Repository: UIHistories Project: SWE - Proceedings of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists [PAGE 171]

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Miss Thompson. Forming scientists and engineers at the college and university level should be emphasized in fundamental principles, and I would add culture, rather than in specialized fields of technology. We must find a way to upgrade the general level of the scientific and engineering world; colleges should offer more education towards maturity and less professional training. The latter is the next step and is automatically accomplished and acquired in the professional life with much better results if based on good sound fundamental scientific and engineering education. This is in my mind EDUCATION and not TRAINING, for we must have people capable of understanding problems in their broadest perspective, able to foresee the implication of problems and solutions. This has always been one of the endeavors of our old Europe, though culture is lacking today to some extent. However, this is possible only if these, let us call them highly educated men and women, can base their professional activity on solid technological assistants or industrial middle class, built up by a wide net of technicians, draughtsmen and specialized workers. Such a basis, for instance, is greatly lacking in countries being developed, but it is well in operation in my country, Switzerland, as well as in the Western World. Our future engineers, if they want to be so called, must therefore be technicians. I would like to conclude by adding a very personal thought: while I was at school learning, as a very young girl, about past scientific and technical discoveries and inventions I always thought I was born too late, everything had already been invented. But since then, and today especially, the generation of my three daughters has yet an unknown and thrilling supply of experiences to live for. It is the duty of the men and women of our generation to guide this next generation intelligently towards these experiences .

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