ENGINEERING: A CREATIVE PROFESSION ?

Creativity" is highly valued in modern societies and is used for market positioning in different sectors. Professional engineers and engineering educators correctly identify creativity as important elements of their work. Yet engineering may not be perceived by the public or prospective students to be particularly creative. The paper presents results from a survey of secondary school students. On average, and perhaps not surprisingly, they rated engineering as more creative than accountancy or medical practice, but less creative than architecture or music. Their comments reveal a range of useful perceptions. The paper identifies four dimensions of creativity and notes that each has a framework of expression critical evaluation. The paper suggests that a focus on creativity can be used to portray engineering accurately to prospective students, and that increased focus on creativity in the curriculum will be motivating to students and will also improve employment outcomes.