Communicating knowledge in the real world

Dr Malcolm Kennedy, IEE President for 1999/2000, describes the issues that he believes should be at the forefront of members’

minds as the Institution enters a new millennium

t is not surprising that IEE Presidential Addresses go- L g back some 120 years

describe not only the dev- . elopment of the authors’

many chosen subjects but also the ever widening and speciaked nature of what can broadly be described as ’electrical engineering’.

A challenge from which I am unable to escape at the turn of the century is that of somehow assessing the aggregated activity and ach- ievements of, the vast body of electrical engineers, both departed and extant. There has been in my mind a growing concept, not only of an unbroken continuum of talent and effort stretching back over 200 years of discov- ery invention and innovat- ion, but also of a tenifylng widening of our fields of interest and activity which continuously threatens all attempts we make to pres- cribe and define electrical engineering.

To underline the point, I refer to the first paragraph of the current IEE Mission Statement. It reads: ’To promote the advancement of engineering sectors relevant to the IEE and to facilitate the ex- change of knowledge and ideas‘.

It is interesting to note the absence of the words ’electrical electronic, mandac- turing, communication and computing’. Early drafts read like a catalogue, but the version we now have seems to get to the truth since it implicitly accepts that our activities span interests which perpetually expand and which demand continuous re-definition, Herein lies this Institution’s principal M e n g e . How to support, at a consistently high standard, a whole body

IEE REVIEW NOVEMBER 1999

At the fulcrum of a

new millennium we

should have an even

more focused idea of what we are really

about

of practitioners, world-wide, whose per- ceptions and applications of electrical engineering are so increasingly diverse?

At the fulcrum of a new millennib we should have an even more focused idea of what we are redy about.

The dramatic growth of knowledge

in electrical engineering and in supporting physics can be quantified succinctly by reference to one of the IEEs most highly valued act- ivities, namely INSPEC, the business that abstracts and classifies scientific public- ations on a world-wide bas- is.

INSPEC began in 1898 when the first attempt was made to abstract published articles and papers from the scientific writings of the day. In its first year, 1423 papers were abstracted and record- ed, all under the general heading of ‘electricity’. The number of papers and art- icles that has come under the surveillance of INSPEC over the next 100 years, covering what are defined as electrical and electronic eng- ineering, computer and con-

trol topics and related physics, now totals 8 242 280.

It is also worth looking at the growth in specialisation of the topics falling under the main topic classifications by studying the titles of these main class- ifications. In what is defined as electrical and electronic engineering alone, the number of topic classifications has grown from one (‘electricity’) to 607 over the past 100 years. Computing and control was not separately recognised until 1966. The growth here in specialisation is charac- terised by the number of classifications rising, in the past 22 years, from 133 to 413.

This explosion of knowledge in elec- trical engineering is clearly interdepend- ent on the ever-increasing number of specialised subjects. It is therefore obvious,

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but somewhat reassuring, to find that the growth in knowledge for each specialist subject slows down as the relevant sector matures.

The growth in publication and the knowledge base in the comparatively mature power industry over the 30 years from about 1970 has been at little more than 2.5% per annum. This is approxim- ately the same rate at which the demand for electricity itself has grown; industry deregulation and privatisation notwith- standing.

When computer science and IT event- ually reach their own maturity we, or our successors, can expect to see the same phenomenon. By that time the know- ledge base and number of specialist areas that will have to be considered will have multiplied many times.

It is these statistics that lie at the centre of both the opportunity and challenge surrounding our daily work. The oppor- tunities and benefits of increased know- ledge are obvious and underpin the whole of manlund’s well-being as well as his intellectual development. The threat, however, is clearly one of remorseless speciallsation and the dlminished ability of anv individual to

base; but this is only a begiruung. Each competitive marketplace is characterised by several requirements irrespective of the product or service being offered improved reliabdity lower cost, hgher specification and performance, shorter lead times for delivery and reduced operating costs. The innovator must also operate in an environment where the customers are insatiable and the com- petitors resilient.

A successful enterprise operating in an innovative and competitive environ- ment, can survive only if its people are properly equipped, informed and motiv- ated. It is for these reasons that the IEE places such great emphasis on maintain- ing and enhancing members’ profession- al competence and knowledge. It is not as though continuing professional develop- ment, or CPD as we have recently come to call it, is a new phenomenon as successful engineers d readily agree. It is, however, a relatively recent and uncomfortable realisation that many elements of know- ledge become outdated and increasingly in need of both new and additional constituents as time advances. Life-long learning has been implicit in most s u e d

people’s experience understand the imp-

ation potential of his

If we are not to

tionate amount of our working lives merely obligatory, although repeating the discov-

process of our pre-

lications and applic- The IEE believes or her dady efforts. that CPD is

spend a dispropor- effectively

eries and thought unlikely ever to be

decessors, we must mandatory

but ~ it now -requires explicit recognition as the ageing process of knowledge and its application increases in speed, and as the corresponding need for new knowledge proliferates.

The IEE believes that CPD is effect- ively obligatory al-

develop the ability to learn more efficiently Tlus is not to say that we should ignore the learning of the past; quite the oppos- ite. We must learn to ’stand on each other’s shoulders’.

The ability to communicate our leam- ing even across one profession, let alone with other disciplines, becomes more challenging with time, as does the need to do so. The successful maker and pur- veyor of any engineering product today is faced, above all else, with the need for innovation. To penetrate a market, even a relatively mature one, requires an under- standmg of the appropriate knowledge

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though unlikely ever to be mandatory We

have an increasingly mobile membershp within both a given organisation and the industry as a whole. There are fewer constraints to changes in employment patterns. Increased pressure on employ- ers to cut costs may reduce the likehhood of the provision of in-house training.

The onus rests with individuals to arrange their own renewal of knowledge with the active encouragement of their employer. Both will benefit. The individ- ual improves his chances of retaining employment; the company improves its chances of remaining in business.

&__

- -, ~

The IEEs CPD programme is based on the identification and dissemination of information and knowledge in both established and emerpg technologies, sector by sector. This includes relevant ‘soft topics’ as well as key basic technol- ogies appropriate to individual sectors.

The Institution encourages members to discharge their commitment to remain competent because only thereby can they play their full part in developing their careers and improving their company’s performance and viability It will assist members by providmg a broad range of services to optimise their careers through enhancement of their professional and personal skills and capabilities; in short, to develop their own innate talent efficiently

A characteristic of modem industrial development is that the output of many SMEs finds its way into larger global companies so that the vast majority is linked to a global economy based upon a shared global technology and know- ledge. The worlds stockmarkets may be concerned with the location of concen- trations of shareholders, but the products on which they depend are ‘engineered by those who are more uruformly spread throughout the world. In t e r n of educ- ation, training, the acquisition and main- tenance of relevant knowledge and experience, it is no longer good enough to think on a national or even a European scale but only on a global one.

World-wide differences in culture, custom and practice are not the only strands in the enlarpg matrix within

IEE REVIEW NOVEMBER 1999

which today’s electrical engineer must work To complete any project success- fully, whether it be the winning of a new order, the design of a new component or the achievement of a monthly business target, requires tacit acceptance of the multidisciplinary team. This means that an electrical enpee r should be able to work not only alongside those from entirely different dsciplines, for example lawyers or accountants, but also with other scientifically trained professionals who have their own individual thought patterns, practices and prejudices.

Limiting our consideration to engin- eering, some would argue that only if the number of engineering institutions in the UK were to be reduced from the present figure of 37 to single figures will si@- icant progress be made in achieving an integrated and consistent approach to engineering in the future. It is not neces- sarily in the overhaul of the corporate structure of engineering institutions that progress is likely to be made, but rather in the successful communication of ideas between all those concerned Coagulat- ion of all engineering institutions within one body would not solve the problem. This is also true of corporate enterprises who seek a global image if not a global presence and aspire to achieve econ- omies of scale in order to improve their competitive edge and world-wide market penetration.

It is an irony that many of the largest engmeering-based organisations operat- ing on a global basis insist that their

IEE REVEW NOVEMBER 1999

market position has been achieved through free enterprise and the harnes- sing of market forces. Closer observation of some such organisations shows that they adopt central planning central allocation of resources, subjective eval- uation of people, lack of internal com- petition and decisions made at the top in response to internal political pressures. These are the fundamental character- istics of the so-called ’centrally planned economies’ which in international polit- ical terms have been largely discredted and have largely dlsappeared over the past decade.

Such organisations, if there is to be any prospect of swva l , must depend on open internal com- munication of ideas

dom? Perhaps this is the greatest and most important challenge of our age.

Each member of the E E operates in one small area of activity with their own knowledge, experience, interpretation, sense of relative importance and pos- ition of their own contribution. Each is an individual just as the famous names of the past were, and who is to say that their contribution is less important? That the engineering profession is increas- ingly multi-faceted cannot be denied. It may even be incapable of corporate unification. Nevertheless, professional electrical enpeers must embrace the standards identified with their profes- sion to ensure the quality of their

training and sub- seauent exverience

and mformation, and on mutual under-

What lies at the heart of my observ- ations? It is two-fold first the continuity and expanding nat- ure of knowledge, and second the need for better communic-

standing.

The development a n i the coAtinuous

and exchange Of knowledge and dev-

knowledge and careers; in short, to

ideas is what the to the fullest extent

IEE’S function is seek to learn and

maintenance of their

elopment of their

develop their talent

possible. Each must

understand all they can and attempt to all about

ation of ideas be- tween humans if we are to take advantage of that knowledge. It is on the better communication of ideas and knowledge - old, ’refurbished, repackaged, modihed or new, and whether fully developed or not - that innovation and progress depend. Ideas that can be expressed and understood easily that translate easily accurately and universally are those that will make most impact on mankind’s development.

Progress of the individual and the development of his or her full potential, that of his or her company this Instit- ution and indeed mankind as a whole, is only possible if knowledge continues to accumulate and effective communicat- ions are achieved to disseminate and apply it. This development and exchange of knowledge and ideas is what the IEEs function, not only its Mission Statement, is all about.

Today we are able to store and trans- mit unthinkable amounts of data and information. But can it, or does it, prom- ulgate knowledge and does that in turn lead‘ to understanding and even wis-

communicate with others all they can.

This is true in whichever millennium they are called to serve.

The individual steps on to the curve of mankind’s development at one point and off at another. It is up to them whether they help to steepen or flatten that curve.

If knowledge is the ’bricks’ of human development, communication is the ‘mor- tar’. Communication is instantaneous, has no hstory and no future. Together, however, knowledge and c o m m ~ c - ation will determine what happens now and in the future, and how ow achieve- ments will be perceived.

0 IEE 1999

Dr Malcolm Kennedy FREng BSc FEE is Chairman of PB Power. This article is based on his inaugural address as IEE President delivered in London on Tuesday 4 October 1999. The full text of the lecture was published in the October 1999 issue of the IEEs Enpnemng Management Journal and can be found on the Institution’s Web site at wwieeorg.uk.

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