21st century engineer-entrepreneur

The emerging facts from successful organizations, including universities, indicate that the real source of power in a knowledge-based economy is in combining technical prowess with entrepreneurship. This paper first highlights missing links in the aptitude and attitude of an engineer in combining technical knowledge with sound decision-making and effective entrepreneurship. Second, it discusses the gaps in traditional college education, and their remedies through outcome-based curricula. Third, it presents the distinction between leadership and management with reference to new models espoused in the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Fourth, it outlines the skills needed for the professional development of an individual to transform him or her from a traditional quantitative/verbal thinker to a future-oriented visionary by redirecting the whole-brain thinking. Finally, critical success factors in the development of an effective and efficient knowledge worker for the 21 st century are enumerated.