Scanning the Horizon of Engineering Education: The Sustainability Imperative
An ECL-USA Summit Sponsored by NCEES and Presented in Collaboration with ABET, Engineering for One Planet, and Olin College of Engineering
A series of significant societal, technological, and environmental challenges are reshaping what it means to be an engineer in the 21st Century. Engineering education is a primary crucible for this change, with the need to transform the curriculum, experience, and composition of the student body, faculty, and staff in higher education institutions.
Chief among the drivers of change is the emergence of sustainability as central to engineering practice in the future. The challenges that we face mean that our engineering education system needs to instill in graduating practitioners of all disciplines the values, mindsets, skills, and competencies that will enable graduates to incorporate sustainability into their careers.
The next ECL-USA virtual summit, scheduled for March 14, 2023, will offer a deep dive into the way sustainability is being manifest within engineering education. We will explore this transformation from multiple perspectives of stakeholders within the engineering community represented by our summit provocateurs.
Accreditation. Michael Milligan is CEO of ABET, the global accreditor of 4,500+ college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and technology. Michael will kick off the summit with his perspectives on the sustainability imperative.
Students. A panel of student change leaders who are passionate about sustainability will offer the workforce-of-the-future perspective.
Educators. Alessandra Ferzoco, Assistant Professor at Olin College of Engineering, is equal parts scientist, engineer, designer of learning experiences, and curious wanderer. She will offer her view of Olin’s unique approach and her experiences in guiding students through the ethical dilemmas associated with sustainability as they work with on real world problems in their capstone projects.
Employers. Jennifer Bradford, Global Business Strategy Manager for Education at Siemens, is passionate about enabling educators and learners to create a more sustainable future. Jennifer leads Siemens’ Skills for Sustainability Network which supports educators in enabling the workforce of the future to develop innovative sustainable solutions.
Innovators and Non-Profit Collaborators. Cindy Cooper, Senior Program Officer at The Lemelson Foundation, leads Lemelson’s Engineering for One Planet (EOP) initiative, an effort to equip tomorrow’s engineers with the skills, knowledge and understanding to protect our planet and the life it sustains. Cindy will offer an update on the EOP framework. Cindy will also be joined by campus representatives from two of the institutions involved in Lemelson’s pilot project on implementation of the EOP framework.
Group discussions at the summit will center around envisioning how sustainability can impact curriculum, students’ learning experience, and research and on overcoming resistance or inertia that could prevent or slow the transformation.
Registration for the summit is now open at this link.
The pre-reading list for the summit is also available at this link.
