Coimbatore: A number of papers on the relationship between engineers and the rest of society will be presented at a conference on `Integrating humanistic values and social concerns with technical education' on February 24 and 25, at the PSG College of Technology.

R. Srinivasan, Organising secretary, said that the conference would be organised by the Department of Humanities of the college.

The event would be one of the first of its kind aimed at ensuring that the work of engineers was in tune with the requirements of the society of which they were a part. There was a growing awareness of the need to give priority to human values while employing technological solutions to solve social problems. Therefore, engineers could not exist in a vacuum.

During the past few years people had been voicing ethical concerns regarding the application of technology and had been striving to strike a balance between what could be done and what needed to be accomplished through the use of technology.

He said that the college had received 46 papers from researchers, teachers and educationists on subjects such as value education for engineers, professional ethics, social responsibilities and industry expectations.

More challenges

Engineers were facing more challenges these days than in the past because organisations had to grapple with growing levels of inflation, high costs, changes in belief systems and attitudes of society.

Modern organisations had to deal with special interest groups, environmental factors, legal issues, legislation, threat of corporate mergers and the impact of competition. Engineering students needed to be familiar with such subjects.

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