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The engineering profession has been highlighted in the context of a growing need for professionals capable of addressing the pressing challenges of sustainability. The purpose of this study is to present innovative experiences in engineering education for sustainable development in Brazil. This research was conducted in three stages: first, innovative initiatives were mapped through document research, literature review, grey literature, and the press; second, 37 academics who created and/or participated in these initiatives were interviewed, including professors, program coordinators, department heads, engineering school directors, and university chancellors; and third, the initiatives were analyzed and discussed with a team of specialists. The initiatives can be categorized into two types: innovative actions, projects, and structures (i.e., isolated actions, institutional projects, and institutional structure) and engineering programs with innovative characteristics (i.e., innovative curricula and pedagogical approaches, and new organizational paradigms to support engineering schools). Key characteristics, conceptual foundations, examples, and contributions to the sustainable development goals are discussed for each type of initiative. Emerging topics related to engineering education for sustainable development were identified and related to real cases. A shift towards a sustainability paradigm in engineering education is dependent on university top management commitment and can be accelerated by integrating initiatives at multiple levels of the university system. [Display omitted] • Innovative EESD initiatives in Brazilian universities are mapped. • Interviewees held key positions in the main Brazilian engineering schools. • Contributions from EESD initiatives to achieve SDGs are discussed. • Emerging EESD-related topics are identified and linked to real cases. • A systems perspective on innovative EESD initiatives is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although UNESCO and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals have articulated the critical role of engineering in achieving sustainable forms of development, there remains the need to analyze the design, features, and nature of sustainability-focused initiatives in engineering education. To date, few studies have identified the main knowledge gaps in this sector of higher education. At the same time, there is no known research exploring student and graduate learning outcomes in particular contextual settings. To address these gaps, this article uses a realist scoping review to map and analyze how engineering education has approached sustainability in higher education institutions since the 1990s. Our study explores the approaches of curricula, teaching, and learning renewals promoted in higher education engineering programs identifying critical differences between the expected and actual learning outcomes. Key findings drawn from a range of international contexts include broad evidence that engineering education providers desire to approach sustainability from an integrative perspective. However, this approach typically demands more administrative resources to develop formal and hidden curriculum mechanisms. As a result, engineering education struggles to foster the associated intra- and inter-cultural learning characteristics expected within integrated sustainability education. Findings also suggest re-evaluating the connotation and senses of 'being and becoming an engineer', including social responsibilities in engineering education, to empower students as active agents of change. Implications for practice, policy, and curriculum development of nine approaches to engineering education for sustainability are also offered, alongside possibilities and priorities for future research. [Display omitted] • Shows how scoping reviews can enrich research on higher education for sustainability. • Identifies nine approaches to how engineering education has approached sustainability. • Discusses key mechanisms and contextual factors for each of the nine approaches. • Finds the 'triple bottom line' is prevalent and directed towards economic progress. • Illustrates why cultural perspectives need engaging to support sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]