What are the characteristics of a good engineer, and specifically a good computer engineer?
A good engineer has a well-rounded background in the different engineering disciplines, and that’s why a lot of engineering programmes, such as the one at AUS, have a common first year. So a good engineer has a general background in physics, maths and chemistry. A computer engineer in particular has to know about hardware, software and networking; so a computer engineer really is well-rounded, has a comprehensive scope of knowledge. This is in addition to problem-solving skills, because in the workplace engineers need to solve problems they have never encountered before. Why should students enrol in a computer engineering programme? Compared to other disciplines, computer engineering has a nice balance. Our students know about software, hardware and networking, and I think these are characteristics that open up a lot of jobs for them. They can choose different things — some of our students work in communications, power generation, some with oil companies. Some were eagerly picked up by
