The entity that represents industrial engineers is celebrating its 160 years of history. The dean of the professional association looks to the future with concern in the face of major challenges to which engineering as a sector has a lot to contribute.
Do they feel undervalued?
Engineering does not exist for society, and it is an engine of transversal progress. We are at a time when we must vindicate the contribution we make to well-being because we are falling behind from an industrial point of view.
Are there a lack of engineers?
A study by the Spanish Engineering Observatory says that in the next ten years 200,000 professionals will be needed. Companies will have to go out and look for talent abroad. In fact, it's already happening. In my sector we are hiring engineers trained in Cuba, Lebanon, Chile... and not because those here are not good, but because there are not enough of them.
Are they failing to be an attractive option for young people?
If we don't find the talent, we have to awaken vocations, but it costs a lot. The boys and girls in whom we want to awaken vocations do not know how to identify that, for example, there are engineers behind medical technology. They may have a motivation, but they don't know what they have to study to get there. When engineering with a surname has begun to appear, such as biomedical, people understand the purpose much more and it is less difficult to awaken the vocation.
The climate emergency is one of the challenges that stands out the most on its roadmap. Are we late?
Necessity always forces. There are many things that could have been done for ten years. Those who were reluctant will now have no choice but to face certain decisions and act.
Are we going slow?
On issues such as the electrification of mobility we have spent years talking without anything happening when things were happening in neighboring countries.
How can the energy transition be accelerated?
With political will, with decision and firmness.
Do they miss a greater commitment from the administrations?
No one likes having a landfill or incinerator placed near their home, but they are necessary. Renewable energy production plants are essential infrastructure, although no one wants them next to their home. They wanted to avoid conflict and we already see the result. What is an opportunity in other countries is a problem here.
Are political obstacles slowing down issues that at a technical level seem to have a clearer consensus?
It happens too often. Knowledge and technical vision are ignored in the making of many present and future decisions. Nor is technology the brake. More than 30% of the CEOs or general directors of Ibex companies are engineers and value is given to that pragmatic vision of facing challenges with imagination as well as rigor to advance the contribution of society in general or the company in particular. In the executive powers that does not happen.
Transmit frustration…
No, it does not challenge my emotions, it is rather a loss of cost-opportunity as a society. We can not wait any longer.
The drought demonstrates that urgency. What should be done?
You don't have to invent anything. Water can have many lives, and the technology for this is very mature. It must be recycled as many times as necessary, recirculation is essential, and this must also be taken into account when planning the territory, especially in industrial estates with intensive use.
In terms of mobility, where do you think we should move forward?
The investments that must be made are important and necessary. We are all beginning to be clear that mobility of up to 1,500 kilometers, lasting four or six hours, has to be transferred to the train. Fifteen years ago we went to Madrid by plane and now almost no one does. This will also happen to go to Paris. This type of air traffic will decrease and, at the same time, other opportunities will arise such as direct flights to the United States, of which we have more and more.
There are various technical proposals on the table to expand the El Prat airport. What is the best solution?
That should be decided by people who know more than me. The question is the model we want to build. We are focused on whether the runway has to be longer or shorter, and what we have to think about is the type of airport we want to have.
What do you think it should be?
It should not only be thought from the point of view of passenger traffic, but also of freight. We must design an infrastructure around which there is a logistical and economic environment and link airport services with rail or road transport, because airports will increasingly become international hubs for travelers and goods.
