Search

Purpose: This study aims to report on how programme directors address sustainability within engineering education at Swedish universities and engineering colleges. Design/methodology/approach: The study was performed as a survey with follow-up interviews around the following core questions: to what extent do programme directors possess a deep understanding of the subject of sustainable development? Which are the core competencies in sustainable development that programme directors identify as important for their engineering students to acquire during their basic training? To what extent are those competencies integrated into engineering education today and what kind of support do programme directors receive from their department to integrate these competencies into the curriculum? Findings: Programme directors believe that learning for sustainable development is important mainly based on their personal convictions. However, out of 10 potential learning objectives extracted from the literature, only four-six are implemented in degree programmes. Learning objectives and activities are not always aligned, as students are required to learn about interdisciplinary collaboration without working with students from other faculties. The programme directors receive some support from the department, but they express a need for additional support. Examples of support that they suggest are faculty training, efficient teaching material and incorporation of sustainability in the quality assessment instruments for degree programmes. Originality/value: This study is the first comprehensive, national survey of what programme directors think about sustainability in higher education. Their views are important in the attempt to accelerate the integration of sustainability in higher education curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work provides guidelines for instructors who wish to incorporate green engineering concepts into a typical non-green engineering course without diluting course content or modifying the course syllabus by identifying 5 critical elements necessary to the successful integration of green engineering concepts into any traditional, design-oriented, non-green engineering course. The 5 critical elements result from the assessment of the incorporation of green engineering concepts into a traditional, design and analysis oriented heat transfer course offered to chemical engineering students in the fall semester of their junior year. This work not only incorporates the instructor's assessment of the newly greened course but also assessment of the same course by a student task force. This work includes portions of the instructor's assessment, the student task force's independent assessment of the course as well as the task force's assessment of the instructor's proposed modifications to the course. Even though this study focuses on green engineering as it relates to heat transfer, the assessment and suggestions are relevant to all non-green engineering courses that attempt to integrate green engineering topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]