Raising awareness of the important role of engineering in sustainable development

Abstract

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) professions play a crucial role in transforming 21st-century society, as they contribute to developing new technologies that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Aligning engineering education with sustainable development requires raising awareness among students, fostering commitment among future generations of engineers, and promoting technical vocations. In this paper, an educational experience designed with these objectives is presented, in which more than 130 students from five undergraduate degrees in engineering and architecture at the Higher Polytechnic School of Zamora (HPSZ) of the University of Salamanca actively participated. To carry out the project, an online course was designed to train all participating students on general aspects of the 2030 Agenda, and research works were proposed in the ten involved degree subjects. The assessment of students' prior knowledge and learning regarding the 2030 Agenda was conducted through an objective multiple-choice pre-test and post-test. Additionally, their satisfaction with this educational experience was assessed through a questionnaire. The results revealed a considerable improvement in the students′ knowledge of the general contents of sustainable development, especially after participating in classroom debate sessions. The initial objective test showed a low average score, indicating the lack of knowledge about the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs among engineering students. However, the final objective test revealed a significant improvement of 3 points out of 10. Regarding the research works, out of a total of 91 students, 53 papers addressing complex issues related to sustainable development and current engineering solutions were presented. This approach facilitated collaborative learning and the celebration of World Engineering Day at the HPSZ. The results of the satisfaction survey demonstrated that the experience was positive for both students and faculty Furthermore, its media impact was essential for increasing engineering vocations′ visibility and social recognition.