Sustainable development at the core of undergraduate engineering curriculum reform: a new introductory course in chemical engineering

Abstract

Most efforts to reform engineering curricula to focus on sustainable development have to date been at the level of individual, senior, often elective, courses. Although sophisticated arguments have been mounted about the need for broad curriculum reform, there are few exemplars of such initiatives in undergraduate engineering education. This article reports on a curriculum reform process in chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town, and examines closely the new first core course that signals the introduction of this new curriculum. The new curriculum has borrowed from forerunners in this endeavour a slightly reduced theoretical core, intertwined with an accompanying project strand running throughout the four years of the program. Departing from traditional curricula, the new first year course incorporates a ‘natural foundations’ strand that introduces nature not just as source of raw materials, or as imposing limits on engineering prowess, but also as ‘mentor and model’. Sustainability problems are interpreted as systematic violations of nature's grand cycles and contrasted with development needs particularly in relation to provision of water and energy. By the end of the course, >95% of students rated their knowledge of environmental and sustainability issues as good or excellent, whilst 80% confirmed this in the final examination. This article thus demonstrates the feasibility of reforming core undergraduate engineering curricula to incorporate a focus on sustainable development, from the first year of study onwards.