English

Abstract

The “zero-waste campus” programs at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and UKM Lestari are two examples of UKM’s drive to adopt the concept of sustainability in the management, administration, education, research, development and daily practice of the campus community by the year 2020. In this respect, education is an important component that could influence and shape the practice and culture of caring for the environment. Based on educational needs with regard to environmental and sustainable development (ESD), particularly in the engineering field, efforts are being made to see to what degree the educational mission has been implemented in accordance with the ESD concept. This paper emphasizes the need to review the various components of ESD in teaching and learning at the undergraduate level within the Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment (FKAB), UKM, with the aims of improving ESD education. Each engineering program has one program outcome (PO7) for the ESD component. Based on the courses offered, it is apparent that more ESD components are taught in the Chemical Engineering degree program. However, there is no specific course on sustainable development, and further study is required to assess the importance of this course in all academic programs at FKAB. Environmental elements in the field of engineering education should be formally provided to the students to enable them to understand the overall concept of environmental conservation, protection and enhancement. In this respect, appreciation for the complexities and interconnectivity of various environmental components shall ensure that decisions and actions made in all engineering undertakings will treat the interest of environmental sustainability as paramount.