Challenges Galore..............

It was a proud moment at Dharwad, to be installed as National President of ‘Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), one of the most reputed and well recognised Civil Engineering organizations, on 12th June, 2015. In the world where abject materialism and hedonism have literally become the yardsticks of success, some leaders are used to blow their trumpet just to prove their soul less presence. But that is the way the world is! It is time now for us as nation builders to contribute at least some of our intellectual rationale in nation building. At this juncture

Ajit Sabnis Editor-in-Chief

civil engineers have plethora of issues to be tackled simultaneously. From fighting for our constitutional recognition to creating awareness about the impact of built environment on natural environment to preparing the young breed of future civil engineers with multi dimensional capabilities. As rightly expressed in American Society of Civil Engineering vision document 2025-Civil engineers (of future) will serve as master builders, environmental stewards, innovators and integrators of technology, managers of risk and uncertainty, and leaders in shaping public policy.

I have spoken on many platforms expressing my aggravation about the lack of vocation based practical training to civil engineering students as a part of their regular curriculum. Students along with their regular subjects need to be exposed to construction technologies being adopted on ground. They need to be encouraged to do their projects based on actual case studies, learn from structural failures and come out with innovative solutions wherever required. Universities should evolve a systematic mechanism with local governmental bodies to enable students to get involved in those projects where citizens are the end beneficiaries.

India as a developing nation has shifted gears. It is in a mode of new transition and we cannot deny this upward movement. Industrialisation and Infrastructure developments are unavoidable while we are in this mode. On the other side, we also have mounting global pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Energy demand, Solid waste management, drinking water supply, rural-urban networking, and education are some of the programmes to get full attention of the government in the near future in addition to infrastructure development. Another area of big interest would be ‘Alternate Construction Materials’ with low embodied energy. Hence, Challenges are many. Striking balance between needs and demands shall be the true role of a future civil engineer. It then becomes vital that knowledge and experience be expanded and shared.

Future calls for a renewed vision and a new aspiration, and this shall be the genesis of the Grand Vision we all need to nourish. Advancements in construction technology need to be infused with values of ethical awakening and Engineering Ethics are emphasised. This aspect has been explicitly dealt by Srinivasan in his article published under ‘Managing the Mindset’ section of this edition - The article begins with a historical review of ethical awakening in the engineering profession, followed by a brief discussion on discovering the right system of guiding values for its education.  These values and their implications are discussed further in a holistic perspective with an emphasis on future trends.

This edition of Built Constructions as usual comes with a variety of useful articles to give our readers an exclusive competitive edge over others.