Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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serving in conjunction with empathy significantly more than their counterparts in
engineering fields.
Engineering literature tends to endorse engineers’ use of empathy when designing
products for the user or customer and/or solving problems for the user, without the
engineer necessarily having direct contact with the user. For example, Vallero & Vesilind
(2006) believe that empathy is part of the design process and it can appear at each step of
the engineering design and build process. In order to be empathetic, engineers should
consider the needs of the client and the impact of their design, etc. Fleischmann (2004)
considers empathy as “the ability to place yourself in someone else’s place and to walk
with them as you attempt to understand the problem that you will attempt to solve”. He
states that empathy is closely related to engineering professionalism. It reflects quality of
the heart and is one of the virtues engineering students should know.
b) Empathy towards co-workers and colleagues
Engineering literature also tends to endorse engineers’ use of empathy when interacting
with people in their workplace. Masi (1995) argues that engineers need empathy with
team members. He defines empathy as “knowledge of when to speak out and when to let
someone else talk and the ability to defend ideas without generating confrontations-just to
do their jobs”. Shainis (1988) views empathy as the ability to look at things from another
person’s point of view and insists that it is important for engineering manager or project
engineer to be empathetic with people they encounter in workplace. Based on these
findings, engineering educators are encouraged to help their students develop empathy
skills primarily for the purpose of establishing collaborative partnerships with colleagues
in the workplace or for improving team management and leadership skills. The role of
empathy to form a collaborative relationship with the person or persons using the
technology they develop is not asstrong conceptualized (Riemer, 2003).
Arguments for Incorporating Empathy into Engineering Curricula.
While many of the arguments for incorporating “process skills” like empathy into
engineering curricula follow in the footsteps of ABET’s requirements, the call for
incorporating empathy into engineering programs is not a new one. For example, our
literature search produced several – decadesold - documents that urge engineering
educators to base their curricula on, for example, the “needs of mankind today” in order to
develop empathic, humanized engineering professionals (Kopplin, 1969).
Today, engineering programs are being challenged to align their curricula with current
ABET requirements and the changing demands of the twenty-first century global
marketplace, which expand the role and the necessary competency base of the engineer
(Berndt & Paterson, 2009; Kumar & Hsiao, 2007; Riemer, 2003). A growing sector of
engineering programs is also offering courses and degrees in engineering and sustainable
development, humanitarian engineering, community service and other initiatives aimed at
helping communities “in need” (Schneider, Lucena, & Leydens, 2009). Many of the papers
challenge the exclusive focus on technical skill development and ask to incorporate the
learning and practicing of “process skills” like empathy into engineering curricula (Hey,
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011