Fostering creative engineers: a key to face the complexity of engineering practice

Recent studies have argued a shift of thinking about engineering practice from a linear conception to a system understanding. The complexity of engineering practice has been thought of as the root of challenges for engineers. Moreover, creativity has been emphasised as one key capability that engineering students should master. This paper aims to illustrate deeply why engineering education needs to foster creative students to face the challenges of complex engineering work. So a literature review will be provided by focusing on the necessity of developing creativity in engineering education. As the literature demonstrates, this paper reveals the understanding of complexity in engineering practice and the roles of creativity in engineering practice. In addition, the barriers to creativity in current engineering education and some implications of pedagogic strategies will be discussed. So this paper contributes to rethinking the engineering profession in a social context and a link between creativity research and engineering education.