Professional and Career Topics

It has been 15 years since I graduated from university. My daughter is growing up-she will soon be 14. And I have come to realize one thing: the mindset of the future generation is profoundly different from what it was 15 years ago. If I imagine how my grandmother, who is now 85, perceives all this, it becomes clear just how much perceptions and ways of thinking have evolved.

I have great respect for senior academics, scientists, and professors. For them, I even develop specialized adaptation courses to facilitate the process of digital transformation in enterprises. I communicate extensively, listen carefully, and strive to understand. Yet, increasingly, I encounter the same challenge-academic language.

Undoubtedly, academic language carries weight, experience, and style. But when seasoned experts gather at conferences and begin to compete over the depth of their formulations, the new generation of engineers is left behind. They do not want to-and will not-read materials overloaded and cumbersome to comprehend.

We live in an era of rapid artificial intelligence development, and young minds are adapting to these new speeds. The brain is evolving. Young people scrolling through social media often do not even finish watching two-minute videos, yet they grasp the essence.

I ask myself: why complicate matters when the same message can be conveyed clearly and simply?

Are we losing the minds of the future by striving to appear "academic"? Or do we still care more about our own reputations than the effective transmission of knowledge?

In the past, it was shameful to ask when something was not understood. Now, I tell everyone-ask questions! Yes, it may irritate some, but I would rather explain again than lose someone at the start.

Why must one struggle through complex constructions to understand a professional? This is not the reader's ignorance but the speaker's shortsightedness.

The new generation thinks differently. My experience with my daughter shows that their brain is different-not worse, but visual, contextual, and critical. If we speak to them in "professorial" language, we lose them.

This becomes strange and even illogical, as if we were to speak in everyday life using the language people used 100 to 200 years ago-with outdated words, archaic dialects, and complex constructions. We simply would not understand each other. The same applies to engineering: if we do not adapt our communication, we risk losing connection with those who will build the future.

Why do we complicate language?

Academic prestige-to appear smarter

Professional distancing-a barrier to "non-experts"

Habit

Fear of seeming "too simple"

This is not about depth of thought. I call it pseudo-intellectual armor.

We are addressing a vital issue: such language is not merely overloaded; it alienates students, practitioners, and young specialists alike. And then the same authors wonder: "Why does no one read us?"

"If even experienced engineers struggle to get through such texts, what can we say about students, especially those with different ways of thinking?"
"Academic language detaches from life and causes rejection rather than learning."

I am approaching a key problem in 21st-century engineering education.

How do educational materials sound today? (No names mentioned-just the style.)

Paragraphs with multilayered logic and no pauses. This is not analysis; it is an intellectual marathon without oxygen.

Vocabulary overloaded with terms and abstractions.

What could be explained simply becomes a display of "academic superiority."

Many references to the 2000s and one's own history.

It is not a dialogue but a lecture from a pedestal, as if the goal is not to explain but to earn applause.

I see how my children learn differently. If we want to teach them, we must speak their language.

What matters to the new generation?

- Clarity

- Visuality

- Honesty

- Open dialogue

The right to ask questions without fear of appearing "stupid"

Engineers of the 21st century need understanding, not complexity for complexity's sake.

I do not want to oversimplify-actually, no, I want to simplify: to make knowledge accessible, useful, and practical.

I do not want to seem smart. I want to be understood. So that young people can build upon this.

Engineering is not the art of complicating but the skill of finding simple solutions to complex problems.

If a student does not understand, it is not their fault. It means we have not explained clearly enough.

Can we speak in a way that is understood not only by senior academics and colleagues but also by those who will build the future?

As always, I remain open to critique and welcome dialogue. :)

It has been 15 years since I graduated from university. My daughter is growing up-she will soon be 14. And I have come to realize one thing: the mindset of the future generation is profoundly different from what it was 15 years ago. If I imagine how my grandmother, who is now 85, perceives all this, it becomes clear just how much perceptions and ways of thinking have evolved.

I have great respect for senior academics, scientists, and professors. For them, I even develop specialized adaptation courses to facilitate the process of digital transformation in enterprises. I communicate extensively, listen carefully, and strive to understand. Yet, increasingly, I encounter the same challenge-academic language.

Undoubtedly, academic language carries weight, experience, and style. But when seasoned experts gather at conferences and begin to compete over the depth of their formulations, the new generation of engineers is left behind. They do not want to-and will not-read materials overloaded and cumbersome to comprehend.

We live in an era of rapid artificial intelligence development, and young minds are adapting to these new speeds. The brain is evolving. Young people scrolling through social media often do not even finish watching two-minute videos, yet they grasp the essence.

I ask myself: why complicate matters when the same message can be conveyed clearly and simply?

Are we losing the minds of the future by striving to appear "academic"? Or do we still care more about our own reputations than the effective transmission of knowledge?

In the past, it was shameful to ask when something was not understood. Now, I tell everyone-ask questions! Yes, it may irritate some, but I would rather explain again than lose someone at the start.

Why must one struggle through complex constructions to understand a professional? This is not the reader's ignorance but the speaker's shortsightedness.

The new generation thinks differently. My experience with my daughter shows that their brain is different-not worse, but visual, contextual, and critical. If we speak to them in "professorial" language, we lose them.

This becomes strange and even illogical, as if we were to speak in everyday life using the language people used 100 to 200 years ago-with outdated words, archaic dialects, and complex constructions. We simply would not understand each other. The same applies to engineering: if we do not adapt our communication, we risk losing connection with those who will build the future.

Why do we complicate language?

Academic prestige-to appear smarter

Professional distancing-a barrier to "non-experts"

Habit

Fear of seeming "too simple"

This is not about depth of thought. I call it pseudo-intellectual armor.

We are addressing a vital issue: such language is not merely overloaded; it alienates students, practitioners, and young specialists alike. And then the same authors wonder: "Why does no one read us?"

"If even experienced engineers struggle to get through such texts, what can we say about students, especially those with different ways of thinking?"
"Academic language detaches from life and causes rejection rather than learning."

I am approaching a key problem in 21st-century engineering education.

How do educational materials sound today? (No names mentioned-just the style.)

Paragraphs with multilayered logic and no pauses. This is not analysis; it is an intellectual marathon without oxygen.

Vocabulary overloaded with terms and abstractions.

What could be explained simply becomes a display of "academic superiority."

Many references to the 2000s and one's own history.

It is not a dialogue but a lecture from a pedestal, as if the goal is not to explain but to earn applause.

I see how my children learn differently. If we want to teach them, we must speak their language.

What matters to the new generation?

- Clarity

- Visuality

- Honesty

- Open dialogue

The right to ask questions without fear of appearing "stupid"

Engineers of the 21st century need understanding, not complexity for complexity's sake.

I do not want to oversimplify-actually, no, I want to simplify: to make knowledge accessible, useful, and practical.

I do not want to seem smart. I want to be understood. So that young people can build upon this.

Engineering is not the art of complicating but the skill of finding simple solutions to complex problems.

If a student does not understand, it is not their fault. It means we have not explained clearly enough.

Can we speak in a way that is understood not only by senior academics and colleagues but also by those who will build the future?

As always, I remain open to critique and welcome dialogue. :)

Hi Darya,

are you sure, it is only about language? Hearing about young people with a very short span of attention and patience, how would they ever master an engineering study programme or concentrate on a design problem? You know: the sort of 1% inspiration and 99% transpiration... Perhaps this is why fewer and fewer college graduates study engineering? And why girls do better in university than boys -- because they spent less times with video games, and (if at all) prefer strategy games over ego-shooter games?

I'm looking forward to more women in engineering, but doubt that we should simplify our profession to a degree, that AI has to fill the blank spots in the competency of our engineers... Computer-aided disasters might be the consequence.

It has been 15 years since I graduated from university. My daughter is growing up-she will soon be 14. And I have come to realize one thing: the mindset of the future generation is profoundly different from what it was 15 years ago. If I imagine how my grandmother, who is now 85, perceives all this, it becomes clear just how much perceptions and ways of thinking have evolved.

I have great respect for senior academics, scientists, and professors. For them, I even develop specialized adaptation courses to facilitate the process of digital transformation in enterprises. I communicate extensively, listen carefully, and strive to understand. Yet, increasingly, I encounter the same challenge-academic language.

Undoubtedly, academic language carries weight, experience, and style. But when seasoned experts gather at conferences and begin to compete over the depth of their formulations, the new generation of engineers is left behind. They do not want to-and will not-read materials overloaded and cumbersome to comprehend.

We live in an era of rapid artificial intelligence development, and young minds are adapting to these new speeds. The brain is evolving. Young people scrolling through social media often do not even finish watching two-minute videos, yet they grasp the essence.

I ask myself: why complicate matters when the same message can be conveyed clearly and simply?

Are we losing the minds of the future by striving to appear "academic"? Or do we still care more about our own reputations than the effective transmission of knowledge?

In the past, it was shameful to ask when something was not understood. Now, I tell everyone-ask questions! Yes, it may irritate some, but I would rather explain again than lose someone at the start.

Why must one struggle through complex constructions to understand a professional? This is not the reader's ignorance but the speaker's shortsightedness.

The new generation thinks differently. My experience with my daughter shows that their brain is different-not worse, but visual, contextual, and critical. If we speak to them in "professorial" language, we lose them.

This becomes strange and even illogical, as if we were to speak in everyday life using the language people used 100 to 200 years ago-with outdated words, archaic dialects, and complex constructions. We simply would not understand each other. The same applies to engineering: if we do not adapt our communication, we risk losing connection with those who will build the future.

Why do we complicate language?

Academic prestige-to appear smarter

Professional distancing-a barrier to "non-experts"

Habit

Fear of seeming "too simple"

This is not about depth of thought. I call it pseudo-intellectual armor.

We are addressing a vital issue: such language is not merely overloaded; it alienates students, practitioners, and young specialists alike. And then the same authors wonder: "Why does no one read us?"

"If even experienced engineers struggle to get through such texts, what can we say about students, especially those with different ways of thinking?"
"Academic language detaches from life and causes rejection rather than learning."

I am approaching a key problem in 21st-century engineering education.

How do educational materials sound today? (No names mentioned-just the style.)

Paragraphs with multilayered logic and no pauses. This is not analysis; it is an intellectual marathon without oxygen.

Vocabulary overloaded with terms and abstractions.

What could be explained simply becomes a display of "academic superiority."

Many references to the 2000s and one's own history.

It is not a dialogue but a lecture from a pedestal, as if the goal is not to explain but to earn applause.

I see how my children learn differently. If we want to teach them, we must speak their language.

What matters to the new generation?

- Clarity

- Visuality

- Honesty

- Open dialogue

The right to ask questions without fear of appearing "stupid"

Engineers of the 21st century need understanding, not complexity for complexity's sake.

I do not want to oversimplify-actually, no, I want to simplify: to make knowledge accessible, useful, and practical.

I do not want to seem smart. I want to be understood. So that young people can build upon this.

Engineering is not the art of complicating but the skill of finding simple solutions to complex problems.

If a student does not understand, it is not their fault. It means we have not explained clearly enough.

Can we speak in a way that is understood not only by senior academics and colleagues but also by those who will build the future?

As always, I remain open to critique and welcome dialogue. :)

It has been 15 years since I graduated from university. My daughter is growing up-she will soon be 14. And I have come to realize one thing: the mindset of the future generation is profoundly different from what it was 15 years ago. If I imagine how my grandmother, who is now 85, perceives all this, it becomes clear just how much perceptions and ways of thinking have evolved.

I have great respect for senior academics, scientists, and professors. For them, I even develop specialized adaptation courses to facilitate the process of digital transformation in enterprises. I communicate extensively, listen carefully, and strive to understand. Yet, increasingly, I encounter the same challenge-academic language.

Undoubtedly, academic language carries weight, experience, and style. But when seasoned experts gather at conferences and begin to compete over the depth of their formulations, the new generation of engineers is left behind. They do not want to-and will not-read materials overloaded and cumbersome to comprehend.

We live in an era of rapid artificial intelligence development, and young minds are adapting to these new speeds. The brain is evolving. Young people scrolling through social media often do not even finish watching two-minute videos, yet they grasp the essence.

I ask myself: why complicate matters when the same message can be conveyed clearly and simply?

Are we losing the minds of the future by striving to appear "academic"? Or do we still care more about our own reputations than the effective transmission of knowledge?

In the past, it was shameful to ask when something was not understood. Now, I tell everyone-ask questions! Yes, it may irritate some, but I would rather explain again than lose someone at the start.

Why must one struggle through complex constructions to understand a professional? This is not the reader's ignorance but the speaker's shortsightedness.

The new generation thinks differently. My experience with my daughter shows that their brain is different-not worse, but visual, contextual, and critical. If we speak to them in "professorial" language, we lose them.

This becomes strange and even illogical, as if we were to speak in everyday life using the language people used 100 to 200 years ago-with outdated words, archaic dialects, and complex constructions. We simply would not understand each other. The same applies to engineering: if we do not adapt our communication, we risk losing connection with those who will build the future.

Why do we complicate language?

Academic prestige-to appear smarter

Professional distancing-a barrier to "non-experts"

Habit

Fear of seeming "too simple"

This is not about depth of thought. I call it pseudo-intellectual armor.

We are addressing a vital issue: such language is not merely overloaded; it alienates students, practitioners, and young specialists alike. And then the same authors wonder: "Why does no one read us?"

"If even experienced engineers struggle to get through such texts, what can we say about students, especially those with different ways of thinking?"
"Academic language detaches from life and causes rejection rather than learning."

I am approaching a key problem in 21st-century engineering education.

How do educational materials sound today? (No names mentioned-just the style.)

Paragraphs with multilayered logic and no pauses. This is not analysis; it is an intellectual marathon without oxygen.

Vocabulary overloaded with terms and abstractions.

What could be explained simply becomes a display of "academic superiority."

Many references to the 2000s and one's own history.

It is not a dialogue but a lecture from a pedestal, as if the goal is not to explain but to earn applause.

I see how my children learn differently. If we want to teach them, we must speak their language.

What matters to the new generation?

- Clarity

- Visuality

- Honesty

- Open dialogue

The right to ask questions without fear of appearing "stupid"

Engineers of the 21st century need understanding, not complexity for complexity's sake.

I do not want to oversimplify-actually, no, I want to simplify: to make knowledge accessible, useful, and practical.

I do not want to seem smart. I want to be understood. So that young people can build upon this.

Engineering is not the art of complicating but the skill of finding simple solutions to complex problems.

If a student does not understand, it is not their fault. It means we have not explained clearly enough.

Can we speak in a way that is understood not only by senior academics and colleagues but also by those who will build the future?

As always, I remain open to critique and welcome dialogue. :)