply Chain Tenaris, Buenos Aires, and works in the planning of the plant load of production units and in the management of delivery dates and global assignment of production orders.
In this Newsletter, she gives her opinion on the participation of young professionals in topics related to the active contribution of engineering to the development of the global society.

Which do you think is the role that young professionals play in the development of innovations with social impact from the point of view of engineering and technology?

One thing is which role they play and another is which role they should play: to achieve technological innovation, researches as well as other elements are necessary so that knowledge can be turned into concrete initiatives to be directed by the private sector. In particular, it is important to give rise to examples and leadership on the part of distinguished people and institutions that encourage the interest of the new generations. The objective is to use applied knowledge and add creativity and enterprising skills to realize innovations which may enter into the markets in Argentina.
For innovation to have a social impact, it is also necessary that all the sectors of society be involved, developing a strategy of shared work where innovations made by corporations and universities may be channeled not only by the private sector through the markets but also by the public sector so that they can also benefit those who most need them.
Young professionals should play the role of encouraging the required changes in existing work structures to succeed in forming these alliances. They should also ask for a budget increase for basic and applied research of public universities as the essential basis for the country’s innovation and development as well as the creation of other institutions that allow the development of innovations, such as risk financing.

Which features do the new generations of young engineers need to face the main technological challenges and how will they impact on social welfare?

The challenge of the young engineers who will lead the world in the following years will be to understand and solve complex problems that require multidisciplinary approaches, and many times not very conventional. On the one hand, we move towards a high specialization of professionals, to study thoroughly and master a subject or area of work; but on the other hand, the key technological problems of humanity require global approaches and with a wide consideration of the interactions of multiple dynamic factors.
We need professionals who are able to think in a systemic way and learn by themselves and from their colleagues and constantly look for the improvement of their environment. If they also have a vocation for service, the impact on social welfare will be wide and increasing.