Scott Olsen

Pro Chancellor, Provost, presiding Dean, presiding Director, members of the University Executive and Academic Board, staff, family, friends and of course the graduates. May I start by recognising the traditional custodians of the land on which the UTS campus stands, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. 

It’s a great honour to be asked to speak this evening, and part of what is a significant celebration and recognition of personal and professional success. Engineering and the construction industry more broadly has a notoriously bad reputation for work life balance, and it’s a well-justified reputation. You all should be proud of juggling the demands of busy work and family lives with the commitment and time required to complete such comprehensive higher studies. The show of support by family and friends alongside the graduates is wonderful to see. I’m sure they’re all immensely proud, and to be honest, I don’t think I could ever achieve what you’ve achieved, so well done. 

As current and emerging leaders of our industry, I’d like to share some of my views of the current state of play in the engineering world and reflect on just how diverse the skillset of the modern engineer has become. Currently, engineering is not facing the same level of disruption many other professional services are wrestling with; however, our future careers are more strongly influenced by two key fundamentals: one, the strength of the economy to allow the public and private sectors to invest in infrastructure and engineering services, and two, the powerful rise of consumer and community opinion influencing real-time decisions, not by just governments but also businesses. 
There was some fascinating research published by CEDA, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia titled The Economic Disconnect. The research captures the opinions of 3000 everyday Australians and their attitudes towards economic growth. The research found only five per cent of Australians feel as though we are better off as a result of 26 years of continuous economic growth. Twenty-six years since our country was last in recession and only one in 20 people feel like they’ve personally gained a lot over that time. More concerning is that half of the baby boomers surveyed, those who have worked the bulk of their careers on the wave of this growth believe that they’ve personally gained nothing from it. Nothing. 

These results show the biggest issues for people are out-of-pocket health care costs, affordable services like electricity and water, housing affordability and stability, family violence, and chronic disease and aged care. They identified the top issue of our nation to capitalise on prosperity being better hospitals and aged care services, increased pension payments, tougher criminal laws and stricter limits on foreign ownership. We might hear these results and think well, what do they have to do with engineering? The simple answer is: everything. 

In a nutshell, this survey reinforces that what people are really most concerned about is improving their quality of life and the liveability of their communities. As engineers, we create, we change, we make things better for people, we help build roads and rail that connect communities, the schools and smart technology that shape young minds, the hospitals that improve the quality and longevity of our lives, the telecommunications that quench our thirst for more reliable mobile technology and connectivity. All of these things we do as engineers transforms lives. 

You know, engineers have a great story to tell. By communicating what we do and the positive impact we have on society isn’t something we do very well at all. We need to change the conversation from the problem we’ve solved to the benefit we’ve created. You know, the journey time saved on road or rail to spend time with family, or how we’ve engineered a device that helps care for a sick loved one to be cheaper or more effective. How we’re reducing carbon emissions for the future generations, and how we understand and respect community expectations to deliver a lasting legacy. That is what is important. 

This might seem like an easy change in messaging for the non-engineers in the room, but the fundamental skills that have been drilled into us about measurement, quantity, calculation, project management, profit can make understanding the human element a real challenge for us engineers. That’s why engineering leaders of today have a much broader skill set. Things like collaboration, communication, pragmatic negotiation and decision making, leadership, mentorship, values, culture, brand, purpose, flexibility. They are just some. 

It is those skills that add to our expertise and upon new and varied career paths are formed. It’s funny – I recall my first job as a graduate and probably the next couple after that, and I was almost begging for a job during the interviews. Today, you have more choice and people are in high demand. You are future leaders creating the country’s prosperity and shaping the built environment. You are engineers. You are the unknown profession that creates the way we live now and into the future. 

In conclusion, this has been a real honour. I hope that the successful completion of these higher studies and the new knowledge you have leads to pay rises and promotions, but more importantly, the pursuit of a masters or PhD sends a clear signal to your workplace that you’re motivated, committed and have the drive and skills to be a leader in our industry. 
Remember, be mindful of the environment we live and work in, and don’t be afraid to explain to people how your work contributes a better, more liveable and connected community. We need your voice to help spread the message of the critical importance of engineers in creating better places. This will connect you with your colleagues, clients and stakeholders and help all your non-engineer mates understand that being an engineer is more than just calcs and numbers; it’s a valued profession that is transforming lives. Thank you.