Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING CAPACITY: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND MOBILITYTable 1: Summary of key international surveys and reports on engineering education for sustainable developmentDate YearSurvey and Report Findings1998 World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable development ( WFEO, FIDIC, UATI)Although a small number of responses only provides an indicative response, the authors reported that, ‘the survey does notindicate a strong or consistent approach to the environment and sustainable development in engineering education or that, on acountry average, much more than 10 per cent of time in 10 per cent of courses is devoted to these aspects.’ a2000, 2001, 2002 International Survey: University of Surrey (UK) & University of Melbourne ( Australia)The authors of the survey concluded that the level of knowledge was not satisfactory and that significant knowledge gaps existedwithin the curriculum, noting, ‘the finding that there is no difference in the level of knowledge between different years of study is alsoof concern as it suggests that environmental and/or sustainability topics are not taught adequately on engineering programmes’. b2006, 2008 Alliance for Global Sustainability (Chalmers University of Technology, Technical University of Delft and Technical Universityof Catalonia)The Alliance concluded that a transition is underway in Europe, but has not significantly progressed: ‘To date, there is no EuropeanUniversity that shows sufficient progress in EESD to be considered an inspiration.’ The authors concluded that, ‘European universitiesthat wish to provide engineers with the skills in sustainability that industry requires and needs to remain globally competitive shouldnot remain complacent.’ c2007 The Natural Edge Project: Engineering Education for Energy Efficiency SurveyThe authors proposed that if universities are embedding sustainability into engineering education, then energy efficiencyeducation is likely to be included, and would be a reasonable indicator of EESD. The authors concluded that, ‘the state of educationfor energy efficiency in Australian engineering education is currently highly variable and ad hoc across universities and engineeringdisciplines … This aligns with the more general findings of the European higher education surveys.’ d2007 UK’s Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)The Council produced a report on a strategic review of sustainable development in Higher Education in England, concluding that,‘ sustainable development activity is very disparate in the higher education institution (HEI) sector.’ e2008 Australian Learning and Teaching CouncilThe Council produced a report on Addressing the Supply and Quality of Engineering Graduates for the New Century, concludingthat the content and methodology of many courses and programmes in engineering education had not changed substantiallyover the last decade. fa UNEP, WFEO, WBCSD, ENPC. 1997. Engineering Education and Training for Sustainable Development, Report of the joint UNEP, WFEO, WBCSD, ENPC Conference, Paris, France, 24–26 September 1997, Chapter 10: Appendices - IV WFEOSurvey, p. 42.b Azapagic, A., Perdan, S., and Shallcross, D. 2005. How much do engineering students know about sustainable development? The findings of an international survey and possible implications for the engineering curriculum, European Journalof engineering Education, Vol. 30 No. 1, March 2005, pp. 1–19.c The Alliance for Global Sustainability. 2006. The Observatory: Status of Engineering Education for Sustainable Development in European Higher Education, 2006, EESD-Observatory, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, p. 4, Available at: http://www.upc.edu./eesd-observatory/ (Accessed: 28 May 2010).d Desha, C., Hargroves, K., Smith, M., Stasinopoulos, P., Stephens, R., and Hargroves, S. 2007. State of Education for Energy Efficiency in Australian Engineering Education - Summary of Questionnaire Results, The Natural Edge Project (TNEP),Australia.e Policy Studies Institute, PA Consulting Group, and the University of Bath Centre for Research in Education and the Environment. 2008. HEFCE strategic review of sustainable development in higher education in England, Report to the HEFCE,January 2008, London.f King, R. 2008. Addressing the Supply and Quality of Engineering Graduates for the New Century, the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (formerly the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education), Sydney, pp.24–29.and studies undertaken over the past decade can be used asan indication of progress within engineering education. Theevidence suggests that despite the increasing dialogue aboutEESD, there has not been a substantial shift to EESD in engineeringcurriculum in any country.The ‘Time Lag Dilemma’ facing engineering educatorsDespite the historical trend of slow progress towards EESD,departments now face a ‘time lag dilemma’ where existingprogrammes and curriculum renewal might not keep upwith regulations, markets, and institutional requirementsthat are shifting as a result of emerging twenty-first centurychallenges. Across government, business and society,efforts are underway to shift growth away from threateningenvironmental thresholds, such as climate change, towardsa path of sustainable development. There is a growingappreciation of the complexity of environmental systemsand how difficult it is to align development goals with therequirements of these systems. This change in attitude andaction is filtering through to the higher education system,evident in a number of factors that are putting pressure onengineering departments to update curriculum, such as:tightening legislation and regulations; increasing accreditationrequirements; shifting industry demands for graduates with341