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The Overlooked Necessity: How Engineering in Some Fields Has Fallen Behind Despite the Urgent Need for Innovation

This article is a continuation of following article Engineering fields where innovation is urgently needed but often overlooked: Engineering fields where Need For Innovation Indeed

In an age where technological innovation drives global progress, engineering has played a pivotal role in transforming industries, economies, and even societies. Yet, despite the apparent necessity, certain branches of engineering remain overlooked, leaving gaps in fields that desperately need advancement. This article explores why engineering has been missed in some faculties and how this neglect has hindered essential innovation, even in industries that stand to benefit most.

1. The Critical Role of Engineering in Innovation

Engineering, by nature, is the backbone of problem-solving in modern society. Engineers design, optimize, and innovate the tools and systems that make daily life efficient and sustainable. Whether it’s in healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or renewable energy, engineering innovations bring about radical improvements.

However, while sectors like aerospace, IT, and biomedical engineering have seen enormous advances, other critical fields have lagged behind. The reasons for this are multi-faceted, and understanding them requires a deep dive into the factors that drive engineering development—or impede it.

2. Underfunding and Resource Allocation Issues

One of the primary reasons engineering in certain faculties has been missed is due to the uneven distribution of resources and funding. Fields like artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science tend to attract more funding from both governments and private investors due to their high visibility and profit potential. On the other hand, critical yet less glamorous fields like civil infrastructure, environmental engineering, or agricultural technology often receive fewer resources, despite their profound societal impact.

For example, in many parts of the world, infrastructure is crumbling under the weight of time and environmental stressors, yet civil engineering faculties have not seen the same level of financial investment as the tech industry. This creates a paradox where the fields in dire need of innovation are often starved of the resources to facilitate that innovation.

3. Lack of Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

Another reason for the neglect is the growing compartmentalization of engineering disciplines. Innovation in fields like sustainable agriculture or environmental conservation requires collaboration between environmental scientists, civil engineers, and even software engineers to create smart systems. Unfortunately, traditional academic structures often silo these faculties, making cross-disciplinary innovation more challenging.

For example, agricultural engineering—an essential field to solve global food insecurity and environmental degradation—requires knowledge from both biological sciences and mechanical engineering. However, limited collaboration across these disciplines can slow the development of effective technologies.

4. Perception and Prestige Bias

Prestige plays a significant role in driving students and funding toward certain fields. Engineering faculties associated with cutting-edge technology, like AI or nanotechnology, are often seen as more prestigious or exciting, attracting the brightest minds and most significant funding. Fields like chemical engineering, civil engineering, or even mining engineering can sometimes be perceived as outdated or less exciting, even though they are critical to solving large-scale global challenges like resource depletion, climate change, and infrastructure development.

This perception bias can create a feedback loop where less innovation occurs because fewer minds and resources are focused on the problem, further entrenching the perception that the field is stagnating.

5. Societal and Political Influences

In some cases, societal or political factors hinder engineering progress in critical fields. For example, environmental engineering, which is crucial in addressing climate change, often faces political and public resistance. Climate policies that support innovation in renewable energy, sustainable construction, or waste management can be hampered by short-term political and economic interests. Similarly, public infrastructures like roads, bridges, and public transport systems tend to suffer from underinvestment due to political cycles that prioritize more immediate, visible gains over long-term planning.

This misalignment between societal needs and political agendas can leave essential engineering faculties starved of the attention they deserve.

6. Consequences of Missed Innovation

The neglect of engineering in some faculties has had tangible consequences. For example, inadequate infrastructure and outdated water management systems in many developing nations exacerbate issues like urban flooding, water scarcity, and pollution. Meanwhile, the absence of advanced agricultural engineering in regions facing food insecurity prevents the development of innovative farming technologies that could revolutionize crop yields and resource use.

In healthcare, the missed opportunity in fields like biomedical and biomechanical engineering in certain regions means that affordable, cutting-edge medical devices and technologies remain inaccessible to many populations, even though the need for such innovation is pressing.

7. Strategies for Addressing the Gap

Addressing the gaps in overlooked engineering faculties requires a multifaceted approach:

• Balanced Funding Allocation: Governments, private investors, and educational institutions must reassess funding models to ensure that underfunded but critical faculties receive appropriate financial resources. Public investment in infrastructure, for instance, should be aligned with long-term sustainability and innovation.

• Encouraging Cross-Disciplinary Work: Universities should promote collaboration between engineering faculties and other scientific fields. Cross-disciplinary research centers can help facilitate the innovation needed to address complex, global challenges.

• Rethinking Engineering Education: Schools and universities should reframe how they present less glamorous fields of engineering, emphasizing their critical importance and the exciting potential for real-world impact. This shift could help attract more students to fields that need innovation the most.

• Policy Alignment: Policymakers must align public funding and policy incentives with long-term infrastructural and environmental goals. Prioritizing investments in sustainable development, for instance, would ensure that engineering innovations in these fields receive the support they need.

In conclusion, while engineering has fueled much of the technological progress of the modern world, critical faculties have been overlooked, even though innovation in those fields is desperately needed. From civil infrastructure to agricultural technology, missed opportunities have led to stagnation in some areas, despite the increasing urgency of the challenges these fields face.

As we move forward, balanced resource allocation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and societal recognition of the value of these fields will be essential to ensuring that engineering can meet the diverse and pressing needs of the 21st century. Without this attention, we risk not only falling behind in innovation but also failing to solve the global challenges that will shape our future.

This article is about Great Engineer who just don't do his job for his working organization and his project or for his family but to make his nation one of world`s leading nation in field of Engineering, Technology and thus the economically empowered.

to know about person follow the below link

https://www.engineersheaven.org/blogs/post/190

Here are a few more insightful quotes from Sir M. Visvesvaraya that reflect his visionary thinking and dedication to progress:

1. "The curse of our country is laziness. At first, we fight over trivialities. Then we blame others for our failures. There are some who constantly follow the old custom of depending on others and crying for help."

   • This quote highlights his disdain for complacency and his call for self-reliance and hard work.

2. "Self-examination, self-discipline, and self-improvement are the key to success."

   • Visvesvaraya emphasized the importance of personal growth, discipline, and self-reflection as essential traits for success.

3. "No one person or material thing could be credited with success. It is a result of teamwork, perseverance, and faith in a cause."

   • He believed in the power of collective effort and persistence to achieve great things.

These quotes offer a glimpse into Sir M. Visvesvaraya's values of hard work, self-improvement, and national progress.

This quotes are just a minimal reflections of his entire vision that he state in his book "Planned Economy for India" that has been published in 1934.

bookis open on public domain on following link https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217923

Below are some key points from the book that i think still relevant for present time in India as well.

Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s "Planned Economy for India" (1934) is a visionary work that outlined a detailed strategy for India’s economic development during the pre-independence era. The book emphasized the importance of systematic planning to uplift the country’s economy and improve the standard of living for its citizens. Below are the key points from his "Planned Economy for India":

• Visvesvaraya stressed that India needed a comprehensive and structured economic plan to overcome poverty, unemployment, and backwardness.
• He argued that ad-hoc policies and scattered efforts were not enough to bring about sustained economic growth.
• He was influenced by Soviet-style five-year planning and advocated a similar approach to achieve rapid industrial and agricultural progress.

• One of his most famous messages in the book is “Industrialize or perish,” underscoring his belief that industrialization was crucial for India's survival and growth.
• He highlighted the importance of developing heavy industries like steel, iron, and textiles as the backbone of the economy.
• He advocated for setting up public and private enterprises to ensure balanced industrial development.

• Visvesvaraya emphasized that infrastructure development—such as roads, railways, ports, and power generation—was critical for economic expansion.
• He believed that without proper infrastructure, industrial and agricultural advancements would be limited.

• He emphasized technical education as a pillar of economic growth. He believed that India should create a skilled workforce of engineers, scientists, and technicians to drive industrialization.
• Visvesvaraya argued for vocational training centers and an emphasis on science and technology education to meet the demands of a growing industrial economy.

• Though a strong advocate of industrialization, Visvesvaraya recognized the importance of agriculture in India’s economy. He suggested modernizing agriculture through irrigation, improved seeds, and mechanization.
• He advocated for the establishment of cooperatives and scientific methods in farming to increase productivity.

• Visvesvaraya emphasized the active role of the government in planning and guiding economic development. He believed the government should lead large infrastructure and industrial projects.
• He recommended state intervention in key sectors where private capital was insufficient or unwilling to invest.

• He pointed out the need for balanced development across regions, ensuring that industrial and agricultural development didn’t just focus on a few urban centers but was distributed throughout the country.
• Visvesvaraya emphasized addressing the urban-rural divide and uplifting backward areas.

• A major theme of his plan was economic self-reliance. Visvesvaraya wanted India to reduce dependence on foreign imports by producing goods locally, thereby encouraging indigenous industries.
• He advocated for import substitution and export promotion, focusing on industries that could generate revenue and create jobs.

• Visvesvaraya discussed ways to mobilize financial resources for development. He suggested the government take the lead in securing funds for public works and industrial projects through taxation, public savings, and borrowing.
• He also stressed attracting private investment into infrastructure and industries.

• A significant goal of his plan was creating employment opportunities. Visvesvaraya emphasized the importance of absorbing the labor force into both industrial and agricultural sectors through the creation of new industries and the modernization of agriculture.
• He believed a planned economy could reduce unemployment and underemployment, providing jobs for millions of Indians.

• In the book, Visvesvaraya proposed a 10-year development plan for India, which outlined how the country could become a prosperous industrial nation.
• He set ambitious targets, such as doubling the national income and increasing per capita income, through strategic investments in industry, education, and infrastructure.

Though published in 1934, “Planned Economy for India” laid the groundwork for India's later adoption of planned economic policies after independence. His ideas on five-year plans and industrialization were similar to what India later implemented under its national planning framework.

In summary, Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s "Planned Economy for India" was a visionary document calling for systematic planning, rapid industrialization, and self-reliance to transform India's economy. His blueprint continues to resonate with India's development journey.