Engineering Education For Sustainable Development Research Articles

The evolution of sustainability in engineering education research: a longitudinal analysis through bibliometrics and the CDIO initiative

PurposeConsidering the relevance of education for sustainable development (SD) to enhancing engineers’ abilities to contribute towards sustainability-related issues, this study aims to help understand the global context of the insertion of SD into engineering education and to provide guidelines to further evolve research and efforts towards implementing Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD).Design/methodology/approachThis study performed a longitudinal analysis using bibliometrics and a content analysis via Conceive–Design–Implement–Operate standards. SciMAT software was used to support the bibliometric analysis.FindingsIn addition to an increase in the practical aspects presented due to a change in the approaches taken to examine key topics, evidence on important concepts such as “life cycle assessment” and “digitalisation” increased in more recent years. However, it was possible to show that, despite the evolution observed throughout the years, several important opportunities exist for engineering programmes to improve and, for researchers, to fill the related gaps in the research.Originality/valueThis study can be used as a guide for future research and as a source of insights for EESD implementation and improvement.

Engineering education for sustainable development: Bibliometric analysis

Bibliometrics is a tool to evaluate and comprehend work. Its usage is steadily spreading to various disciplines. The main aim of this research paper is twofold. Firstly, to use bibliometrix as an R package tool to provide bibliometric information on 1,995 publications considered from the Scopus database. Secondly, to serve as a source for finding answers to new scientific questions through further research on engineering education for sustainable development. It is not hard to understand that higher education, especially engineering education, has a more significant role in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030. A review of research papers on engineering education and sustainable development published between 2010 and 2023 was conducted. The bibliometrix analysis identified the current level of research on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD). Through the results of this study, we have broadened our understanding of who, which, and what aspects of EESD, as well as possible research areas in EESD to explore. This study presents implications and recommendations for the people at the helm of authority in engineering education institutions and policymakers. They can play an instrumental role in developing a society with a sustainable future. Keywords: Bibliometrics, Bibliometrix, Engineering Education, Sustainable development, R package tool, Sustainable development goals

Aligning Engineering Education for Sustainable Development through Governance: The Case of the International Center for Engineering Education in China

Engineering education plays a key role in the progress toward achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, engineering education faces many challenges worldwide, and the issues are becoming increasingly complicated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To deal with these challenges and achieve the SDGs by 2030, governance that aligns engineering education and SDGs is badly needed. The International Center for Engineering Education (ICEE) has taken a series of governance actions to align engineering education and sustainable development. This research presents the contribution of these governance actions, analyzes the governance types and their relevance to the SDGs, and explores the key mechanisms of these governance actions and challenges. This research can provide useful information for the global community to understand China’s participation in global engineering-educational governance and promote engineering education for sustainable development.

Disruptive Intelligent System in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development

Intelligent Systems in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development is the order of the day in the field of construction, operation, maintenance and retirement of the product development. Always we are talking about multi-disciplinary engineering fields. As per the future needs the technology may replace all the existing fields and interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary will come into the force with new shape called Intelligent Systems. The reason behind this proposal strictly speaking, there always the need of connective fields with the facts and reasoning. As per the Engineering Education System the main theme will be focused on developing a product the product to solve the problems faced by society. That means the intention should be serving the needs in an effective way. According to this system, it needs to assist and manage the people needs to provide an effective solution as per standards. Hence, the current work will show a path how engineers will collaborate together with disruptive intelligent systems.

Understanding And Extrapolation Of Disruption For Engineering Education-Principles And Problems

Engineering Education faced few disruptions like Outcome Based Education, Engineering Education for Sustainable Development and the present Industry 4.0 in the recent times. These disruptions failed to change Curricula, Teaching-Learning processes, Assessment appreciably in the large number of engineering institutions in several countries across the world. Same old processes despite switching over to Outcome Based Education or EESD or Industry 4.0 are being continued. Disruption is most sought after in engineering education as it offers lot of advantages like leadership, profit and professional standing. Many Institutions offering engineering programs try to implement disruptions but fail because of lack of understanding about disruption and the associated processes, required finances, Human Resources and more importantly the innovation capabilities. Disruption is a process where a product outsmarts others through Innovation either in Technology or in Product or in processes. Disruption is building a new eco-system to meet the customer’s purpose of buying a product, service or a program. Of late people are trying to implement innovations in Engineering Education with no knowledge of Disruption, its properties and processes. In this paper, we try to take an example of Kingsmen Coffee, a company trying to disrupt in the Indian market, analyse what it is offering and how they are trying to disrupt the existing players and what lessons does it offer to Engineering Educators in Disruption. Kingsmen Coffee is a coffee dispensing machine with new technology and the way it is creating win-win situations for all the stake holders involved, is a matter of interest and study for Engineering Educators. Through this study of Disruption, essential pre-requisites for disruption to happen are noted and they are used to extrapolate for realizing disruption in engineering education. Some suggestions regarding implementation of Disruption are given.

A decade of Finnish engineering education for sustainable development

Purpose The paper aims to examine the current status and development of sustainable development in Finnish engineering education. Design/methodology/approach The study consists of interviews with key stakeholders supplemented with the analysis of documented material. Development is discussed in relation to the findings of collaborative strategy process in the year 2009. Findings The paper observes that the Finnish universities providing engineering education are committed to sustainable development in their strategies. However, a lot of work remains to be done before the strategies are implemented and sustainable development is integrated to all degree programs. Explicit knowledge and individual learning in clearly defined disciplinary boundaries have been the main focus of engineering education. Practical implications The paper suggests that engineers need to be provided with mental tools to cope with uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Key competencies include holistic understanding, communication and collaboration skills, ability and willingness for critical and reflective thinking, creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship. Thus, collaborative learning, open dialogue and innovation are at the heart of education for sustainable development. Originality/value This paper has a relatively wide approach as it analyses sustainable development in the context of Finnish engineering education both on institutional and societal levels and is based on a national project.

Engineering education for sustainable development: using online learning to support the new paradigms

This paper explores the experiences of three academic members of the University of Nottingham Open Online Course (NOOC) and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) team, comprising an engineer (tutor), an engineering education specialist (facilitator) and a specialist in higher education pedagogy (convenor). The paper explores notions of what makes for effective teaching of sustainability within a multidisciplinary online context, and the extent to which this experience has impacted upon personal behaviours and attitudes to sustainability, from an Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) perspective. Team members’ experiences are further supported by findings from student and learner evaluations of the NOOC and MOOC courses. Key findings of the research include (a) Interdisciplinarity is a strength of the course (b) The course can lead to genuine change in the understanding of sustainability; (c) Teaching sustainability online is different; (d) Involvement in the course impacts upon teaching practices; (e) Cultural and disciplinary diversity within both the course team and the student cohort is a major contributor to the overall sustainable development learning experience in the NOOC/MOOC. It is hoped that the findings of the study will pave the way for engineering and non-engineering educators to explore the potential of integrating sustainability within the modules they teach, via online teaching and learning means.

7th International Conference on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD15): Cultivating the T-Shaped Engineer, Vancouver Canada, June 9–12, 2015

7th International Conference on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD15): Cultivating the T-Shaped Engineer, Vancouver Canada, June 9–12, 2015

6th International Conference in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD13) Cambridge, UK, 22–25 September 2013

6th International Conference in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD13) Cambridge, UK, 22–25 September 2013

What do EESD “experts” think sustainability is? Which pedagogy is suitable to learn it?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study how experts on teaching sustainability in engineering education contextualize sustainability; also to evaluate the understanding of sustainability by engineering students. The final aim is to evaluate what pedagogy experts believe provides better opportunities for learning about sustainability in engineering education.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used conceptual maps (cmaps) analysis with two taxonomies of four and ten categories. The first taxonomy clusters the significance of sustainability in environmental, technological, social and institutional aspects and shows the main trends; the second (of ten categories) divides the previous categories into greater detail. To evaluate the experts' cmaps two indices were defined that provide information about what experts think sustainability is most related to and evaluate how complex they see the sustainability concept. In total, 500 students from five European engineering universities were then surveyed and the results compared with those of the experts. Finally, interviews were held with experts to try to determine the best pedagogy to apply to achieve learning around sustainability.FindingsThe results show that Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) experts consider that institutional and social aspects are more relevant to sustainability than environmental and technological ones. The results were compared with the understanding of sustainability by a sample of more than 500 engineering students who had taken courses on sustainability at five technical universities in Europe. This comparison shows a mismatch among the EESD “experts'” and the students' understanding of sustainability, which suggest that sustainability courses in engineering degrees should emphasise the social and institutional aspects versus environmental and technological ones. Moreover, courses should emphasize more the complexity of sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper emphasizes the lack of priority that social and institutional aspects are given in sustainability courses and promotes a discussion about how these two elements and complex thinking can increase their importance in the engineering curriculum.

Conference Announcement: Engineering Education for Sustainable Development: EESD13 Cambridge, UK. September 22–25, 2013

Conference Announcement: Engineering Education for Sustainable Development: EESD13 Cambridge, UK. September 22–25, 2013

Pedagogical Approaches and Design Aspects To Enable Leadership for Sustainable Development

Various sets of skills for dealing with sustainability and the complexity of the modern world have been put forward by different actors in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In connection with these skills, pedagogical methods such as lifelong learning, social learning, problem-based learning, dialogue education, and empowerment for ESD have been discussed. This paper looks at how these theories and methods can be put into practice by examining a real-world example of a sustainability master’s program at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Sweden. In 2004, BTH launched the international transdisciplinary master’s program Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability, which aims to develop leaders who will be able to address the ever-increasing sustainability challenge. The program combines a robust scientific framework for planning and decision making toward sustainability, with the leadership skills needed to energize large-scale societal change. In 2009, the Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) observatory awarded BTH the ranking of No. 1 in Sweden and third in Europe for demonstrating success in EESD. This paper describes the specific pedagogical approaches and design elements that were implemented to train and develop the skills and expertise surrounding leadership for sustainable development. It further presents and analyzes survey data taken from program alumni reflecting on the success of the program. The results of the survey clearly show that while there is room for improvement, overall the program design is extremely successful in equipping its graduates with the skills necessary to address the sustainability challenge. Finally, the authors offer reflections on the lessons learned after six years of continual improvements.

Learning for Change: Cross-disciplinary Postgraduate Programmes in Sustainability

Through connecting the local and global, higher education institutions play a vital role in addressing social, environmental and economic challenges and ultimately achieving a sustainable future. New Horizons: Responding to the Challenges of the 21st Century (Scottish Government, 2008), outlines the contributions which Scottish universities should make to the economy, culture and society, and to the political priorities of the Scottish Government. Learning for Change: Scotland’s Action Plan for the Second Half of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (Scottish Government, 2010) examines progress to date and sets out the actions that higher education institutions have committed to undertaking in the second half of the decade and beyond. These two important documents provide the context for work that has taken place at the University of Strathclyde in response to the challenges set out within them. The University of Strathclyde has been ranked first in the Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Observatory Report 2008 and plans to build on this success. The challenges presented by Sustainable Development are inherently holistic, demanding equal responses from all disciplines and this requires the development of a framework for University-wide, cross disciplinary teaching. This paper describes work that has taken place within the University to develop a new university-wide, multi-disciplinary, Strathclyde Masters programme in Sustainability (SMS) aimed at articulating a framework for integrating flagship postgraduate courses & classes, sustainability literacy, skills training workshops and subsequent continuing professional development courses. Conclusions are presented from the three main bodies of work involved: a review of current thinking in ESD; a multi-stakeholder consultation process involving students, academic and professional services staff within the university, and external stakeholders, and the creation of a Sustainability Map detailing current postgraduate provision of ESD at the University.

The Contribution of University Curricula to Engineering Education for Sustainable Development

Global failures to reach a sustainable development within present-day societies as well as recent breakthroughs within technoscience pose new challenges to engineering education. The list of competencies which engineers should have to rise to these challenges is long and divers, and often encompasses radically new attributes. The task of engineering education for sustainable development is to address these competencies and to prepare engineers for their active role in society. Besides, while competencies correspond to optional behavior, actual behavior must be accounted for as well to fulfill the requirements for a transition towards sustainable development. Such an approach calls for new modes of teaching and learning as well as for their meaningful integration in existing educational contexts. This paper presents the diversity of competencies needed, introduces a focus on actual performance, and identifies five appropriate modes of learning. The combination of these different modes (their prevalence, sequence, and balance) within university curricula is discussed referring to empirical examples.

Educating engineers for/in sustainable development? What we knew, what we learned, and what we should learn

In the past decade, several engineering universities, mainly in Europe, but also in Australia, North America, and Japan, have been addressing the issue of sustainable development. Engineering education in sustainable development has been discussed at many occasions. What questions have been addressed, what answers have been provided, and what are the main remaining topics for research into engineering education in sustainable development? What should engineers learn regarding sustainable development? How to trigger institutional change within engineering schools: top-down or bottom-up? How to trigger cultural change, how to win the hearts and souls of the faculty? Curriculum change: starting new programs or changing existing ones? The contribution of active learning and project based learning? The role of external stakeholders, external cooperation? How to measure sustainable development learning effects? Practice what you preach: how to green the campus, diminish resource consumption and sustainabilise procurement? How to teach normative content in an academic context? The paper, based mainly on the European literature on EESD of the last decade, discusses the answers that were provided and present an agenda for further research in EESD (This paper has mainly a European perspective. An overview of sustainable development engineering education in the U

Surveying the state of higher education in energy efficiency, in Australian engineering curriculum

This paper presents the method and results of a survey of 27 of the 33 Australian universities teaching engineering education in late 2007, undertaken by The Natural Edge Project (hosted by Griffith University and the Australian National University) and supported by the National Framework for Energy Efficiency. This survey aimed to ascertain the extent of energy efficiency (EE) education, and to identify preferred methods to assist in increasing the extent to which EE education is embedded in engineering curriculum. In this paper the context for the survey is supported by a summary of the key results from a variety of surveys undertaken over the last decade internationally. The paper concludes that EE education across universities and engineering disciplines in Australia is currently highly variable and ad hoc. Based on the results of the survey; this paper highlights a number of preferred options to support educators to embed sustainability within engineering programs, and future opportunities for monitoring EE, within the context of engineering education for sustainable development (EESD).

Addressing the time lag dilemma in curriculum renewal towards engineering education for sustainable development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the case for engineering departments to undertake rapid curriculum renewal (RCR) towards engineering education for sustainable development (EESD), to minimise the department's risk exposure to rapidly shifting industry requirements, government regulations and program accreditation. This paper then outlines a number of elements of RCR.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins by proposing that Higher Education Institutions face a “time lag dilemma,” whereby the usual or “standard” curriculum renewal approach to embed new knowledge and skills within the curriculum may take too long, lagging behind industry, regulatory, and accreditation shifts. This paper then outlines a proposed RCR approach. This paper presents a number of preliminary “elements of RCR” formulated from a literature review of numerous existing but largely ad hoc examples of curriculum renewal within engineering and other discipline areas, together with the authors' experience in trialling the elements.FindingsThis paper concludes that a strategically implemented process of curriculum renewal to EESD can help a department address its risk exposure to likely and impending shifts in industry, regulations and accreditation. A number of examples of implementing “elements of RCR” are emerging and this literature can inform a strategic approach to curriculum renewal.Practical implicationsThe aim of this paper is to highlight the potential risks and opportunities for engineering departments as they consider “how far” and “how fast” to proceed with curriculum renewal for EESD, along with providing an overview of a range of options for implementation.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified information/resources need.

The role of environmental engineering education in sustainable development in Iran

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explain the strategies and activities of a main technical University in Iran (Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT)) toward sustainable development goals.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, three main strategies of AUT to achieve sustainable developments goals in engineering education are explained. In addition, the main obstacles of these programs including the budget limitation for implementation of main activities related to sustainable development and difficulties in official procedure for the change of educational system is also explained.FindingsThe study of strategies and activities of a university can provide useful information for other universities (especially in developing countries) that like to promote their activities toward sustainable development goals. According to the final results, international education of engineering students and teachers, especially those who are living in developing countries, have an important role in promoting their environmentally aware attitudes, skills and behavior patterns help their societies make the transition to sustainable development.Practical implicationsAs earlier mentioned, these experiences are useful for the universities that like to promote their education system toward sustainable development. In addition, it is necessary to think about solving the main obstacle of these activities especially in the universities of developing countries. Further, action should be taken toward international cooperation of universities in order to improve their educational system, which will be suitable for the new millennium.Originality/valueThis paper describes the strategies, activities and main obstacles of a main technical University that has adopted the strategy “pioneer of sustainable development” in Iran for the next decade. The paper mainly focuses on experiences regarding these activities.

Engineering education in sustainable development at Delft University of Technology

Is technology hindering sustainable development or can it be used to stimulate sustainable development? It is becoming clearer that technological innovation can be a useful tool for achieving sustainable development. That is, if the technologist is aware of the boundaries that should be considered when working in a sustainable way; and is knowledgeable about how to use the tools that can be used to work in a sustainable way. Therefore, making technology students aware of these boundaries and tools is an important educational task for universities. Such education should, in our view, include two subjects. (1) Giving them insight into the concepts of sustainable development. What is sustainable development? What are sustainability problems? What are the causes of these problems? Which strategies and approaches for solving them are available? (2) Giving them insight into the technology development process. How does the technology development process work? Which factors influence and steer it? What is the influence of technology on society and on sustainable development? The Technology Assessment group at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed several courses on the combination of these two subjects, integrating research results in the fields of sustainable development and technology dynamics. In this article the contents of these courses are described.

Engineering sustainable solutions program

PurposeWhile a number of universities in Australia have embraced concepts such as project/problem‐based learning and design of innovative learning environments for engineering education, there has been a lack of national guidance on including sustainability as a “critical literacy” into all engineering streams. This paper was presented at the 2004 International Conference on Engineering Education in Sustainable Development (EESD) in Barcelona, Spain, outlining a current initiative that is seeking to address the “critical literacy” dilemma.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the positive steps taken by Australia's peak engineering body, the Institution of Engineers Australia (EA), in considering accreditation requirements for university engineering courses and its responsibility to ensure the inclusion of sustainability education material. It then describes a current initiative called the “Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program – Critical Literacies for Engineers Portfolio” (ESSP‐CL), which is being developed by The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) in partnership with EA and Unesco.FindingsContent for the module was gathered from around the world, drawing on research from the publication The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation, and Governance in the Twenty‐first Century. Parts of the first draft of the ESSP‐CL have been trialled at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia with first year environmental engineering students, in May 2004. Further trials are now proceeding with a number of other universities and organisations nationally and internationally.Practical implicationsIt is intended that ESSP‐CL will be a valuable resource to universities, professional development activities or other education facilities nationally and internationally.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified information/resources need.