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

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ENGINEERING CAPACITY: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND MOBILITYEESD?’ Figure 1 shows a number of options for higher educationdepartments, including:■■The Standard Curriculum Renewal (SCR) process wheredepartments may choose to continue with the currentpace of transition. This process might proceed over 15–20years, depending on how efficient the institution is as abusiness unit. A review of curriculum renewal literatureindicates a typical transition might begin with ad hoc curriculumrenewal which is dependent on individual staffinterests, followed by a period of flagship course developmentwhich follows market demand, then a gradualtransition to full integration of sustainability within thecurriculum which addresses institutional requirementssuch as accreditation.A Rapid Curriculum Renewal (RCR) process where departmentschoose to undertake a transition to EESD, whichmight proceed over 8–12 years, again depending on theefficiency of the institution as a business unit. Ad hoc curriculumrenewal is still advantageous initially, as it can helpto build momentum. Flagship course development mightbe overlapped with fully integrating sustainability contentwithin every course in a programme, to contract the process.In a RCR process, the department is in control of thepace, rather than reacting to staff, market or institutionaldrivers.Given that a number of market and institutional shifts arealready underway evidenced by the media and EESD literature,it is likely that most institutions have already begun an SCRprocess, having undertaken some ad hoc initiatives aroundEESD. However, institutions choosing this 15–20 year curriculumrenewal process face the risk that market and institutionalchanges might overtake their department’s curriculum renewalprogress before they complete the transition. For example, if acarbon trading scheme is initiated (this has been done in manycountries and is set to be done in a number of others), thenthe large companies trading carbon will likely require relatedcompetencies in their existing and new position descriptions.If the cost of petrol rises significantly over the next five years,then society will require rapid innovation across all sectors toaddress the manufacture and supply of goods and services.Departments beginning with a Standard Curriculum Renewalprocess still have the option of switching to a Rapid CurriculumRenewal process at a later date. However, this staggeredapproach may or may not be sufficient to keep up with theregulatory, market and institutional shifts. Staff may still growfrustrated and move to institutions that are moving faster, ormay be invited to other institutions. Market demand for graduateswith sustainability capabilities may still outpace the abilityto develop them, and institutional accreditation requirementsmay outpace the ability to respond to them.Those engineering departments who do not begin to addressEESD now, discount altogether the possibility of completing astandard curriculum renewal process in time to address likelyinstitutional, market and regulatory shifts. For these departments,the alternative window of waiting, then undertakinga rapid curriculum renewal process, is probably 5–10 years.However, in taking this approach, the engineering departmentis even more at risk of falling too far behind shifting accreditation/market/ and regulatory requirements. This also leavesthe departments open to staff being poached by other institutionstaking action.Rapid Curriculum Renewal will help these departments tomitigate the potential risk to them, of not keeping up withmarket, regulatory and institutional shifts. These departmentswill also maximize future benefits of being an industry leader,including market preference for their graduates, and a lowaccreditation risk. However, departments taking a Rapid CurriculumRenewal approach must be wary of being too far infront of market expectations, to ensure that their graduatesremain employable and in demand through the transition.Concluding commentsEvidence from engineering education literature suggests thatdespite the increasing dialogue about EESD, there has not beena substantial shift to EESD in engineering curriculum. Facedwith increasing market, regulatory and institutional pressures,each engineering department is faced with the question, ‘Howfar and how fast are we willing and able to proceed to makethe transition to EESD?’ By not answering, departments areimplicitly deciding ‘not much’ and ‘not very fast’ and are thereforeexposing themselves to risk. Those institutions that actin anticipation of future market, regulatory and institutionalshifts will have a strong student recruitment position.7.3.3Rapid Curriculum RenewalCheryl Desha and Charlie HargrovesA number of elements, outlined below, that are emergingin engineering education literature can be used as tools foruniversity engineering departments undertaking a Rapid CurriculumRenewal (RCR) process. At the 2008 Delhi SustainableDevelopment Summit, Professor Jeffery Sachs declared that inorder to respond to the challenge of climate change, ‘… whatis needed is good arithmetic, and good engineering and goodeconomics, all combined… We haven’t done the work on thatyet. But that is the work that we need to do in the next twoyears in my view – to show a path’. 57 These statements, comingfrom a world renowned economist, author and special advi-57 Go to: http://www.rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/climate_change_2008.pdf (Accessed: 28 May 2010).343
ENGINEERING: ISSUES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT© Allyson Lawless Capacity building.sor to United Nations Secretary-General, effectively broughtsustainable engineering onto the world’s centre stage andhighlighted the point that there is no time to lose in bringingengineering and economics together.These are strong statements, both on the timelines and thecapacity of the engineering profession globally to meet thechallenges of climate change and sustainable development.This level of urgency has been echoed by a number of recentscientific and economic bodies and networks who have calledfor short timelines for action to address the challenge of climatechange, including the Stern Review, 58 the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report, 59and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) 4thGlobal Environment Outlook Report. 60 The consistent messageacross all of these reports is that significant capacity-buildingacross the professions is required, and that the need is urgent.Within higher education, engineering departments now facethe ‘time lag dilemma’ discussed earlier, where answering thequestion ‘How far and how fast are we willing and able to proceedto make the transition to EESD?’ will significantly affecttheir ability to succeed in the future.Within the EESD literature and practice there are a numberof ‘elements’ of rapid curriculum renewal that are emergingwhich address the needs of a department undertaking a rapidcurriculum renewal process; each element appears to play animportant role in achieving a rapid curriculum renewal toEESD, and the omission of one or more elements may slowthe transition and may also negatively impact on the qualityof curriculum renewal outcomes. The elements do not necessarilyneed to be implemented in a linear manner, nor arethey exclusive; one element may contain similar activities toanother and elements may be repeated or reviewed at variousstages in the transition. The elements are briefly described inthe following:Awareness raising and developing a commonunderstandingThis element recognizes that, first and foremost, engineeringeducators need to be aware of the changing educational needsof graduating engineering students so that they might begin toconsider their role in developing their required knowledge andskills. Developing a ‘common understanding’ does not meanthat everyone in the department must agree on a commonconception of sustainability. Rather, faculty members need tobe aware of how EESD affects the department, and the department’sperspective. As faculty reaches this level of understanding,senior management can identify what capacity is availableto deliver sustainability content within the programme offer-58 Go to: http://www.sternreview.org.uk/59 Go to: http://www.ipcc.ch/60 Go to: http://www.unep.org/geo/geo4/media/ (Accessed: 29 May 2010).ings, existing champions, leaders, and interest areas in the faculty.Graduate attribute mappingThe use of ‘graduate attributes’ (also referred to as ‘programmeoutcomes’ ‘learning outcomes’ and ‘graduate capabilities’) isgaining popularity internationally as a way for educationalinstitutions to define the kind of graduates their programmesseek to deliver. Such mapping quickly develops a shared understandingof a department’s aims and aspirations for graduatesand of the programme’s graduate market niche (regionally,nationally and internationally); encourages reflection on howcourses and programmes can develop attributes to addressaccreditation requirements; and focuses attention on howpreferred graduate attributes are already being developedthrough curriculum goals, learning objectives, assessmentmethods and learning activities. Once a list of attributes hasbeen created, each attribute can then be traced or ‘mapped’to show where it is being developed in a given programme ofstudy. The resultant ‘graduate attribute map’ can then be usedto review a programme (using an audit process).Curriculum auditAn Engineering for Sustainable Development (E4SD) auditaims to provide a preliminary diagnosis and classification ofeach course within the programme, to inform effective curriculumrenewal efforts across (breadth) and within (depth)the programme. Each course can be assessed with regard to:1) Fundamental Principles – how well the scope of the theoryunderpins application to contemporary and emerging applicationsand challenges; 2) Knowledge – how well the knowledgeexplains relevance and context and prepares students with anunderstanding of issues and processes; and 3) Application –how well the course demonstrates the relevance and implementationof principles and knowledge to contemporaryand emerging applications and challenges. An E4SD audit isinformed by relevant professional body accreditation requirementson sustainable development content, as well as key declarationsand global commitments by the relevant institutionsand professional networks for the discipline area.Course development and renewalGuidance is still lacking on how sustainability content requirementscan be most effectively and efficiently addressed for agiven programme. Questions still exist: should the departmentcreate a niche bachelor degree, or seek to integrate sustainabilitycontent across the existing programme?; should thedepartment be presenting sustainability content to studentsin single ‘flagship courses’?; are flagship courses sufficient forthe department, to embed sustainability into the programme?;how does the department accelerate its curriculum developmentprocess? For each of these questions, careful planningfrom the outset is essential to determine the best approachfor the department given the opportunities and risks for them344
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UNESCO ReportEngineering:IssuesChal
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This landmark report on engineering
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Introductionto the Report
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1What is Engineering?
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5Engineering around the world
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