Mechanical engineering prospects at the end of the twentieth century

The future of Mechanical Engineering in Spain appears to be very bright indeed. This conclusion has been derived from an analysis of its evolution in the last 20 years, a period which has seen the development of excellent working universities, research organizations and centres, and in industry. The initial delay in Spain's industrialization process, as compared to other European countries, has led to the situation where we do not have multinational companies which are purely Spanish-owned in these areas. Nevertheless, a process of globalization of the industry is clearly under way, not only in Europe, under the aegis of the EC, but also all over the world. This implies that in this new context it will be possible to access, from Spain itself, posts of growing responsibility in large post-multinational companies, and also to work in areas I have defined as more noble. The possibility of these companies implementing activities of major interest in Spain will depend on factors such as existing infrastructure, qualification of personnel and the surrounding life style. The qualification of personnel relies on basic training and promotion of research activities; therefore, these aspects will require special attention. (author)