Climate change, contemporary society and engineering practice: a sustainability journey

[Abstract]: Climate change, Contemporary Society and engineers share an indivisible pathway towards sustainability through the means of technology. Climate change and sustainability are now new domains that require a better understanding by engineers. Ten years ago sustainability was a development for the future however the absence of climate certainty in contemporary society has raised sustainability awareness to the forefront of societal debate. While sustainability in theory is defined as the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely. However the literal meaning of “indefinitely” in sustainability definition poses a set of intriguing questions, is indefinite human survival a plausible proposition in a finite world. For this reason efforts in the fight against climate change are becoming a global effort, since it requires global cooperation and greater scientific consensus to reduce carbon emissions and consequently the planet’s energy footprint. We recognize that Sustainability ought to be economically viable, ecologically sound and sensitive; socially responsible and culturally appropriate. Surrounded by this realm of thinking all these mentioned definitions are equal measures that fail to address the importance of “technology” as a subject in the climate change and sustainability debate. Since this generation had inherited the historical legacy of nonrenewable energy technologies. The term “technology” in this context implies any technical system that can result in and/or be well described in terms of a process by which humans modify nature to meet their needs and wants. This paper seeks to investigate the underlying philosophical frames and the nature of the issues of sustainability present to engineers. It explores the notion of “Sustainability” and “technology “in engineering practice. Further, we argue that in order to establish a clear, measurable, actionable, and universally accessible working definition of sustainable engineering practices. climate change and technology life cycle need to be inclusive to sustainability

Sustainable software engineering education curricula development

Climate change risk and environmental degradation are the most critical issues of our society. Our technology influenced daily life style involves many software and apps which are used by large society and their use is increasing than ever before. Sustainability is a significant topic for future professionals and more so for Information Technology (IT) professionals and software engineers due to its impact on the society. It is significant to motivate and raise concern among students and faculty members regarding sustainability by including it into Software Engineering curriculum. Key words: Sustainability, Sustainable Software Engineering, Curricula, Software Engineering.publishedVersio

Embedding sustainability in the curriculum; enabling engineering take centre stage

Sustainability has been assuming a more central role within chemical engineering curricula and throughout engineering education as a whole. Meanwhile however, engineering has been fighting an uphill battle to attract a consistent proportion of high quality recruits as the profession suffers from a low public profile and uninspiring image. Engineers are generally seen (and see themselves) as uncritical agents of economic and technological development who simply take direction from policy makers and paymasters, albeit ones that provide innovative technical solutions for society. This sells the profession far short and drains from engineering much of the inspiration, excitement and opportunity to “make the world a better place”. Engineering curricula with sustainability embedded as core would however, particularly in the case of chemical engineering, provide a unique opportunity to; - align the curriculum with the policy lead taken by several professional institutions and hence realign the professional ethos, vision, role, practice and image of engineers. - position engineers to play a more central role in shaping society through influencing policy and debate on creating a sustainable society, and hence increase the visibility, importance, status and reputation of the profession. - act as a powerful marketing tool for prospective engineering students

Sustainability In Engineering And Engineering Education: A Comparative Study Of German And Saudi Arabian Industries

Sustainability has become a major concern in the fields of engineering and engineering education. Organizations such as UNESCO have defined goals for sustainable development in engineering. As engineers design, develop, and implement products and processes that impact the environment and society, their role in promoting sustainable development is vital. Addressing sustainability in engineering curriculum is needed to equip engineers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to develop sustainable solutions in their respective areas, and it involves merging the teaching of technical skills with a systems-based approach that considers the broader environmental and economical context of engineering. This 1 Corresponding Author Talha Bin Asad [email protected] requires collaboration between different disciplines and stakeholders, including engineers, educators, policymakers, and industry. This study investigates the industry practices regarding sustainability goals and measures in two countries. Another point of inquiry is to find practical recommendations from engineers and project managers to inform engineering education curriculum in terms of knowledge and awareness of sustainability. Qualitative case study protocol was followed in this research, and participants from Germany and Saudi Arabia were interviewed online. Thematic coding was performed to extract meaning making descriptions from the interview transcripts. In response to the interview prompts, the participants shared their perspectives of sustainability in their area of engineering. Their recommendations towards the curriculum development included making UN sustainability goals a part of engineering curriculum, while still teaching students to adopt a ‘lean product development approach’ in their course projects, so that they learn the practical implementation of sustainability in engineering projects as well as in life

Sustainability on engineering programmes; the need for a holistic approach

The teaching of sustainability on engineering curricula has increasingly become an essential feature. This has coincided with an increased focus on sustainability by professional institutions through stated policy positions and documents, though accreditation documentation has yet to be brought into line with these emerging positions. The creation of a sustainable society is a complex multi-disciplinary multi-stage project that will necessarily dominate mankind’s endeavour throughout the coming century. The pathway to a road towards sustainability will require a paradigm shift among society in general. Sustainability is a normative endeavour with uncertain outcomes requiring collaboration, teamwork and an ability to work with, respect and learn from other disciplines and professions as well as local communities and governments. This is largely new territory for the engineer. Moreover this approach can only be embraced by the engineer who sees value in and a rationale for pursuing it. Engineers must clearly see the contribution they can make; they need to see how many of the fundamental or threshold concepts in engineering can be employed as central and basic tenets of the evolving meta-discipline that is sometimes called sustainability science. This can only really be achieved if sustainability exists as a common threadline throughout programmes, in such a way that it is conceived as a necessary lens through which all engineering practice is filtered. Once this is achieved engineers will be well positioned to take the lead in moving towards developing a sustainable society rather than just designing the tools to move towards this goal as mere ‘paid hands’. This paper will examine some existing basic threshold concepts in engineering and show how these can be used to embed sustainability throughout curricula so as to provide the graduate engineer of the twenty-first century with the motivation, vision and tools to be the leaders in our shared quest to create a truly sustainable global society

Chemical engineering in an unsustainable world: obligations and opportunities

Human society faces a set of unprecedented challenges emanating from the unsustainable nature of the current societal model. The creation of a new sustainable societal construct is required, essentially adopting a needs based approach over one based on ever increasing consumption. Failure to achieve this will result in the widespread destruction of our increasingly stressed environment followed quickly by inevitable collapse of society as we know it, both socially and economically. Technology alone is insufficient to meet the challenges at hand; ecological, social and economic considerations must be incorporated through a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary approach. Because chemical engineers possess a core set of threshold concepts which are central to a sustainable society, and because engineers will ultimately help design any new society, they bear a moral and ethical responsibility to play an active and indeed central role in its development. A new engineering paradigm is required therefore, whereby sustainability becomes the context of engineering practice. To achieve this, a sustainability informed ethos must prevail throughout engineering curricula. Both professional institutions and educators bear responsibility in ensuring this happens without delay. Some key threshold concepts are presented here to demonstrate how this can be advanced through the chemical engineering curriculum

Investigating the multiple influences affecting sustainability in a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy

Sustainability has been an issue receiving growing attention in the past decade and the construction sector has not escaped notice. There has been a response at both the Government and industry level, to the agenda; with agreement that the industry must address sustainability by acting to minimise its impacts on both the environment and society. While much focus has been placed on how to minimise these impacts in the building sector, far less attention has been given to the infrastructure sector. Again while attention has been given to the construction process and acknowledging the potential for maximising impact reduction at the design stage, the focus given to the relationship between sustainability and consultant engineers has been limited. This research sets out to understand the influences affecting sustainability in a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, with an emphasis on the environment and the design stage. Utilising a selection of research methods (i.e. case studies, archival analysis, interviews, causal loops and questionnaires) an understanding was developed illustrating the influence that clients, strategic and operational organisational issues, policy and engineers knowledge, have on implementing sustainability. Relating the research to the existing literature, it was possible to propose a number of interventions to promote the integration of sustainability within a consultancy

Background and design of a qualitative study on globally responsible decision-making in civil engineering

Organizations that regulate civil engineering have been pressing for integration of 'global responsibility' into higher education curricula since around 2006, with a goal of achieving environmental sustainability and social justice. In an effort led by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2007, 2009), a global vision for civil engineering was identified. Within the UK, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has been leading the way alongside non-governmental organizations (Bourn & Neal, 2008). Via the in-progress study reported here, a UK-based research team is now studying the effects of ACSE and ICE initiatives. The team seeks to benchmark how global responsibility is perceived and enacted in civil engineering in the UK today and how engineering graduates have learned about and experienced globally responsible decision-making. Findings will hold value for the global community, as achieving sustainability is crucial to humanity, and indeed all life on Earth

Addressing The Challenges Of Climate Change And Sustainability

The issues of climate change and sustainability are urgent and critical concerns of our time. The rise of climate disasters, such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and hurricanes, poses a threat to the survival of humans, animals, and plants. Despite scientists having warned about the impending dangers of high CO2 emissions, particularly from the global North for many years, there has been no political or technical solution in sight. Engineers are known for being problem-solvers, but what happens when the problem is complex and the consequences of technical interventions are hard to predict? In my paper, I propose measures to sensitize engineers to the complexity of climate change and sustainability. Based on the method of focused ethnography, I draw on Feminist teaching methods, my extensive teaching experience in the field of transdisciplinary gender research in science and technology studies, and my observations during the international “Winter school of ENHANCE on gender and diversity in science, technology and society” at Technische Universität Berlin in 2023. The paper concentrates on the content and pedagogical approaches that can be used to convey the complexity of the issue while fostering the development of critically reflective knowledge. By incorporating these measures, engineers can be better equipped to tackle the challenges posed by climate change and sustainability in a more holistic and thoughtful manner

Background and design of a qualitative study on globally responsible decision-making in civil engineering

Organizations that regulate civil engineering have been pressing for integration of 'global responsibility' into higher education curricula since around 2006, with a goal of achieving environmental sustainability and social justice. In an effort led by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2007, 2009), a global vision for civil engineering was identified. Within the UK, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has been leading the way alongside non-governmental organizations (Bourn & Neal, 2008). Via the in-progress study reported here, a UK-based research team is now studying the effects of ACSE and ICE initiatives. The team seeks to benchmark how global responsibility is perceived and enacted in civil engineering in the UK today and how engineering graduates have learned about and experienced globally responsible decision-making. Findings will hold value for the global community, as achieving sustainability is crucial to humanity, and indeed all life on Earth