Encouraging young people to make a difference in the world through an engineering career is more likely to attract them than emphasizing the challenges of math and science. This is the major message of the recently published report of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) titled Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering. As a member of NAE’s Committee on Public Understanding of Engineering Messages and co-author of the report, our goal was to encourage coordinated, consistent, and effective communication by the engineering community about the role, importance, and career potential of engineering to a variety of audiences, including school children, their parents, teachers, and counselors; policy makers at the local, state, and federal level; and the public at large.

The four messages that tested best are:

• Engineers make a world of difference.
• Engineers are creative problem-solvers.
• Engineers help shape the future.
• Engineering is essential to our health, happiness, and safety.

Although these messages resonated over a wide range of ages, ethnic groups and for both men and women, they are great for talking to teens and the people that influence their lives.

The report offers more on tested messages that reposition engineering as a satisfying profession that involves creative ideas and teamwork — not just personal benefits and technical skills. It positions engineering experience as one of discovery, design, imagination, innovation and contribution. Teen girls, in particular, are not sold on engineering. But they are interested in a career that is creative, rewarding and has a positive effect on people’s everyday lives. Younger girls, in particular, are more likely to be influenced if they see images that involve female engineers doing exciting and meaningful work.

The report also recommends strategies and tools that the engineering community may use to conduct more effective outreach.

I recently gave a Keynote Presentation at the 2008 WEPAM (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) national conference on the report. You are welcome to download and share with your colleagues. It summarizes the report in a nutshell with lots of illustrations.

For more educational resources see the TeachEngineering digital library. Or check out the Engineering Pathway’s K-12 community pages or search over our K-12 resources. The Engineering Pathway also hosts Broadening Participation communities as well as Engineering Education communities in all ABET-accredited disciplines.