First off I want to say that I have been in the “Chunnel.” It is a marvelous engineering design, and as I went through it my day, a materials engineer, could not stop going on about the design of the tunnel.
London is the top place I want to engineer. One of the reasons I want to get there is because of its rich culture. Even though I plan on interning or studying abroad in Great Britain, I plan to learn nothing about its “Engineering Culture”. There is now way to learn about a culture better then experiencing it first hand.
Each country’s engineers have its own way of looking at a problem. You are being hired as intern to bring your own view on the problem. I would not look at how others approach the problem and do it my own way. That is what they want, a fresh way to approach the problem that will mix with their own ways of thinking.
I kind of admire your resolve to not study the engineering culture before experiencing it first hand, and to just dive into the experience. I also find it quite coincidental, and appropriate, that you want to study in Great Britain. I say this because, according to the excerpt from “The Other Side of the Tunnel” by Paul Bell, the British prefer not to plan ahead, but rather face the challenge head-on, much in the same way you would tackle the challenge of experiencing unfamiliar surroundings while interning in Great Britain. However, I would completely contrast your methods. I would be very anxious about working in an unfamiliar place so far away from home. I would try to prepare myself mentally for the transition by learning as much as I could about the engineering culture, and the national culture as a whole, since I will be living there for awhile. (ENGR 103)
ReplyDeleteI understand your approach to this situation, but I think that it’s a good idea to at least learn how the engineers of the other country work. If you do not understand their methods of problem solving, then you will probably ask a lot of questions or have a lot of conflicting opinions. If you just delve into the project without any plan, the engineers of that country may form a negative stereotype about you and your relationship with them may not be very good. However, it is also very important to bring your own point of view and techniques to the table because you could very well have the tools/skills to solve a problem that they cannot. (engr 103)
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