Engineering Education in Context: Integrating cultural and social aspects of sustainability

Proca, Vladimir Ion

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2012

2012-06-07

43

Som dem, der omsætter idéer til handling, spiller ingeniører en vigtig rolle i nutiden og i udformningen af vores fremtid—og de er centrale for bevægelsen mod bæredygtighed. Uddannelse er afgørende, fordi Ingeniøruddannelse for bæredygtig udvikling (EESD) forbereder dagens studerende til morgendagens praksis. I takt med at bæredygtighed bliver mere kompleks, må EESD omfatte flere dimensioner end de rent tekniske, herunder sociale og kulturelle. Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan forskellige forståelser af bæredygtighed påvirker generelle tendenser i EESD, og foreslår at integrere kulturelle aspekter mere systematisk i ingeniøruddannelser. Udgangspunktet er, at universiteter bør lære ingeniørstuderende om den særlige sociale ansvarlighed, der knytter sig til deres fag—en viden, der rækker ud over traditionel akademisk træning. For at karakterisere, hvad en kulturelt bevidst ingeniør kan, introduceres begrebet 'hybrid forestillingsevne': evnen til at forbinde teknisk problemløsning med sociale og kulturelle perspektiver. Artiklen diskuterer eksempler på, hvordan nogle universiteter har forsøgt at bringe kulturelle og sociale aspekter af bæredygtighed ind i deres uddannelser, identificerer de barrierer, der har holdt sådanne tiltag fra at blive mainstream, og peger samtidig på en voksende interesse. Endelig præsenteres et konkret initiativ på Aalborg Universitet i Danmark som led i formidlingsfasen af forskningsprogrammet Program of Research on Opportunities and Challenges in Engineering Education in Denmark (PROCEED).

Engineers turn ideas into action and therefore play a vital role in shaping both the present and the future—and they are central to the move toward sustainability. Education is crucial, because Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) prepares today’s students for tomorrow’s practice. As sustainability has grown more complex, EESD needs to include more than technical skills, especially social and cultural dimensions. This paper examines how different interpretations of sustainability influence prevailing trends in EESD and argues for systematically integrating cultural aspects into engineering education. It starts from the view that universities should help engineering students understand the social responsibility of their profession—knowledge that goes beyond traditional academic training. To describe what a culturally aware engineer can do, the paper introduces the concept of 'hybrid imagination': the ability to connect technical problem-solving with social and cultural perspectives. It discusses examples of universities that have brought cultural and social aspects of sustainability into their curricula, identifies the barriers that have kept such initiatives from becoming mainstream, and notes the growing interest in them. Finally, it presents an initiative at Aalborg University in Denmark carried out as part of the outreach phase of the Program of Research on Opportunities and Challenges in Engineering Education in Denmark (PROCEED).

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

Engineering education ; sustainability ; social aspects ; cultural aspects ; market driven ; academic ; PROCEED ; hybrid imagination ; contextual knowledge ; engineering education for sustainable development ; curriculum ; educational change ; Universities ; engineers ; JEMES ; response strategy ; emerging culture ; Meeting place for University Sustainability Learning Initiatives ; hubris ; habitus

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