“We Make Everything Else Possible” – A Bold Reimagining of Civil Engineering
“We Make Everything Else Possible” – A Bold Reimagining of Civil Engineering
On 26th June 2025, the GROW-N Monthly Talk Series hosted a speaker who did far more than deliver a lecture—he sparked a movement.
Prof. Rajagopalan Balaji,
a globally respected faculty member from the University of Colorado Boulder,
spoke about the past, present and future of civil engineering. His talk sparked
an important conversation, offering students valuable insights into building a
meaningful career in the civil engineering industry.
Prof. Balaji began
candidly: he hadn’t even wanted to be a civil engineer. Like many, he ended up
in the field due to rank and options. But decades later, with an illustrious
international career, he confidently declared:
“If I had to start all
over again, I wouldn’t choose anything but civil engineering.”
The surprising part? His
journey wasn’t just about technical skills—it was about realizing that
infrastructure is the backbone of our society, driving progress, dignity and
sustainable development.
Prof. Balaji humorously
compared engineering disciplines:
“We are version 1.0. No
beta versions. You don’t build a bridge and say, ‘Don’t worry, version 2.0 is
coming.’”
Unlike software, civil
engineering is about getting it right the first time. Because lives depend on
it. He highlighted how civil engineers don’t just build structures—they build
society. Roads, water systems, sanitation, buildings, data centres—everything
else in the economy rides on the shoulders of these foundational systems.
He tackled head-on the
obsession many students (and parents) have with salary packages:
“Stop comparing civil
with computer science. They’re apples and oranges. You don’t judge a doctor by
how much they make in year one.”
Drawing a powerful
analogy, Prof. Balaji likened civil engineers to doctors of infrastructure. The
early years may be lean, but over time, the societal impact, stability and
earning potential multiply.
Forget the outdated image
of civil engineers in dusty hard hats. This is an age of drones, sensors,
AR/VR, bio concrete, 3D printing and smart water infrastructure.
From mapping topography
using drones to real-time bridge monitoring with IoT sensors, civil engineering
today is deeply digital and data-driven. He emphasized the need for students to
master both the foundational engineering and the technological innovations
shaping tomorrow’s infrastructure.
India, Prof. Balaji
argued, is at a crucial juncture. Massive investments in infrastructure are
happening—but ironically, few top students are involved.
“You’re the problem if
you complain about roads but don’t work on fixing them.”
His solution? Rebuild the
pipeline. Encourage students to take pride in their training, build apps and
startups in infrastructure and disrupt the most inefficient workflows.
Prof. Balaji didn’t spare
academia either. He criticized the lack of final-year design projects in many
IITs and called for an overhaul of the undergraduate curriculum to make it
interdisciplinary, future-ready and inspiring.
“If you’re not excited
about civil engineering when you graduate, that’s not your fault—it’s ours.”
He advocated for
curriculum changes that reflect the broad societal relevance of infrastructure
and for educators to instil both technical depth and visionary thinking from
day one.
In the Q&A, Prof.
Balaji addressed doctoral researchers with characteristic honesty:
“PhD is not time-served.
It’s a calling. If you’re in it for the title, please leave. But if you’re in
it for curiosity, you’ll never regret it.”
He urged PhD aspirants to
diversify their vision beyond academia, emphasizing that impactful work happens
just as often in government, startups, and the field as it does in a university
lab.
Prof. Balaji ended with a
quote from U.S. President and civil engineer Herbert Hoover:
“It is the engineer’s
privilege to watch a figment of imagination… become a reality in three
dimensions.”
He reminded us that no
app or algorithm can replace the pride of pointing to a bridge, a school, or a
clean water supply and saying: “I built that.”
Please find the YouTube
Link for Talk - 03:
https://youtu.be/MKSUEgCH0WQ?feature=shared
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