Mike McMeekin

Scanning the Horizon of Engineering Education:  The Sustainability Imperative

 An ECL-USA Summit 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 21^st 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.

 

An ECL-USA Summit 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 21^st 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.

… Read More

By Kyle V. Davy AIA and Mike McMeekin PE

Sustainability is not enough.

Escalating climate, infrastructure and social crises are outpacing efforts to address them with sustainable practices. The engineering community has the tools and strategies to take us beyond sustainability — both to address dire challenges and to restore living systems. Circular economy and regenerative approaches are principal means for achieving these ends.

… Read More

A recent Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL) summit featured a deep dive into the future of licensure for engineering and the role licensure and regulatory bodies can play in ensuring that engineers and organizations engaged in the development of the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution act in the public interest. Discussions at the summit demonstrated a clear need for engineering licensure models to adapt to these transformational developments in a manner that will protect the public and guide engineers to practice as stewards of technology and nature on behalf of society.

… Read More

Updated – July 14, 2022

Photo source: The Colorado Chautauqua

2022 Engineering Ideas Institute, September 26 – 28, 2022

In 2019, the leadership of Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL) conceived the idea of the Engineering Ideas Institute.

… Read More

Since the dawn of humanity, our technologies have transformed the world around us, adapting our environment to meet our needs and wants. Over the last 150 years, the Engineering Community has played a primary role in the creation and application of physical, digital, and biological technologies, from infrastructure and energy systems to digital twins and artificial intelligence to gene splicing and bio-printing.

In today’s world, the power and reach of new technologies is ever-expanding, and the pace of technological change is accelerating. Now more than ever, it is imperative that those of us involved in the creation and application of all types of technology consider the social, environmental, and ethical impacts of our work. Engineering Change Lab – USA’s (ECL) latest summit introduced the work of Engineering Change Lab – Canada in Technological Stewardship (TS) as a professional identity, orientation, and practice that can support us in navigating the complex tensions inherent in our work, broadening our perspective about potential impacts of our efforts, and bending the arc of technology towards greater good.

Mark Abbott, Director of ECL-Canada and Director of Tech Stewardship at MaRS Discovery District, kicked off the summit by recapping their eight-year journey that has resulted in their current focus on catalyzing and supporting a TS movement. The main purpose of ECL-Canada’s TS Practice Program is to ensure that technology is beneficial for all by impacting the creators and implementors of technology, such as the Engineering Community. The TS Practice Program is founded on three core commitments.

• Advance Understanding
• Deliberate Values
• Practice Behaviors

… Read More