Investigating Ethics in an Undergraduate Design Thinking Project: The Stanford EDIPT Framework Approach in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This research is to practice a full paper that discusses ethics in engineering. Engineering graduates are expected to have ethical critical thinking and problem-solving skills to tackle real-world complex problems in the workplace. Course curriculum could benefit from more authentic learning and interdisciplinary teaching focused on engineering design and problem-solving. This pilot project incorporates a research-based design thinking framework EDIPT (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test), developed by Stanford University to guide students through conceptualization-to-production processes in a newly designed engineering course at an internationally-renowned university in Singapore. The study aims to equip students for ethical problem-solving, support more innovative and feasible ideas and products, and allow students to better exhibit knowledge and accomplish the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB) requirements. 36 third-year engineering students (39% female and 61% male) participated in this study through hybrid online/offline course activities and working with industry partners for real-world problem-solving. While the entire project implements an exploratory sequential mixed method research design, with multi-layered research data including student interviews and in-course and post-course reflections, this paper focuses on the participants’ open-ended pre-course survey responses about ethics in engineering. We conducted qualitative inductive analysis using an open coding technique and created descriptive codes. Preliminary findings suggest five emergent themes of ethical considerations, namely 1) client-centered responsibility, 2) intellectual property infringement/originality, 3) macro ethical considerations, 4) professionalism, and 5) others. Findings from this study will help to bolster research on ethical considerations in design thinking for the engineering field, as well as the applicability of foreign research frameworks in local practice contexts. Findings will also contribute to determining the best approach for improving the teaching framework for future iterations of the engineering courses, as well as assessing the suitability of applying design thinking to similar capstone courses within the university.