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The purpose of this paper is to research the ways of integrating sustainable development into study programs of engineering faculties in an international context, as well as to analyse the current state of engineering education for sustainable development at the universities of the Republic of Serbia. Therefore, a desktop research, as well as an analysis of the engineering education curricula, have been conducted. The results of the research indicated to two possible approaches to the integration of sustainable development into the engineering curricula – in the form of special subjects dedicated to the problems of sustainable development in the engineering, or as an integrative approach which implies that sustainable development becomes an integral part of the entire curriculum. Subjects dedicated to sustainable development have been identified at all universities, but not at all faculties where engineers are educated in the Republic of Serbia, they are present at all levels of study (undergraduate, master, doctoral), as well as within applied, integrated and specialist studies, and by status they are most often elective. The results confirm that the engineering curricula open up towards the questions of sustainable development both in international context, and in higher education of the Republic of Serbia and as such, they can serve to the relevant ministries of education and science, universities and engineering faculties as a recommendation in which way to plan and design higher education of engineers in the future in order to provide overall support in the integration of sustainability into the engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of applying sustainability to the engineering curriculum at a university in China. Design/methodology/approach: A new curriculum, "ethics, involvement and sustainability," was designed and presented to engineering students from an undergraduate major in quality management engineering. This curriculum incorporated knowledge acquisition and skills training into sustainability via various teaching approaches in a mandatory curriculum at Tongling University, China. Pre- and post-questionnaire surveys, as well as a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model, were adopted to evaluate the changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of respondents before and after curriculum implementation. Findings: Significant changes in knowledge and attitudes were observed following the implementation of the curriculum. In terms of the development of new behaviors, the changes tended to be moderate. Generally, respondents were satisfied with the effectiveness of the new interdisciplinary curriculum post-implementation. Practical implications: Positive results were observed for the pilot and practice of the new engineering education (NEE) strategy at the cooperating university in China. Specifically, the integration of sustainability into curriculum design, implementation and evaluation inspired greater social responsibility in engineering students' decision-making processes. Additionally, it shed light on how to integrate the concept of sustainability into curricula. One limitation of this study was the absence of a comparison group that did not experience the new curriculum. Originality/value: Scant attention has been paid to local universities in the context of the newly-launched NEE strategy. This study provides new insight regarding the implementation of sustainability into engineering curricula and practice via formal, but diversified, teaching approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper analyzes the curriculum of engineering leadership offerings in Canadian universities. We operationalize an adapted version of Lattuca and Stark's (2011) academic plan framework to analyze key documents of engineering leadership offerings embedded in the engineering curriculum in six different universities. In the process, we generate relevant categories for comparison that are specific to engineering leadership curricula, leading to a preliminary taxonomy for leadership education in a professional field. Using the process and taxonomy developed, findings show a range of purposes, content and sequencing, with a common core of instructional processes and resources. We also explore how accreditation, labour markets, internal resources and relationships shape curriculum decisions. This paper highlights changing trends in engineering education related to leadership skill development and provides insights for professional education more broadly on the influences and practical implementation of these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an assessment of the sustainability content of the Nigerian engineering curriculum in universities. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis is used to generate and analyse data from three engineering documents, namely, the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Engineering Programmes in Nigeria and the engineering handbooks of two Nigerian higher education institutions. Findings: The Nigerian engineering curriculum is revealed to have a low sustainability content, with environmental concepts being the most cited themes and social topics as the least stated issues. Research limitations/implications: The sustainability assessment approach adopted in the study is constrained by the question of what constitutes a sustainability syllabus. Expert-derived sustainability themes used in the study are unavoidably incomplete and may limit the conduct of an exhaustive sustainability content assessment. Practical implications: Based on the research outcome, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and other stakeholders can consider ways to adequately incorporate sustainability themes in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. Originality/value: The research is an effort to determine the presence of sustainability issues in the Nigerian engineering education, which has hitherto been scarcely documented. This study provides a baseline and a rationale for sustainability education interventions in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. It also presents a methodology for analysing sustainability content in university curriculum and contributes to the continuing sustainability education discourse, especially in relation to sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Sustainable manufacturing may be defined as the creation of manufactured products that use processes that are non-polluting, conserve energy and natural resources, and are economically sound and safe for employees, communities and consumers. Recently, there have been several industrial and governmental endeavors to launch sustainable manufacturing initiatives. To support such initiatives and to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers, academic institutions have a responsibility to introduce educational programs and tools in the area of sustainable manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to report on the approach, progress and contributions of a US National Science Foundation-sponsored project titled: “The Sustainable Manufacturing Advances in Research and Technology Coordination Network (SMART CN)”.Design/methodology/approach The project aims to bridge the gap between the academic knowledge discovery and industrial technology innovation for sustainable manufacturing. Toward this goal, various research and educational activities have been undertaken to introduce Sustainable Manufacturing Case Studies for use by academic instructors to a diverse group of undergraduate, graduate and industry professionals.Findings In this paper, the need for education on sustainable manufacturing has been focused upon, followed by approaches toward addressing these needs, concluding with examples of case studies developed through the SMART-CN project framework.Originality/value This work provides the engineering community with structured modules for introducing the topic of sustainable manufacturing in the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on challenges in teaching sustainable engineering, which can be considered the operational arm of industrial ecology. The author asserts that the acceptance of sustainable engineering programs is complicated because some are still skeptical of sustainability. He adds that engineering, as a profession, was also struggling due to the packed undergraduate curriculum which is constrained by accreditation requirements. Industrial ecology deals with integrating social and environmental considerations into product design. The author concludes that it is hard to educate engineers to be aware of the social and environmental context within which products used.

This paper describes the results of recent research carried out with the UK energy sector to assess low-carbon related skills gaps and training requirements at the masters-level. Via iterative engagement across the industry, the characteristics of the market for new 'needs-driven' industry-focussed masters-level training offerings were defined. The results, taken together with the outcomes of a gap analysis of existing masters-level training, support the creation of a new framework for masters-level energy education that will more effectively meet the growing unmet need for such skills in the UK and beyond. The outcomes of the research indicate that flexibility in both delivery mode and curriculum content across both technical and non-technical disciplines is essential, along with improved supplier agility to rapidly develop new courses in evolving engineering specialisations. Without responding effectively to such demands from industry, we conclude that the advanced skills needed across the highly dynamic UK and global energy engineering sector will be in increasingly short supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]