The Importance of communication skills for engineers

 “Without clear lines of communication, our ideas would stay within our own small
development teams instead of becoming mature products. While this is obvious to those
of us who have become experienced engineers, the real question is: Why is it lost to us
when we are engineering students?”

Akbar R Khan, Software Systems Engineer, USA, “Good Communication Is Essential...” (2014)

This quote strikes a chord because it captures a challenge many of us face but rarely acknowledge: the disconnect between what we learn in school and what we need in the real world. Communication is so fundamental to turning ideas into reality, yet it’s often overlooked in engineering education.

As students, we’re trained to focus on equations, designs, and solutions, but there’s little emphasis on sharing those ideas with others in a way that inspires collaboration or builds consensus. It’s almost as if we believe that good ideas will speak for themselves

What makes this observation so powerful is the way it calls out the blind spot we develop. The skills to communicate and collaborate aren’t just “nice to have”; they’re as essential as the technical skills we spend years honing. Without them, even the best ideas remain isolated, never reaching their full potential.

The quote also raises a deeper question about education itself. Are we, as students, so focused on individual performance that we forget the importance of teamwork? Or is the system designed in a way that doesn’t prioritize these lessons until it’s almost too late? It’s a reminder that technical brilliance alone isn’t enough—it’s the connections we make with others that truly bring our ideas to life.

If we can embrace communication as a core skill, not just something secondary, we can ensure our ideas don’t stay trapped within us but grow into something meaningful and shared.😊