Clown Group - Engineers without Borders (Knowledge Connections): Building a Humanistic Training in Engineering Courses

Abstract

The Clown Group – Engineers without Borders (Knowledge Connections) is a group of clowns formed by Engineers and Engineering students. The theoretical basis of the Clown Group goes back to the origins of Jerzy Grotowski's “poor theater” (1933–1999). Concerning the use of music, theater and dance to present and promote the pleasure of art, the Group values the interaction with the public and does not worry about the structural elements commonly characterized by the theater as stage and lighting. In this way, the Clown Group promotes a Humanistic Formation of its members by providing a development in the capacity of communication, contact with the external community and also the satisfaction, by allowing the art to be spread in a simple and effective way. The objective of this work is to analyze the importance of Humanistic Training in the professional and personal development of Engineers and Engineering students, treating as a special case the Humanistic Training linked to the actions of the Clown Group – Engineers without Borders (Knowledge Connections). As a hypothesis, it is expected that the experience of members and ex–members of the Clown Group can be proven through their training and presentations over the years. In order to evaluate the personal and professional development of members and ex–members of the Clown Group during the training process, a qualitative research was carried out, via an applied questionnaire, in addition to a documentary research by observation, in which data were collected through analysis and observation of photos and documents of the Clown Group. In addition, Artificial Neural Networks were used to correlate the members and ex–members based on the two applied researches. The members and ex–members of the Clown Group have experienced a major break in introspection, significantly improving their way of communicating with society. The members and ex–members presented an improvement in the way they relate to each other in a team, a fundamental aspect of an Engineer's professional life. The Clown Group presents itself as a very important action for Humanistic Training and the professional and personal development of Engineers and Engineering students. The diffusion of art in the academic and external community promoted by the Clown Group also allows the deconstruction of the stereotype that the areas of Engineering and the Arts cannot coexist.