The Importance of Engineers in Today’s World and the Future: Insights from Our Alumnus Dr. Fatih Birol

Dr. Fatih Birol, our alumnus and Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has authored a commentary focusing on the importance of the engineering profession. Our alumnus noted that the engineers who build the modern world play a critical role in shaping our future, yet their contributions often go unnoticed.The piece was published in The Engineer, one of the most established outlets in the engineering and technology fields.

Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and a 1983 alumnus of Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering, has written a special article for The Engineer titled “It’s time engineers got the credit they deserve.”

Highlighting the critical role of engineers in the energy transition and in solving today’s global challenges, Birol described them as the quiet force underpinning our economies and daily lives.

Click here to access the article.

About Dr. Fatih Birol

Dr. Fatih Birol is the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Since 2015, he has led the strengthening of the IEA’s global role in energy security and clean energy transitions.

Birol joined the IEA in 1995, rising from junior analyst to Chief Economist, where he oversaw the Agency’s flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook. Throughout his career, he has been a leading advocate for expanding access to electricity and clean cooking solutions in developing countries, particularly in Africa.

Before joining the IEA, Birol worked at OPEC in Vienna. He studied power and energy engineering at Istanbul Technical University and energy economics at the Technical University of Vienna. He has been included twice in TIME magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people and has received major state honors from numerous countries. He also chairs the World Economic Forum’s Energy Advisory Board and is an honorary lifetime member of Galatasaray Sports Club.