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Exploring the Intersection between Engineering and Sustainability Education

Author

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  • Denise Wilson

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-2500, USA)

Abstract

Sustainability and sustainable development are cornerstones of many of the greatest challenges that engineering faces in the 21st century. Yet, most engineering programs do not explicitly prepare students to engineer within the bounds of sustainability. While engineering education must change in order to more fully integrate sustainability, such change should leverage intersections among what engineering students bring to the table, how engineering educators teach, and the sustainability challenges defined by experts in engineering. This study focuses specifically on what students are bringing to the table by first comparing what students intend to contribute to a more sustainable world to what they should contribute as defined by the grand challenges of engineering. Qualitative analyses of what students say about how they intend to contribute to sustainability show that these statements cover only a small subset of the grand challenges. Additional quantitative analyses show that more engineering students than students in non-STEM fields (business and education) have a strong sense of personal responsibility regarding critical sustainability issues in sustainable energy and waste management. These results suggest that, with proper intervention from engineering educators, engineering students are well positioned and motivated to pursue and expand their sense of responsibility for sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Denise Wilson, 2019. "Exploring the Intersection between Engineering and Sustainability Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3134-:d:236951
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Waqar Ashraf & Faisal Alanezi, 2020. "Incorporation of Sustainability Concepts into the Engineering Core Program by Adopting a Micro Curriculum Approach: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Annette Gough, 2021. "All STEM-Ed up: Gaps and Silences around Ecological Education in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Carlos Cacciuttolo & Yaneth Vásquez & Deyvis Cano & Fernando Valenzuela, 2023. "Research Thesis for Undergraduate Engineering Programs in the Digitalization Era: Learning Strategies and Responsible Research Conduct Road to a University Education 4.0 Paradigm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Nirda de Jesús Colón-Flores & Maira Rafaela Vargas-Martínez & Joselina Caridad Tavarez-De Henríquez & Cándida María Domínguez-Valerio, 2023. "Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Ibifuro Ken-Giami & Sarinova Simandjuntak & Linda Yang & Ann Coats & David Sanders, 2022. "Establishing the Relative Importance of Specific Sustainability Themes That Influence Women’s Choice of Engineering as a Career Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-26, January.
    6. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino & Bárbara Sureda & Miguel Antúnez & Ibon Gutiérrez, 2019. "A Methodology to Analyze the Presence of Sustainability in Engineering Curricula. Case of Study: Ten Spanish Engineering Degree Curricula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-27, August.
    7. Rafael Miñano Rubio & Diego Uribe & Ana Moreno-Romero & Susana Yáñez, 2019. "Embedding Sustainability Competences into Engineering Education. The Case of Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering Degree Programs at Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-29, October.

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