Enhancing Engineers' Contributions to Global Society

Abstract

Engineering is often perceived as a technology-driven profession, rather than one that is capable of successfully applying scientific principles to address key societal challenges. Over the past five years, Engineers Without Borders (Canada) (hereafter, EWB) has been working in collaboration with engineering faculties across Canada to address the acknowledged weaknesses in engineering graduates by focusing on developing “Global Engineers”: engineers with the breadth of thinking necessary to tackle the world's most complex problems. This paper outlines EWB’s Global Engineering concept, which was developed in consultation with engineering students, professors, and practitioners, and links to existing definitions of Global Engineering, to emerging trends in engineering practice and to the continually evolving needs of industry. A four-year curriculum enhancement framework is also introduced as a potential means of encouraging broader thinking in engineering undergraduates. EWB’s framework outlines a learning progression that can be incorporated into any engineering discipline, and allows for the integration of curriculum resources that encourage outside-the-box thinking and the development of nuanced problem-solving abilities. Finally, this paper will present our best practices in two case studies that clearly illustrate EWB’s approach to curriculum enhancement. By fusing both technical and non-technical concepts, allowing them to be taught in parallel in a single class, our resources intellectually engage both technically-driven and socially-minded students, and are carefully structured to aid faculty members in classroom delivery.