Telecommunications Engineers: 100 years connecting emotions

The celebration of the centenary of the title of Telecommunications Engineer begins with an online debate about the past, present and future of the profession.

Last Wednesday, April 22, the first event took place within the wide series of celebrations planned throughout this year to commemorate the centenary of the profession of Telecommunications Engineer. The date has been chosen because it coincides with the day on which the new title of Telecommunications Engineer in 1920.

The event consisted of a virtual debate session between four prominent professionals about the past, present and future of the profession and its relevance to society, especially in times of difficulty such as the current pandemic.

Martha Balenciaga, dean-president of Official College of Telecommunications Engineers (COIT) and president of the Spanish Association of Telecommunications Engineers (Anew) welcomed the participants, remembering that the centenary will serve “to give well-deserved recognition to all the professionals who have preceded us and who have advanced this profession over the last 100 years, making it greater.”

Great milestones

At the beginning of the debate, moderated by the Telecommunications Engineer Luis García Millán, we have talked about the great technical milestones of the last century related to the profession. In this review, specific advances have emerged, such as the transistor or the symbiosis between the Internet and the mobile phone, and other more generic ones such as “The development of commercial aviation as we know it today would not be possible without communications,” in the words of Alexia Rodriguez, member of the COIT Board, coordinator of the COIT Women IT GT and Product Owner at ArcelorMittal.

Next, the social importance of the Telecommunications Engineer at the current time was assessed. The participants have highlighted the lack of social knowledge about the profession and, especially, about its relationship with broad sectors of the economy where it is an essential transversal piece. In this sense, Emma Fernandez Alonso, independent director of Metrovacesa and Axway, recalled that “the exercise of communicating to society who we are and what we do is never enough.”

Pandemic and digitalization

During the meeting there was also a discussion on the role of the profession in the face of the crisis created by COVID-19, highlighting that circumstances have forced teleworking, teleeducation and telemedicine to have experienced an unprecedented expansion. “It is not possible to imagine a confinement like the one we are experiencing without all these tools that have made it possible to carry out digital pedagogy in very few weeks,” according to Miguel Carlos Castillejo Calvo, Councilor for Transparency and Technological Innovation at the Alcalá de Henares City Council and Business Senior Manager at BBVA.

The participants agreed that Telecommunications Engineers can contribute to people becoming digital citizens and mitigate the digital divide that causes exclusion. Likewise, they confirmed that “massive teleworking has worked” and that many people are considering continuing with this option when the crisis has subsided.

The session closed with a look to the future. In it, the participants have pointed out the major trends that will dominate in the coming years in the field of information and communications technologies: the development of Big Data or the Internet of Things; the fight for new production models within Industry 4.0; cybersecurity, or the debate between security and freedom.

The experts assured that the ssociety will become increasingly hyperconnected. “As far as possible, everything will be digitized, automated, connected and analyzed,” he stated. Julio Linares López, trustee of the Telefónica Foundation and president of the CEOE Digital Society Commission. In this sense, he added that "the Telecommunications Engineer of the future must be very flexible and creative to adapt not only to changes but to disruptions."

The session concluded with the shared idea that the profession of Telecommunications Engineer must be concerned with technology, but without forgetting “the humanistic dimension associated with it”; In short, the people. Even so-called bionic companies were mentioned, those that are capable of successfully combining technology and human talent. Likewise, hope and optimism were appealed to in the face of technological advance.

For 2020, the COIT/AEIT, with the support of its entire territorial structure, has launched a series of initiatives and events with a common approach under the motto Telecommunications Engineers: 100 years connecting emotions. They have the collaboration of universities that offer the Master's Degree in Telecommunications Engineering, companies in the sector and the Public Administration, as well as the broad group of members.