The rapid pace of technological innovation is reshaping the engineering profession, creating both opportunities and challenges. As technological advancements such as artificial intelligence redefine traditional engineering job roles, engineers are under increasing pressure to continuously update their skills and adapt to evolving demands. This highlights the importance of lifelong learning as a cornerstone of professional growth and career sustainability in the modern workforce. This study explores the intersection between lifelong learning and workforce development by reviewing existing literature on lifelong learning and engineering workforce development. Lifelong learning is essential for equipping engineers with critical skills necessary for a rapidly changing work environment. Engineers who embrace lifelong learning remain competitive and versatile, while organizations gain a workforce equipped to handle technological shifts and maintain innovation. In this paper, we argue that lifelong learning serves as a critical bridge between individual engineers’ professional development and the evolving demands of engineering workforce development. Lifelong learning is not merely an individual pursuit but a strategic imperative for engineering workforce development.
Authors
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Arsalan Ashraf is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research interests include AI ethics, ethics and social responsibility, and lifelong learning. He has broad experience in academia and industry, which motivates him to do research on these vibrant areas. He is a first-generation student from a small village in Punjab, Pakistan. He completed his B.S. in Aviation Management from Lahore in 2017, and then worked in the aviation industry. After gaining experience, he changed his career path and went to academia as a lecturer at The University of Faisalabad in 2022. He joined Virginia Tech in the fall of 2024.
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Bailey McOwen is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech with an academic foundation in physics and industrial engineering. Her research focuses on workforce development, professional training for engineering practitioners, and engineering ethics, with an emphasis on how emerging technologies can enhance continued education. Through her research, service, and academic work, she aims to bridge engineering education and industry needs to support ethical, lifelong learning across diverse engineering pathways.
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Emad Ali is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence in engineering education with particular emphasis on its ethical implications. He holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Embedded Systems, from the Information Technology University (ITU Lahore), as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Avionics Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. He has worked as TA of multiple undergraduate and graduate courses during his Masters in ITU and as a Lecturer in the Superior University in Lahore. He aims to contribute to the advancement of educational practices in engineering by addressing both the opportunities and challenges presented by the emerging technologies.
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Dr. Dayoung Kim is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Engineering Education (College of Engineering) at Virginia Tech and a Director of the LABoratory for Innovative and REsponsible ENgineering workforce (LAB-IREEN). She conducts research in engineering practice and workforce development (e.g., practices and experiences of, and competencies required for, engineers in various employment settings, such as business organizations and government agencies; workforce challenges and opportunities from emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence), engineering ethics (e.g., social responsibility of engineering professionals and its education), and related policy concerns. Dr. Kim's research aims to identify effective strategies to cultivate an innovative and responsible engineering workforce through educational initiatives and science & technology policy. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University (2022) and received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University (2017) and Purdue University (2021) respectively. She was the 2022 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and received the 2022 College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award from Purdue University. She was also a Bilsland Fellow of the College of Engineering at Purdue University when she was a Ph.D. student.
Note
The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on
June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025
