Wanted: Engineers with deep tech skills and soft skills

UNDERSTANDING what makes a city resilient, sustainable and future-ready requires serious collaboration between government, urban planners, scientists, economists, ecologists, sociologists, architects, and engineers. Through this close-knit partnership, we can connect the software, hardware and "heartware", giving the city its own unique buzz.

Today's problems are messy and increasingly complex, whether it is designing smart cities, eliminating poverty or mitigating climate change.

Building a smart nation will need smart engineers: not "smart" in just the technical sense, but more unconventional smarts. For example, being engaging, persuasive, collaborative or co-creative - traits not normally associated with the stereotypical introverted engineer.