How important is engineering

A couple of years ago I helped do a study of science and technology in Uganda: "The State of Science and Technology in Uganda." Pages 28-32 of the study were devoted to "Engineering and Construction Industries". We, the authors, noted that nearly 20 percent of the GDP of Uganda was devoted to infrastructure development and services: energy, water and sanitation, construction, transportation and communication, and housing construction. However, in 1998 there were only an estimated 2,105 engineers in Uganda, of a population of some 25 million. The lack of adequate infrastructure caused sever problems for economic development. Transportation costs were high, electrical supply limited to a relatively small portion of the population and unreliable, and communications poor. While the universities were rapidly increasing enrollment in architecture and engineering, the deficit in professional services seemed likely to remain for years.