HARMONY IN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TRAINING: TOWARDS A COORDINATED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM

Abstract Fragmentation of systems engineering training and education efforts—across training providers, universities, industry practitioners, and INCOSE itself—creates missed opportunities for professional development, duplication of effort, and uneven systems engineering competency development. This paper updates the INCOSE community by presenting the strategic response developed by the Training and Education Task Force at the request of the INCOSE Board of Directors during 2025. The paper outlines the directive given by the Board, the problem context, and the systematic approach employed by the Task Force to analyze the opportunity space. It then presents the resulting vision for an integrated professional development ecosystem by proposing four aligned models for INCOSE's role in SE training. Implementation is forecast through to 2030, with initiatives that build organizational capability and generate stakeholder value. The ecosystem approach leverages the IS 2026 symposium theme, Seeking Wa in SE — Wa (和) being the Japanese concept of harmony that prioritizes group cohesion and cooperation — by fostering organizational harmony, human‐centric development, and integrated advancement of the entire systems engineering profession.