Introducing engineering students to technology policy considerations via discussing the policy underpinnings and implications of regulating carbon dioxide emissions

Abstract

With rapid technological change leading to shorter product and knowledge cycles, the education system’s challenge is in educating individuals who are not only adept at learning and adapting to each wave of technological change, but crucially, are also able to grapple with the complex societal issues and associated policy implications of new technologies, which typically manifest over a multitude of spatiotemporal and severity scales. Engineers, who possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills, should be well-placed to analyse, understand and formulate effective policies that incorporate the necessary trade-offs in tackling issues arising from using new technologies which although having a scientific basis, are usually enmeshed with societal concerns; thus, making their resolution non-trivial. Nevertheless, the usual emphasis of engineering education on technical analysis of quantifiable parameters in overcoming various design constraints may not equip engineers to handle the multidimensional policy implications of their work, primarily due to a lack of both awareness and an intellectual framework for analysing complex societal issues influenced by cross-interacting intangible factors. Furthermore, policy formulation necessitates both lateral and vertical thinking: with general questions guiding the design of the overall framework for achieving desired policy objectives, followed by delineating precise rules for effective implementation. Generally, such a mode of thinking cannot be easily cultivated in students through a single semester course discussing the societal implications of engineering. Thus, the conundrum of how to infuse divergent cognitive processes involved in technology policy considerations into engineering education is an important question that requires further pedagogical research. In particular, a more diffuse approach where the societal dimension of technology use are introduced at pertinent junctures in core engineering courses – thus, forming a coherent theme in the curriculum may afford students more opportunities for assimilating the unfamiliar concepts and thinking modes as they gain intellectual maturity with time. This communication reports on an initial attempt in incorporating elements of policy considerations into the tutorial discussion section of a required chemical engineering course on process design and safety. Specifically, the discussion was on exploring the scientific basis for regulating carbon dioxide emissions, the assumptions and adequacy of current regulatory frameworks, potential societal and economic impacts, criteria for evaluating available policy and technological options as well as economic and scientific considerations for setting specific regulatory regimes and their tradeoffs. Feedback from students revealed that most of them appreciated the discussion of policy considerations in an engineering course with a sizeable fraction finding the approach refreshing. A section of the students, however, expressed frustrations at the fuzzy and abstract nature of policy considerations, which demonstrated a clear need for pedagogical innovations to help bridge general inadequacies in students’ ability in assessing trade-offs involving non-quantitative but interacting factors.