U.S. and New Zealand organizations agree to work collaboratively to enhance the future of the engineering profession

RESTON, VA. — The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) has formally endorsed The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 — an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) initiated vision for the future of the engineering profession. During the ceremony, held on Aug. 2, 2010, at the Institution offices in Wellington, New Zealand, IPENZ President Garry Macdonald and ASCE president Blaine D. Leonard, P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, signed the document on behalf of their organizations, which have now agreed to work together to achieve the Vision 2025.

“Engineers are entrusted with creating and maintaining the foundations on which our global society thrives, and as the needs of that society change, so too must the profession,” Leonard said. “Sharing a common vision and working together to achieve it is critical to our success, which is why I’m so pleased to have IPENZ’s endorsement.”

The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 redefines what it will mean to be a civil engineer in the world of the future. It represents the collective wisdom of more than 60 experts from around the world and presents a vision for what the future can and should be. It states that: “Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life, civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master:
•planners, designers, constructors, and operators of society’s economic and social engine — the built environment;
•stewards of the natural environment and its resources;
•innovators and integrators of ideas and technology across the public, private, and academic sectors;
•managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events, accidents, and other threats; and
•leaders in discussions and decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.”

ASCE recently released a companion document to the Vision 2025 titled, Achieving the Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025: A Roadmap for the Profession. This new report outlines what the profession must do to achieve the goals outlined in the Vision 2025.

For more information, visit the “Issues and Advocacy” sect section on www.asce.org.