National identities in multinational worlds: engineers and 'engineering cultures'

An important contemporary change in engineering practice is the increasing internationalisation of work, both through the expansion of multinational organisations and increasing mobility of engineers. International work can break assumed links between working for one's employer, one's country, humanity in general, and oneself. The recent expansion in continuing engineering education (CEE) has generally not included attention to issues in transnational careers. This paper introduces and summarises assessments of 'Engineering Cultures', a liberal arts approach to cross-cultural training for engineers through multimedia modules. These country-based modules examine how what counts as an engineer and engineering knowledge has varied over time and from place to place.